Kamaitachi

 


Kamaitachi are invisible spirit weasels that ride whirlwinds and cut up victims in their path. It's debated whether the kamaitachi are invisible because they exist in the spirit world invisible to the human eye, or if they move so quickly they can't be perceived. Kamaitachi look like Japanese weasels but with sickle limbs and hedgehog like spikes on their back.


Kamaitachi attack in threes. The first one slices the victim's legs and knocks them to the ground. The other slices up the victim, giving them thousands of cuts in a single second. The third applies a salve that heals the victim, ensuring none of the wounds are fatal. This leaves the victim knocked to the ground with scrapes and scratches but no serious injuries. It's said the kamaitachi do this to collect human blood, either to drink it or use it for magic.


There are many region beliefs about the kamaitachi. In the Shin'etsu and Tohoku regions the kamaitachi take offence to people desecrating calendars. If someone steps on a calendar or burns it then they would invoke the wrath of the kamaitachi. Although in other locations they don't have this association with calendars. In the Yoshio District it was believed that kamaitachi were so fond of blood they were to explain for any cut that didn't bleed, even ones that weren't associated with whirlwinds. If you were to get a paper cut that didn't bleed it was because an invisible kamaitachi was licking it up. In Aichi Prefecture it was believed that the three kamaitachi were familiars of a powerful magic users. But he forgot to teach his student how to seal the kamaitachi, so they got away and now roam free to cause trouble.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jimplecute

Image
  The jimplecute is a vampiric reptile from Ozark legend. It is a rarely heard of fearsome critter and shouldn't be confused with the gowrow, the more famous reptile from the region. There are two different descriptions of the jimplecute. The original appearance is of a long serpentine reptile, yet still baring short legs. It has skin the texture of dead leaves, which allows it to hide better in the forests. It even had the chameleon like ability to change color, so to blend in with leaves of different seasons. This jimplecute is able to wrap around its victims like a python to immobilize them while it feeds on their blood. The more modern version of the jimplecute is of a vampiric dinosaur, usually something similar to a raptor. This interpretation comes from the book We Always Lie to Strangers by Vance Randolph, which is a book about Ozarks folklore. There Mr Randolph describes the jimplecute as a prehistoric. Although I think he meant that all reptiles are primitive in his e
Read more

Nguruvilu

Image
  The nguruvilu is a monster from Mapuche legend in Chile. It looks like an elongated fox, which can coil around like a snake. It's still fur covered like a fox. It has long sharp claws. The name nguruvilu means fox snake in Mapuche. The nguruvilu lives an amphibious life in rivers and can hide itself in the form of common water creatures. It's a dangerous trickster who drags people underwater and drowns them. The nguruvilu can make the water deep or shallow. It can make the river look inviting to lure people in and can also make whirlpools and rapids at will. It delights in drowning lone victims and watches the village morn. The only way to get rid of an nguruvilu is through the efforts of a machi, the Mapuche version of a shaman. At the river's edge the machi will make offerings to the gods and good spirits to protect him. Then he will dive underwater and guided by good magic will capture the nguruvilu in the form of a fish, frog or snake. He then threatens the nguruvi
Read more

Ophiotaurus

Image
  The ophiotaurus was a monster who's front half was that of a bull, with a snake's tail replacing the back legs. It's only known appearance was from Fasti by Ovid. Although he's retelling a story from the lost Greek poem Titanomachia. The ophiotaurus was a primordial being existed at the beginning of time when the world was forming. At that time animals were not fully formed and so had miss matched parts from the wrong species. The ophiotaurus, as well as the other first animals, were born from the goddess Gaia without a mate. The bull was so toxic that its flesh could kill any being. If its entrails were burned (such as was done in ritual sacrifices) then the smoke would kill the gods. The bull was otherwise peaceful and not inclined to harm other creatures. Because of this the bull was trapped in a triple walled ring, within an endless dark forest, on the far side of the river Styx. During the Titanomachy one of the titans' allies, either Briareus the Hecatonch
Read more