Sunday, June 5, 2011

A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales



One of the manga I often read online is Nurarihyon no Mago, a supernatural comic authored by Shiibashi Hiroshi. It's a manga about youkai, supernatural beings and creatures of Japan. One thing that really caught my attention is the Hundred Tales Clan story arc. In the manga, the Hundred Tales Clan is a group of youkai that creates new youkai through the parlour game Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai or A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales .

Our main focus for discussion is the Hundred Ghost Tales game. The games was originally played by the samurai to test their courage. However, the game became popular with the townsfolk. One hundred people are needed to play this game in a dark room. There is one lit candle in front of each player. Each player tells a ghost story and extinguishes a candle thus making the room gradually darker. It is said that after the final candle is blown, a supernatural entity appears. This parlour game is also a form of evocation. I've never played this game but I expect a lot of squeals and screams when it is played. After all, who knows what lurks in the dark after the telling of a hundred spooky tales.



Did someone say candles? I got some candles here...

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