Gashadokuro

The Gashadokuro are spirits that take the form of giant skeletons and are fifteen times taller than an average person, said to be created from the amassed bones of people who died of starvation or in battle, without being buried, and are found in places such as battlefields, where many people have died. Sometimes the collective despair of the dead causes their bones to form into a Gashadokuro. These yōkai roam through villages after midnight, grabbing lone travelers and biting off their heads to drink their spraying blood. It then adds their bones on to its body, making it even bigger and more dangerous.

The Gashadokuro are said to possess the powers of invisibility and indestructibility, though Shinto charms are said to ward them off. There is a way to know of their approach, as the victim would hear the sound of loud ringing in the ear. If someone hears a Gashadokuro, their only hope for survival is to find a safe place to hide from the monster until sunrise, at which point it will disappear. However, if their hiding place is not sealed and the Gashadokuro senses them in there, it will partially disassemble part of itself, sending the bones into the spots where an enormous skeleton can't reach, and killing whoever hides there. Gashadokuro will continue hunting its prey until its pent up anger is released, causing the bones to crumple and the Gashadokuro to collapse.

The earliest known mention of the Gashadokuro was in the 10th century CE, during a rebellion against the central government, led by a samurai by the name of Taira no Masakado. When he was killed for rebelling, his daughter, Takiyasha-hime, who was a well-known sorceress, took revenge on his killers by using black magic to summon a Gashadokuro to attack the city Kyoto. It ravaged the city until Masakado’s head was moved to Shibasaki, a fishing village that eventually became Tokyo. The head became a sort of demigod there, with a grave still standing today near the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

In another story, a man who has killed many people walks outside to find piles of human bones outside his house. When he sees them, they suddenly come together to form a Gashadokuro. Instead of running, he simply stares at it. After several minutes, the skeleton vanishes entirely. This method of defeating it is not recommended.