There’s an voice in the back of my brain that started it’s grumble back when I played D&D. It whispers to me, “make a monster codex. Dooooo iiiiiiiiit…”
“But that’s a ton of research” I say.
“Stop being a wimp and tear into it with pen -claws blazing.” It vehemently echos through my skull.
“But it’s been done before!”
“Not by you.”
“Alright. I’ll do.” And I’m starting today.
No guarantees it will be a weekly post, but *cracks knuckles* I’m going for it.
Jorōgumo
Other Names: “The Binding Bride” “The Whore Spider”
Country of Origin: Japan
Description: A yôkai– (creature, ghost,or goblin of Japanese Folklore) spider that can transform into a seductive woman so it can eat humans. Young heart-sick men happen to be her favorite.
How to spot her: She is often seen as a young, beautiful woman, but her reflection will show the hideousness of her true form.
Folklore:
Legends say that a spider gains magical powers when it turns 400 years old, which means the Jorōgumo tends to be a reeeeeaaaaally old broad with a dazzlingly youthful face.
A Jorōgumo is also known as the mistress of the Jōren Falls (浄蓮の滝) in Izu, Shizuoka. The legend has it that a man was resting at the foot of the waterfall when his feet were bound with a vast number of spider threads. To free himself, he cut the threads and tied them to a stump of a tree, which was pulled from the ground and drawn into the waters.
After this incident at the Jōren waterfall, the villagers became afraid and stopped going to the waterfall. However, one day, a woodsman logger from out of town, unaware of the story of the Jōren Jorōgumo, began cutting wood in the area. After he accidentally dropped his axe into the water, he dove into the pool to find it; then a beautiful woman appeared and returned the axe, telling him never to tell anyone about her. While the logger kept the promise, he began to feel anxious about the incident. One day while he was drunk, he told his secret and finally felt at ease. He then fell into a deep sleep never to awaken again. [yokai.wikia.com]
The best trick she has, in my opinion, is to show up as a young woman with an infant and ask a helpful young man to hold her child for a moment. But once he is holding the little bundle he discovers that it is actually full of egg sacks that burst open into a million hungry baby spiders.
*shudder* If you guys read my post about Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark you’ll know that spiders incubating inside my flesh and chewing their way out is one of my *DEAR GOD NO!* triggers.
But hey, what’s the point of writing about horror if you can’t poke and prod what puts you into a cold sweat, right?
And before you go, there’s only 3 days left for the giveaway 🙂 Pop on by: a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Sources: japanpowered.com, www.mythicalcreatureslist.com, www.ippmagazine.com, yokai.wikia.com, Wikipedia.org
Horror Made 
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