Hachishaku-sama

An artist's depiction of the Tall Woman from Fatal Frame 5, inspired by Hachishaku-sama

In Japanese folklore, Hachishaku-sama (Japanese: 八尺様, lit. 'eight-foot lady') is a demonic yokai known for killing children she "likes" several days after she's sighted. Its appearance changes depending on the person, but consistently it appears as an eight-foot tall woman wearing a dress and some kind of hat. Notably, it makes a repetitive laughing sound like "po-po-po..." in a masculine voice. It's capable of replicating the voice of loved ones to lure its victims out of safety. It's only audible and visible to its victims.

Story

On August 26, 2008, a user on a Japanese website (possibly 2chan) with the id "VFtYjtRn0" made a 9-post thread detailing their encounter with Hachishaku-sama in 1998 at the age of 14 or 15 during Spring Break. During a visit with their grandparents who lived 2 hours away, the user saw her and told their grandparents. They spent the night in a warded room and drove out of the area, with her giving chase. They've been forbidden from returning to the area, going so far as to not be allowed to attend their grandfather's funeral.

Warding

According to the original story, Hachishaku-sama can be sealed by four Jizo placed in each of the cardinal directions. They must remain unbroken or she can escape.

A room can be protected from her by placing a pile of Morishio (sacred salt) in each of its corners, a statue of Buddha, and paper talismans. Items used against it may turn black as they're used.

She can be kept at bay by reciting the nembutsu or praying to Buddha, and confused from attacking her victim by surrounding them with blood relatives.

Authenticity

There exists only one account of Hachishaku-sama which has been reposted hundreds of times on the internet; however, it should be noted that she seems to be a yokai local to a particular (unnamed) village. The first English translation appeared on "Scary for Kids", a child-friendly creepypasta publisher and featured several modest changes for the target audience.

Location

The village mentioned is unnamed, but a few clues can be gleaned from the story (some of which require reading the original Japanese). First, it's described as "a small village surrounded by farmland" which is a two-hour drive by car from their home. It also describes the Jizu shrine which sealed Hachishaku-sama outside of the village: "今は○市の一部であるが、昔は×村、今で言う 「大字」 にあたる区分" which means "Nowadays, it's a part of a city, but it used to be a village and is now a 'town section'" meaning this village grew into a city since 1998.

In media

In Fatal Frame 5, the "tall woman" is a ghost clearly drawing inspiration from hachishaku-sama. In Yamishibai episode 8, the story is strikingly similar to the original.

See also

• Slender Man
• Takaonna

External links

• Translated story
• Original (in Japanese)