Misty Night team members submit your writing here!

Being a Japanese native most of my childhood and adolescent life, our Halloween culture is much different to western culture (Westernized version of halloween never really had much popularity til around 2003, shocker right?) Alright enough exposition, I can at least tell you of my favorite monster of my mythology.We call them Gashadokuro(Ga. Sha. Dou. Ku. Ro.) or the Starving Skeleton.They are roaming spirits that take the form of giant human skeletons, normally growing by the amass collection of bones and souls of the dead whom have either died from wars, disease, or starvation that have not been buried. Being much taller and massively huge than a human, will devour one just to sustain its form. The only way to know of its presence is a gargling crick of bones or ringing in one's ear as well known to peek their heads out on long stretches of pathways or roads.Why are they my favorite spooker?As a child, even if myth, it is downright terrifying envisioning a spiritual skeleton that is created by building itself from deceased bodies. So you KNOW the creature is going to have the most rancid smell, and dripping god knows what off its body, a walking biohazard. (Some artworks have some baring more than one head, arms, legs, having animal bones, which is lowkey pretty cool. You'll always come across one that's a bit different.) And big enough to grab and eat you? No thank you! Not only that, older Odokuro's adapt to be invisible and impossible to externally destroy. There was a chapter book I used to read, wish I remembered the title. But what I found so amazing and impressive of the monster is its willingness to evolve. If it felt it wasn't getting its prey, it will do what it can to survive. Rather that would be to break off bones, add some. Anything to give it more predator advantage. A shame such potential to retrain human knowledge of brainstorming problems and coming forth solutions is astonishing, but it's not able to comprehend human emotion or cognitive thought. Just brainlessly does so cause it's all its ever known.Only charms with precise chants from Shinto temples are able to ward them off. Or if a charm is written incorrectly in the slightest- rather that's an ink drip or poor sentence structure can make you the lighthouse for the Odokuro.