Bakekujira : The Skeleton Whale

When you hear Japanese Ghost Stories of days gone by, you always picture a woman with long black hair and white robes, am I right?

Talking about Japanese myth and legend immediately brings to mind the stories of Kuchisake-Onna and the Ju-On films for most people. However, there are so much more that most people never even realize are a real thing.

The Japanese myths and legends of days old and new carry a plethora of creatures, human and non-human, to terrorize even your best nightmares. Today, you will get a tantalizing story from the murky depths of the unexplored ocean.

The Bakekujira, also known as Hone Kujira (Bone Whale), is a terrifying yokai with an aquatic story of death and revenge.

The story goes that in bygone days, poor fishing villages would rely on the ocean for their supplies. At this time, whales were to be celebrated, as a single whale provided the village with a great level of wealth and sustainability through the sheer amount of meat and oil that could be derived from a single carcass. It was believed that whales were a manifestation of the god Ebisu, who would bring riches from the seas to the villages on shore.

There was a downside, however, as the villagers also believed that all whales that were murdered would forever haunt the world as a yokai (ghost). This belief would be proven to the villagers as correct one dark and rainy night.

A villager became excited as he saw a white whale offshore one night while he was out walking. Rounding up the villagers, they set sail with their weapons and a palpable hope for a better tomorrow.

As they neared the whale spotted earlier, they began throwing spears, arrows, and other weapons available at the creature to take it down. To their amazement, nothing happened. It was as if its skin were impenetrable.

Coming up on the whale in the rain-spattered darkness, they squinted as they tried to look closer at the whale in the murky waters.

To their surprise and horror, the whale rose from the water and they were able to tell it was no ordinary whale, but a full skeleton, completely devoid of all flesh or internal organs.