Dear Diary, 

I would be lying to you if I said I didn't have any hesitations when coming to Japan. You know better than anyone, Diary, the tireless nights of tossing and turning, eyes catching glimpses of ghosts in the shadows, feelings of someone, or something, behind your back. I don’t mean to bring up some bad memories, but after watching The Ring and The Grudge, you remember I barely slept for almost a year. Don't even get me started about the fears of washing my hair in the shower…

But I learned these ghosts I’ve been scared of for most of my life were Japanese ghosts called onryō and those movies that terrorized my childhood are adaptations of the original Japanese films. Onryō are wrath-filled, vengeful spirits that seek revenge for the often violent nature of their deaths. You know, the kind of deaths that would make you haunt a video tape and crawl out of TV screens to act out that vengeance on completely random people. 

Unfortunately, there aren't many things you can do to deter these spirits. You could try performing certain rituals or help them fulfill their needs for revenge, but that's a recipe for getting yourself into the middle of a bad situation. These ghosts aren’t careful to spare the innocent so long as they can finally find peace. The spirits embody unresolved feelings and those feelings can transcend death, coming back to haunt us in the living world.

Instead, maybe Onryō are a lesson in preventative measures. Don’t cause others significant bodily harm and treat everyone with care and respect. Should be easy. The world doesn't need any more girls crawling out of wells. We don't need little ghost boys who meow at us through the posts at the top of the stairs. We need people who are nice to each other and don't drown pets in the bathtub. 

Okay, let me get down off my soapbox and try to get some sleep. If you don't hear from me again, check the well. 

Xoxo, 

Maria