Asian Urban Legends- The Creepy Tales of Our Nightmares!!!

Urban Legends are everywhere.  No matter where you live there will always be stories of Ghosts or a local legend that will chill you to your core.  However some of the scariest I have heard of come from Asia, and like their Horror films such as Audition and the original Ringu, they are messed up and scary as Hell!  So join me as a share with you 3 of the  weirdest and disturbing Asian Urban Legends out there.........

1) Daruma-san (The Bath Game)

Have you ever lay in a bath and thought to yourself "If only I could turn this relaxing experience into a horrific game of cat and mouse where I could die", only to come out clean and not been pursued?  Well fear not as Daruma-san can help you! 

The Prelude - You will need to take a bath just before you go to bed (a shower won't work apparently) and once the bath is full turn out all the lights and sit in the bath facing the taps.  Once you have done this close your eyes and start to wash your hair, and as you are doing this repeat the words "Daruma-San fell down, Daruma-San fell down" but keep those eyes closed tight!  Now if you have done this correctly you will get a mental image of a Japanese woman standing in a bathtub, who will then slip and fall and gouge out her right eye on a rusty tap. If at any point you hear noises or feel movement in the bathtub DO NOT open your eyes, but ask aloud "Why did you fall in the bath tub?"  Then keeping your eyes closed, stand up and get out of the bath (Health and Safety disclaimer - Be careful when you do this as you want to be chased by a spirit, not smash your head open), leave the water in the bath and leave all the lights off and exit the bathroom.  After you have closed the door you can open your eyes, and go to bed (if you can sleep after seeing a woman having her eye gouged out by a tap!!).



The Game Begins -   OK, so you wake up from your sleep and after probably questioning why you started this whole thing it's time for the fun to begin.  Throughout the day you will get a feeling that someone is following you, an uneasy feeling that will make you turn around and check but reveal nobody there.  However, you may catch a glimpse of her over your right shoulder if you are lucky (if that is the right word).  She will have black, tangled hair and of course be missing her right eye.  She will attempt to get closer to you throughout the day, slowly pursuing you as you go about your day.  She is fond of water and dark places, so bear this in mind in case you have planned any caving or deep sea diving for that day.  If you find that she is too close for comfort, and you do manage to get a glimpse of her you need to take action quickly.  You will need to shout "Tomare!" which means stop and run like Hell to put some distance between you and her.  Be careful though as each time you use this it will only stall her, and each time it is used the time she is stalled for will diminish.

Ending the Game - So you are probably tired of being stalked by a one eyed spirit that you summoned while washing your hair in the dark (yeah it sounds stupid when you look at it that way) and want to end the game before she catches you.  Well to do that you will need to take these steps before midnight, failing to do this will invite her into your dreams and you really don't want that!  You need to have her in your sights over your right shoulder, but if she suspects you are about to end the game she will hide, so be ready to act quickly.  While you have her in your gaze you will need to shout "Kitta!" which means "I cut you loose!" while swinging your arm down in a cutting motion.  If this is performed correctly you will have won and the game will be over, if you didn't perform it correctly then RUN!!!!!!  

If after all this excitement you think you want to play it again be warned, she will start the new game exactly where she finished the first one, so it's not really advisable to do this.


2) Kuchisake-Onna (The Slit Mouthed Woman)

Now this is a tale of how vanity, infidelity taking revenge are all wrong, but lead to an awesome Ghost Story.  The original story comes from the Heian period of Japanese History, around 1200-800 years ago and was originally a cautionary tale.  A beautiful woman was a wife (or concubine depending on who tells it) of a Samurai, and legend has it she was extremely vain.  After cheating on the Samurai he took his revenge by slitting her mouth with his sword and declared "Who will find you beautiful now?"

So legend has it that she walks the streets wearing a Surgeon's Mask, like many others in Japan, and will approach her victim of choice.  Once she approaches them she will ask "Do you think I am beautiful?" (Watashi Kirei?). 
Now, depending on how polite and socially awkward you are, this will result in 2 different outcomes.

A) You look at her and say "No" (a very brave move saying this to anyone who asks you this) she will take exception to this and kill you with a pair of scissors, but you kind of asked for it being that rude!

B) You look and politely say "Yes of course" she will then remove her mask, revealing horrific facial scar and ask again "Watashi Kirei?" Now this is where it complicated, as you will probably be in shock at seeing her face you might slip up and say "Oh sweet Jesus No!" and she will then kill you where you stand with her trusty scissors.  However, if you say "Yes you are" and think she will let you go for being so nice you are wrong, she will simply slash your face so you look like her (To be fair you did just say it was a good look).

Apparently there is a way to escape from her by saying you are late for an appointment, and she will apologise for delaying you and let you go on your way.  Keep that in mind if any women wearing masks approach you and ask you to comment on their beauty, it is easier to stick to Hot or Not. Is that still a thing or am I just old as shit?

3) The Cursed Kleenex Commercial

No this is not a joke, and no the video isn't to some sort of weird porno, but apparently in the 80's Kleenex released a "Dreamy, Fairy tale commercial" which was designed to be cheery.  What they actually got was some sort of weird acid trip which rumour has it caused everyone involved an unfortunate fate.

The actress in the commercial Keiko Matsuzaka apparently became pregnant with a Demon Child and became institutionalized after suffering a mental breakdown.  The boy who played the Red Demon in the commercial apparently died in mysterious circumstances shortly after filming had finished.  Also there are stories of the entire Production Crew either becoming ill or suffering terrible accidents, however none of these claims can be substantiated.

Even the soundtrack to the commercial is rumored to have a touch of the weird to it.  Some people claimed that the lyrics were a German curse, while others said the voice changed depending on what time of day you saw it.  If it was on in the day you would hear the singer's angelic voice.  But if you were to hear it at night the voice would change to that of a old woman and misfortune would be heading your way.  

So that is just three of the weird Urban Legends that are floating around out there hailing from Asia.  Do you believe in any of them or is it all just tall tales?  Whatever you think remember these stories all had an origin, and maybe there is something to them.  Are you brave enough to try the bath game?  Let me know in the comments and don't forget to share and tell your friends.

10 Games that need a Re-Release on New-Gen Consoles

Some games are timeless, etched into our memories and reminding us of countless enjoyable hours where we could escape into another world so immersive you long to go back.  But some of these games don't work too well on newer generation consoles e.g. Sonic the Hedgehog, Spyro the Dragon to name but two.  
However, some would benefit from a re-release on the PS4 and Xbox One much like The Bioshock Collection, Skyrim and Last of Us have received.  So here is my list of 10 games that deserve an upgrade to the New Generation of consoles.


1- L.A Noire - Okay seriously Rockstar, why don't we have this already?!

This game would be perfect for a new gen release,  as when it came out originally it pushed the boundaries of the PS3 and the Xbox 360 to their limits.  The story was amazing and the MotionScan technology caught the actors facial expressions perfectly. Imagine having this brushed up and the seedy underbelly of post WW2 LA looking even slicker on your new console,it would be an awesome experience you immerse yourself in all over again and not feel as it is a game you are forcing yourself to play for nostalgia's sake, but for pure enjoyment.

2 & 3 - Silent Hill 2 and 3 - The first of my double entries in this list.  These were arguably the best instalments in the Silent Hill franchise as Silent Hill 2 introduced us to Pyramid Head and Silent Hill 3 expanded on the creepy universe of the first Silent Hill game.

And yes, before you mention it I know there was a HD collection of these 2 games released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but they are so good they deserve more polishing and another go at giving us nightmares now we aren't getting PT (yes it still hurts).

4 - The Thing - A forgotten gem in the world of gaming, this is one of my favorite games ever.  Taking place after the events of the film you head to the Antarctic so investigate with your team.

 The game takes into account exposure when walking around outside, so you need to get inside to stay warm or you will die, and also you need to gain the trust of people you meet.  This can be done by offering them a weapon, ammo or by doing a blood test to prove that you or they are not an Alien.  With so much narrative, clever ideas and jump scares to die for, this is a game that is worthy of the remake not for just fans of the film but also for gamers who want a unique experience from the other horror games out there.

5 & 6 - Condemned 1 & 2 - Yes the story wasn't the best and there are peolpe out there who hate these games, but they were genuinely scary and lots of fun to play.

The controls were solid and you could get into the game and enjoy the experience.  What more do you need from a game?  A little brush up on the story flaws and trimming of the rough edges and you would have a pretty solid new gen game.  It's not a world beater but it is a solid 7/10 everyday of the week.

7 & 8 - Red Dead Redemption & Undead Nightmare - Oh sweet Jesus I can't say enough about how much I love Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare.  Where do I begin? The story of a former Outlaw turned family man coming back to work for the Government to capture his former partner in crime is brilliantly written, the side quests are fun, playing horseshoes is ridiculously addictive and also the random quests from people you find on the road and in the desert.  Couple that with a Zombie outbreak and you have a damn near perfect game.  Imagine riding into Mexico on the PS4 or Xbox One, the thought of that beautiful experience brings tears to my eyes.  And with the follow up game now being delayed until next year it would be the perfect time for John Marston to hop back on the saddle and ride of into the sunset again.

9 - Shadow Man- Haunted by the death of his younger brother, Mike LeRoi becomes the voodoo warrior Shadow Man and battles against Legion who wants to take over the live side (the living world) by traveling into the dead side (guess where that is). 

The game was one of my most played games on my N64 just because it was just so much fun.  Yes the graphics weren't the best and the script was patchy but it would keep you playing and you got invested in the story and the characters.  Oh and it had an Irish snake that wore a Top Hat and swore lots.

10 - Alan Wake- This game let me drive the car from The Evil Dead, get lost in the maze from The Shining and be attacked by Birds like I was in a Hitchcock film.  

Alan Wake takes horror stories inspired by the likes of Stephen King, twists in some Twin Peaks and turns them into an enjoyable game that makes you want to come back again and again.  The music was brilliant, the narrative was spot on and the characters were so well developed you actually wanted to know more about them as the story unfolded.  The only downside was the game was too short, so a re-release with a few extra bits and pieces added in would be a welcome gift from the developers.

So that's what I think we should have, but what about you?  Let me know in the comments and please share on Facebook and Twitter if you think others will like it.