Kowabana: 'True' Japanese scary stories from around the internet
Episodes
Horror Baito: Supernatural on the job
14 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Ever hated your job? Try working at these places. What i...
Obake Yashiki: Home sweet haunted home
31 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Japanese houses. So comfortable. So inviting. Yet what c...
Obon special: horror from the afterlife
17 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! August in Japan marks Obon, the Buddhist festival where ...
Oden Special: A hodgepodge of horror
03 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Like a good old-fashioned meal of oden, this week comes ...
Haunted Japanese houses of horror
20 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Japanese horror at its finest. Five tales of things that...
Unbelievable and unexplainable sightings
06 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Cryptids in basements, impossibly tall figures, floating...
The truth is out there... experiences in the supernatural
22 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Things that go bump in the night. Things that make no lo...
Gakkou Kaidan, ghost stories from Japanese schools
08 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! You think you've got it bad? Try going to these Japanese...
SPECIAL: Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends - Kuchisake-onna
01 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes BONUS EPISODE Listen to the very first episode of Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends. Go to Kowabana.net for how you can subscri...
Kankandara: The secret behind what lurks in the forest
25 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Japanese horror is full of iconic ghosts and creatures of the night. But have you heard the story of Kankandara? The monster hidden deep...
Noroi, the inescapable Japanese curse
11 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Sadako from The Ring. Kayako from Ju-on: The Grudge. Noroi, or curses, are a Japanese horror staple, and once one latches on to you, it'...
Attack of the yurei
27 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Yurei. Those misunderstood spirits everyone blames for everything wrong in the world. They just want you to join them... in the afterlif...
The legend of the Kotoribako
14 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Discover the truth behind of one of the most fearsome urban legends of all: the Kotoribako. What is the truth behind this mysterious box...
The true terror behind cursed dolls
30 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Be careful of mistreating your dolls, they may remember what you did to them. A young woman discovers the terrifying secrets behind the ...
A curse upon your family and all within it!
16 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes A young medium receives a request for help; something supernatural is going on in this man's home, and it's not going away. The truth wi...
Life-changing childhood experiences
02 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes A young boy visits his grandparents' chicken farm for the summer holidays, but why do they check the incubator at midday and midnight ev...
Kisaragi Station and other trains of horror
23 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes A woman gets on the train but it doesn't take its normal route. She ends up in a place called Kisaragi Station, where no-one is around b...
The monsters in our villages
16 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes In this week's episode we're looking at the gods, monsters and yokai that haunt Japanese villages! Find out who Gomiko-san is, the myste...
What's haunting Japanese schools?
09 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode is a school hauntings special! Find out about the creepy ghosts, games and places that are terrifying Japanese schoo...
Sugisawa and other cursed villages
02 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode is a cursed village special! Find out what really happened in Sugisawa, perhaps the most famous cursed village of al...
Cursed video tapes & the horrors they hide!
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode is a cursed video tape special! A young man wants to find out what really happens to his body when he undergoes slee...
The inaka spectacular & countryside creepies
19 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode focuses on the 'inaka,' the countryside of Japan. A young boy playing in the mountains with his cousins stumbles acr...
Kokkuri-san, kakurenbo and other creepy childhood games
12 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode focuses on creepy Japanese childhood games. Kaidan, the practice of telling scary stories, one by one, until 'someth...
Kunekune, exorcists and creepy little ghost boys
05 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode features three tales of supernatural delight. The first is Kunekune, a creepy urban legend that haunts the empty ric...
New Year's ghosts and goblins
29 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes A New Year's special! Find out how Japanese people bring in the New Year and the ghosts and goblins that plague them as they do. Scary s...
If you're going to kill yourself, why don't you sleep with me first?
22 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes A special double-length episode for the holiday season! A woman is about to jump from the roof of her building when a man approaches. He...
True but mostly fictional horror in the Japanese workplace
15 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes Ever wanted to work in Japan? Probably avoid these jobs. Or any jobs. A young office worker goes missing after investigating a mysteriou...
Terrifying gods, scary demons and horrific yokai
08 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode is a Japanese mythology special! Featuring five scary stories of horror ranging from people's experiences with venge...
Magagami-sama, haunted tunnels and bridges, oh my!
01 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This week's episode features three chilling tales of horror. First is Magagami-sama, a mysterious presence that lives deep in the mounta...
Hasshaku-sama, dark country roads and abandoned buildings
24 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Notes This episode features three chilling tales of horror. First is Hasshaku-sama, aka the Eight Foot Woman you can't escape from. Second fea...