Brandy Millwell's Paranormal blog of Karakura Academics: Case 06.
Nakamura's Zashiki-warashi Encounter
Nakamura's Zashiki-warashi Encounter
Japanese folk tales, something told and passed down from generations to generations ... but is that all they are? A folk tale? A mere tale to tell ...? Or perhaps are they far more than just a tale? I am Brandy Millwell, and in today's investigation, I spoke to Sora Nakamura, a high school graduate and former athlete, who recounted his experience of a haunting in the small school gym
THE EXPERIENCE
Sora Nakamura, who at the time was a seventeen-year-old student, lingered in the gym one evening after volleyball practice. The once-bustling school was now eerily silent as he entered the small locker room to change. The fluorescent lights flickered weakly above him, casting long, wavering shadows. As he pulled his jersey over his head, the power abruptly went out, plunging the room into darkness. Sora's breath caught in his throat as he fumbled for his phone to light the room. In the dim glow, he noticed the locker room's window that was wide open.. A sudden, icy breeze swept through the room, slamming the window shut with a resounding crash. Sora's mind raced, recalling the stories his grandmother, a former shrine maiden, had told him.
The room's temperature seemed to plummet at that moment, and he could almost hear faint giggles mingling with the howling wind. Terrified yet fascinated, Sora whispered a quick prayer, just as his grandmother had taught him at the Monastery, to honor and appease the spirits. As if acknowledging his gesture, the power flickered back on, bathing the room in harsh light and restoring the familiar hum of electricity. With a pounding heart, Sora quickly gathered his belongings and left the locker room, the experience etched into his memory as a brush with the supernatural.
THE UNRAVELING MYSTERY
Instantly, my mind went to traditional Japanese folk tales upon hearing his story. But why? Seeing as his grandmother was a shrine maiden at the Monastery here in Karakura, as well as him remembering stories she had told him - which led him to know how to properly react in this situation - it led me to suspect perhaps Sora was told a folk tale or two by said grandmother. Specifically, my mind went to the stories of Zashiki-warashi, the mischievous child spirits from Japanese folklore, known to play tricks on unsuspecting humans. This seemed entirely plausible, with the lights flickering, the window shutting, and the giggles - all lining up quite closely with Zashiki-warashi.
But let’s say it wasn’t the mischievous ghosts of Zashiki-warashi, then what else could it be? The disembodied giggles made me think a bit of a residue haunting; however, the lights and window shutting seemed a bit too far for one ... and as for a poltergeist, the giggles are far too out of character.
IN SUMMARY
Quite frankly, I am biased. I had jumped the line to concluding it was likely something from the Zashiki-warashi stories instead of thinking of all possibilities first. But nonetheless, the symptoms of the haunting and nature of it all fit this far too well.
