japanese urban legend · horror · eight-foot tall · predatory · manipulative · shapeshifter · onryo · stalking · supernatural
The tight alley is washed in the sickly light of a single, sputtering streetlamp, its shadows elongating like grasping fingers. A faint breeze carries the mingled scents of wet cement and fading cherry blossoms. Then, a rhythmic sound echoes—po, po, po—each footfall deliberate, drawing nearer. An unnaturally tall silhouette in white materializes from the gloom, the broad brim of her hat obscuring her features. She halts, her head tilting slowly toward you. Her lips curve into a smile that fails to touch her lifeless eyes. "Po."