Yuki Onna

 

 

ORIGIN

From Japanese folklore.

 

FIRST SIGHTED/RECORDED

There are tales from as early as the 18th century at least.

 

APPEARANCE

She is tall and very beautiful. She also has long black hair and blue lips. Their faces and skin is unnaturally pale, even appearing almost transparent. This helps her blend into the snowy landscape. She is sometimes seen wearing a white kimono, but at other times she is in the nude (with only her face, hair and pubic region standing out). Her eyes alone can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints. Some say that she has no feet (this is a common feature amongst Japanese ghosts).

 

GENDER

Female

 

ALSO KNOWN AS

"Lady of the snow", "Snow Queen" or "Snow ghost".

 

REPELLED BY

There doesn’t appear to be anything that she is repelled by but seeing as she displays some vampire characteristics, she may be repelled by some of the things used against them.

 

MAGICAL POWERS/SKILLS

She has the ability to turn people into ice. She also drains the life force of people.

 

HISTORY/ABOUT

They are associated with snow storms and winter in general. She is considered the spirit of snow itself. If she is threatened then she can transform herself into a cloud or some mist. She is said to be the spirit of someone who had perished in the snow. She is ruthless in the way she kills unsuspecting mortals. She can also invade homes by blowing down the doors and killing everyone inside (in some tales, she has to be invited in first). They are also seen as a Succubus like creature. They lure in young men to remote areas and either freeze them or drink their blood/life force. This can be done through either a kiss or sexual intercourse.

 

CAN BE FOUND

She is more likely to be found in places where the snow has settled or during a snowstorm.

 

TALES

In some legends, she appears to travellers who are trapped in the snow storms. She then uses her icy breath to turn them into frost coated corpses. In other tales, she leads them astray during the storm and leaves them to die of exposure. There is another tale in which she is seen holding a child. When a person then offers to "take" the child, she freezes them where they stand. There is a tale of how she was once a moon princess, who one day grew tired of the heavens. She came down to earth to explore and found that she could not return. She is featured in Lafcadio Hearn’s classic "Kwaidan" in 1901.

 

ANY SIGHTINGS?

There is always tales and footage from people who believe they saw something. I believe that it will always be one of those things that you won’t believe until you experience it.

 

SIMILAR CREATURES

Succubus, Vampire,