2011-12-14

He's Making a List.

We're all aware of Santa Claus' tendency to act as both judge and jury when it comes to doling out the Christmas presents. Just how good do you have to be to get on the NICE list? Frankly, NAUGHTY is just more fun.



So you may end up with a lump of coal instead of a toy, big deal. Over here in Japan, there's an 鬼 (oni or Demon) called 生剥 (なまはげNamahage) that scares the crap out of little kids by forcing them to obey their parents. Now that's a Big Brother worth worrying about!

From the Namahage Wiki page, here are some details. Dozens of young single men from various regions in Akita Prefecture, Japan dress like the Namahage demon. Each portrayer adorns an eerie demon mask (various colors depending on region), a straw raincoat and waistband and carries a scary tool made of wood depicting a knife/ stick/ weapon and a pail. They re-enact the folklore dressed as these demons and march around the village in hopes of scaring kids into total parental submission. Going door-to-door, they sweep the village threatening to drag away any spoiled disobedient children. As the story goes, a child's lazy spirit that is disobedient is dragged into the snow covered mountains away from their parents. Knowing the story very well, upon barging into each home, the young children are immediately frightened by loud roars as they are chased, kids typically scream with agony and fear. This prompts parents to sooth their kids worries of being taken away by the Namahage, letting them know that they’ve been behaving.




Nuthin' I love better than scaring the crap out of kids! Check these out:














Everybody Dance Now:



There's a Namahage Restaurant specializing in Akita dining. I haven't been there yet, though I'd like to check it out but only if the servers are Oni!

If the kids aren't frightened away by the Oni, these are even scarier!



This is the end of my Creepmas entries for this year and once again, I have disappointed myself. Today's post was about the Creepiest I could muster but Japan is just too darned cute around this time of year. It's tough to find the eerie.
ps. I realize that the Namahage festival occurs on December 31st, I just couldn't wait that long and I wanted to end Creepmas with a bang!

1 comment:

Pik-Cor said...

Love it!

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