Unknown Mysteries

She’s known for her dramatic screaming andcrying, and her seemingly dark power to predict death, the Banshee is seen as a terrifyingfemale spirit in Irish mythology. But is she really all that terrifying? Although some of today’s pop culture hasweaponized the Banshee’s screams and made them an object of fear, the first banshees weren’t evil or even dangerous. She not only predicts your death, but helpsyou prepare for it. This is one monster you might actually wanton your side. Going back to at least the 8thcentury, Irishfolk tradition depicts the Banshee as the spirit or ghost of a once living woman. Banshees appear in two different forms: asa withered, tiny crone with white hair; or as a tall, thin, beautiful woman. The typical banshee has long, flowing hairand appears dressed in white. Many times the woman’s spirit becomes abanshee because of some injustice in her life, because of bad or “improper” things shedid as a living woman, or was a victim of violence. Banshees only appear a...

People are freaked out by Spiders. It's not just that they have so many disproportionatelylong legs or move erratically it's also that they have fangs that can bite you, and theykill things wayyy bigger than they are. Yeah, real spiders are scary. But how about a giant spider that could actuallyeat you? Meet the jorōgumo: taking the scary spiderthing to a whole other level for centuries. Appearing as an attractive woman to lure hervictims to a painful death, this giant shape shifting spider of Japanese folklore is bothbeautiful and deadly—like the real-world spider that shares her name. For now let’s explore how this deadly femalemonster snared imagination in her web by taking a look at ancient storytelling and the mysteriousworld of the Japanese yōkai [Monstrum intro.] Broadly speaking the word yōkai refers toany weird or supernatural creature or phenomena in Japanese folklore. Yōkai offer explanations for things thatseem unusual or defy the known world—they are personal an...