Reikan: The most haunted locations in Japan: Volume Two

Reikan #2

by Tara A. Devlin

Explore the terrifying locations you won’t find in any guidebook. Uncover the history you won’t find in any textbook. The most haunted locations in Japan Vol. 2 takes you on a tour through all 47 prefectures of Japan, but this isn’t any old tour. These are the sites spoken of only in whispers. The sites only the bravest—or perhaps, foolish—enter. The sites with stories so horrifying that those who experienced them are no longer able to speak of what happened. They live on in legend, in rumour, in ghostly sightings that will chill you to the bone. Walk through haunted houses and abandoned shrines. Uncover locations erased from the maps. Explore the beauty of nature which hides dark secrets within its depths. This is no regular tour. Click the Buy Now button to uncover the chilling secrets behind Japan’s most haunted locations. If you dare…

Genres: Nonfiction

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2020

About the author

Tara A. Devlin studied Japanese at the University of Queensland before moving to Japan in 2005. She lived in Matsue, the birthplace of Japanese ghost stories, for 10 years, where her love for Japanese horror really grew. And with Izumo, the birthplace of Japanese mythology, just a stone’s throw away, she was never too far from the mysterious. You can find her collection of horror and fantasy writings at taraadevlin.com and translations of Japanese horror at kowabana.net.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of haunted places in Japan, each accompanied by an appropriate ghost story. Fun. Some of these things are downright eerie.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is very self-explanatory. It is the second volume in a series of books that cover the most haunted places in Japan.

To give a more detailed look at the book, it consists of forty-seven entries. Each entry represents one of Japan's forty-seven prefectures. The entries are grouped by the island the prefectures are located on.

An entry consists of the name of the location, its address, a creepypasta-like story to introduce the place, and finally, a detailed explanation of the stories told about the place and the truth of the matter (if any truth could be found).

As someone who loves learning about cultures and the supernatural, it was an enjoyable read. However, I would suggest flipping through the book from time to time, reading any entries that strike your fancy than reading it straight through. A repetitive rumor among the entries is someone losing their will-to-live and offing themselves and others due to circumstances. It can make the early entries dry.

Also, the author runs a YouTube channel where she discusses Japanese horror. One of her segments goes over haunted locations in Japan. A problem I ran into with Reikan Vol. 1 was that many entries crossover with her YouTube, so there were times I would stop and go, "Wait, I've read this before." This time, however, the amount of crossover could be counted on one hand, so that wasn't a problem.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great collection of possibly haunted places from around Japan … makes me want to go on a ghost hunt.