Fearsome Folklores : The Legend of Teke Teke

The Teke Teke is simply one among many Japanese legends including the dreadful Kuchisake-onna that leave you questioning, is there something in japan that wouldn't be possessed and try and kill me? According to animism, which is a widely held belief throughout japan, all things, which includes non-human entities, have a spirit or soul of some sort. So the fast answer is yes, the entirety will try to kill you.

 The legend of the Teke Teke starts with a young schoolboy walking home by himself during the nighttime because seemingly that seemed like a wise act in an area where possessed umbrellas regularly come to life and try to impale you. On his way, he caught sight of a quite young girl peeking out of a 2nd-floor window. The boy pondered why the girl ended up there because the construction was part of a famous all-boys school. Resting her head on her elbows, the girl looked in his eyes and the two shared a smile. Then she launched herself out of the window, revealing that her lower body was missing, chased the boy down, and severed him in half.

 The Teke Teke unlike the Malaysian Penanggalan has a complete upper half instead of just a head with internal organs attached. There are a lot of versions of what the Teke Teke really is, however in all variations she’s a female, she doesn't have a lower body, she carries a saw, and she wanders during the nighttime, searching for victims who're too sluggish to get away from her. Her name derives from the scratching sound that she makes as she drags her dismembered torso on the floor with her hands or elbows. In some instances, she’s extremely speedy, while in others she is characterized by her eerily slow movement.

 The Teke Teke has numerous foundation tales, every pointing to a probably unique meaning. In a single variation, she used to once be a homely Japanese schoolgirl who was scared of the entirety. It's arguably okay to be scared of everything in Japan, after all, you may not even know when a Katakirauwa, or useless, one-eared piglet, may run via your legs and take your soul. But her classmates didn’t share the same feeling. Instead of befriending her, they were determined to torment her with a chain of pranks and jokes.

 One day, after school, they were all set near the train station when one of them caught a low-flying cicada and stuck it on the girl's shoulder. Alas, the rumbling of the oncoming train masked the screeching of the cicada, so the girl noticed it after a brief period. While she did, she moved erratically trying to ward off the insect, tripped onto the tracks, and was halved by the oncoming train.

 In another variation, the Teke Teke is the ghost of a stunning young lady who was brutally assaulted by a group of rogues in a cornfield. In some versions, she was left dragging her lifeless body till she reached a railway station and perished, while in others the woman, out of shame, killed herself by jumping in front of a train. In both of the variations, she rises again as a vengeful spirit or onryō and mutilates others, forcing them to experience her sufferings. In a few cases, individuals who are cut in half by the Teke Teke will themselves end up turning into Teke Teke.

 The Teke Teke is also synonymous with the urban legend of Kashima Reiko. Similar to one variation of the Teke Teke tale, Kashima Reiko got assaulted by a group of men and threw herself in front of a train. Kashima Reiko in some way ended up losing her legs and started haunting human beings while they were inside a washroom. Yes, you read it right, these Japanese legends have entities that haunt you even when you have your "you-you" time inside a washroom.

 The folklore says that, just as you settle onto your toilet, she’ll come behind you and ask you where her legs are. You have to tell her that her legs are at the Meishin Railway Station. If she asks you who said that to you, you ought to answer her name, “Kashima Reiko”. She may additionally then ask you what her name is however beware, that is a tricky query. The correct answer is “Masked Death Demon”. If you give an incorrect answer to any of these questions, she’ll rip your legs off.

Appearance

 The Teke Teke is universally portrayed as a young lady, usually with lengthy, black hair. In a few accounts, her face had been disfigured by an accident that was the cause of her death. However, in most portrayals, she seems like an everyday lady. From the waist up, that is. Many depictions imply she has sustained the wounds recently, so she is still bleeding profusely and appears a bit fleshy. She’s regularly portrayed as having claws rather than fingernails, as they assist her while dragging herself around.

Origins

 Regrettably, nobody seems to realize the origins of this urban legend. It doesn’t appear to be based on actual occasions and, even if it were, suicides in Japan are very common. But, the majority posits that, like Kuchisaki Onna, the slit-mouthed lady that harasses little kids, or Gashadokuro, the 50 feet skeleton that follows you home at night and pops your head off like a bottlecap, the Teke Teke was a cautionary story. The legend could have been designed to discourage people, specifically young children and teens, from walking home on their own during nighttime.

 Another idea, which pertains to Teke Teke’s popularity as an onryō (vengeful spirit), suggests that the legend was made to discourage people from bullying, abusing, or assaulting others. In both variations of the legend, the Teke Teke ended up being mistreated by others in life and this resulted in her death.