Urban Legends (vol.1)

Hachishakusama (Eight Feet Tall). Pt. 1

Hachishakusama is a Japanese demon that takes the form of an impossibly tall woman that has a deep masculine voice in which she repeats the interjection "Po" (ぽ) and has a habit of preying on children.

My grandparents lived in Japan. Every summer, my parents would take me to visit them. They lived in a small village and had a big backyard. I loved to play there during the summer. When we arrived, my grandparents always greet me with open arms. I was their only grandchild, so they spoiled me a lot.

The last time I was them was the summer when I was 8 years old.

As usual, my parents booked a flight to Japan. They were delighted to see me and a lot of little presents to give me. My parents wanted to have some time by themselves, so a few days later, they took another trip to another part of Japan, leaving me un the care if my grandparents.

One day I was playing out in the back yard. My grandparents were inside. It was a hit summer's day and I lay down on the grass to rest. I stared up into the sky and enjoyed the soft rays of the sun and the gentle breeze. Just as I was about to get up I heard a strange noise.

"Po...Po....Po......Po....Po...Po....Po..."

I didn't know what it was and it was difficult to make out where it was coming from. It sounded almost as if somebody was making the noise themselves... as if they were saying "Po" over and over again in a deep masculine voice.

I was looking around searching for the source of the noise when I noticed something upon the tall hedges that enclosed the backyard. It was a straw hat. It wasn't resting on the hedge. It was behind it. Thats where the sound was coming from.

"Po.....Po......Po..... Po....."

Then the hat began to move, as if someone was wearing it. The hat stopped at a small gap in the hedge. And I could see a face peering through it. It was a woman, but the hedges were high... almost 8 feet tall.

I was surprised at how tall the woman was. I wondered if she was wearing stilts or some sort if high heeled shoes. Then, a split second later, she walked off and the strange noise disappeared with her, fading into the distance.

Bewildered, I got up and walked back into the house. My grandparents were in the kitchen drinking tea. I sat down at the table, after awhile I told my grandparents what I had seen. They weren't really paying attention to me, until I mentioned the distinctive sound.

"Po....Po.....Po.....Po...."

As soon as I said that, they both froze. Grandmas eyes widened and covered her mouth. Grandpas face became very serious and he grabbed me by the arm.

"This is very important," he said, in an intense voice. "You must tell us exactly how tall was she?"

"As tall as the garden hedge," I replied beginning to get scared.

My grandfather bombarded me with questions. "Where was she standing? When did this happen? What did you do? Did you see me?"

I tried to answer all his questions as best as I could. He suddenly rushed out to the hallway and made a phone-call. I couldn't hear what he was saying. I looked over at my grandma and she was trembling.

Grandpa came barging back into the room and spoke to my grandma.

"I've got to go out for a while," he said. "You stay here with the child don't take your eyes off him for a second."

"Whats going on grandpa?" I cried.

He looked at me with a sad expression in his eyes and said " You've been liked by Hachishakusama."

With that, he hurried out, got into his truck and drove off.

I turned over to my grandma and cautiously asked "who's Hachishakusama?"

"Don't worry," she replied in a shaky voice
"Grandpa will do something. There's no need for you to worry."

As we sat in the kitchen nervously waiting for my grandpa to return, she explained what was happening. She told me that there was a dangerous thing that was haunting the area. They called it "Hachishakusama" because of its height. In Japanese, Hachishakusama means eight feet tall.

It takes on the appearance of an extremely tall woman and makes a sound like "Po...Po...Po.." in a deep male voice. It appears slightly differently, depending on who sees it. Some say it looks like a haggard old woman in a kimono and other say it is a girl in a white funeral shroud. One thing that it never changes is its height and the sound it makes.

A long time ago, it was captured by monks and they managed to confine it in a ruined building on the outskirts of the village. They captured it using 4 small religious statues called "jizos" they are placed at the north, east, south and the west of the ruins so that it couldn't escape. Somehow it managed to escape.

It all sounded crazy. I wasn't sure to what to believe.

When grandpa returned, there was an old woman with him. She introduced herself as "K-san" and handed me a small crumpled piece of parchment saying "Here, take this and hold it." Then she and grandpa went upstairs to do something. I was left with my grandmother in the kitchen again.

~ AND THAT IS IT FIR PART 1 OF HACHISHAKUSAMA. I DECIDED TO POST THE TWO PARTS SEPARATELY BECAUSE PART 1 WAS GETTING TOO LONG. HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS UL (URBAN LEGEND)