The Himuro Mansion Haunting

September 18, 2008 by Admin
Filed under Original Articles

According to urban legend, lying just beyond the city of Tokyo is one of the most haunted locations in all of Japan. The exact location of the Himuro Mansion (or Himikyru Mansion as it is sometimes known) is widely unknown but the legend puts the mansion in a rocky region just beyond the city limits of Tokyo.

A Purported Image of the Himuro Mansion

The mansion is said to have been home to one of the most gruesome murders in modern Japanese history. Local lore has it that for generations, the Himuro family had participated in a strange, twisted Shinto ritual known as “The Strangling Ritual” in order to seal off bad karma from within the Earth, every half century or so.

The most popular version of the tale states that bad karma would emerge each December (other versions simply say “toward the end of the year”) from a portal on the Mansions grounds. In order to prevent this, a maiden was chosen at birth by the master of the household and isolated from the outside world in order to prevent her from developing any ties to the outside world, which would in turn, jeopardize the effect of the ritual.

On the day of the Strangling Ritual, the maiden was bound by ropes on her ankles, wrists, and neck. The ropes were attached to teams of oxen or horses to rip her limbs from her body, quartering her. The ropes used to bind her appendages would then be soaked in her blood and laid over the gateway of the portal. They believed that this would seal off the portal for another half century until the ritual had to be repeated.

During the last recorded Strangling Ritual it is said that the maiden had fallen in love with a man who tried to save her from the ritual. This “tie” to Earth tainted her blood and spirit and ruined the ritual altogether. Upon learning of the maidens love, the master took up his sword and brutally murdered all of his family members, before finally, in fear of what would soon happen, fell upon his own blade.

This is the basis of the “haunting” of the Himuro Mansion. Local legend has it that these souls of the murdered family wander the mansion attempting to repeat the failed ritual using whomever enters the abandoned building. Blood splashes on the walls are reportedly seen, as if they were flicked from the blade of a sword that had recently sliced through flesh. Many have reported seeing spirits and apparitions dressed completely in white, rinsing cloths and preparing the grounds for the ritual.

A Purported Image of the Himuro Mansion Hallway

Interest in the Himuro Mansion has peaked due to it’s inclusion into the back story of the popular game, Fatal Frame. Here is a quote from Makoto Shibata, Chief Producer of Fatal Frame, regarding the legend:

“In an area outside Tokyo, there lies a mansion in which it’s said seven people were murdered in a grisly manner. On the same property, there lie three detached residences that surround the mansion, all of which are rumored to have ties to the mansion’s troubled past. It’s said there is an underground network of tunnels that lay beneath the premises, but nobody knows who made these tunnels or what purpose they served. Many inexplicable phenomenons have been reported occurring on the property. Bloody handprints have been found splattered all over the walls. Spirits have been spotted on the premises… even in broad daylight. A narrow stairway leads to an attic where a spirit-sealed talisman is rumored to be locked away. Men have sought this talisman, only to be found later with their bodies broken and rope marks around their wrists. There’s a crumbling old statue of a woman in a kimono, but its head is missing. If you take a photo of a certain window, a young girl can be seen in the developed picture. These incidents have provoked fear in the people of Tokyo, and many believe that those who live near this area will become cursed. The deaths of those seven people are unexplained to this day.”

Now, the question is, did any of this really happen? Probably not. The core allure of this legend is also it’s silver bullet. If such a grisly murder did occur (sources put this between 30 and 80 years ago) in such recent times, where is the record?

It is highly unlikely that no police station or newspaper have records of this mass murder taking place just outside of Tokyo.

Regarding the mystery of the location, some believers have offered the notion that the Himuro family has once again taken ownership of the mansion and is currently living there.. but that conflicts with the legend in that all family members were supposedly murdered AND the “firsthand accounts” of events witnessed on the property by locals and researchers.

Another peculiarity of note is that Tecmo advertised the game in North America with the tagline: “Based on a true story,” but without on the original Japanese release. Because of this, some have theorized that the entire legend was fabricated by the game developers.

In conclusion, I have this to say:

Maybe there was a murder and all of this really happened, or maybe it’s somewhat more likely that it was made up by some creative game developers, but I don’t believe we’ll be finding out exactly what that truth is anytime soon .. so why not enjoy the legend of the Himuro Mansion for what it is? A good old fashioned, creepy urban legend.

Comments

50 Comments on "The Himuro Mansion Haunting"

Alicia on Thu, 18th Sep 2008 2:12 am

I hope it’s not true but if it is that’s creepy…

Most Haunted Mansion In Japan. Urban Legend : Paranormal Insight on Thu, 18th Sep 2008 6:50 am

[...] Read the whole story over at Paranormala.com [...]

mark James on Thu, 18th Sep 2008 10:18 am

Wierd!

The Ghost Thread - Halloween Forum on Thu, 18th Sep 2008 1:10 pm

[...] unknown but the legend puts the mansion in a rocky region just beyond the city limits of Tokyo. The Himuro Mansion Haunting - Paranormala __________________ "Sounds like a lot of supernatural baloney to me." [...]

Al on Thu, 18th Sep 2008 8:13 pm

Records from 30 to 80 years ago may have been destroyed in the war. Who knows for sure. Post war japan was in shambles. AL

Brandon on Thu, 18th Sep 2008 8:51 pm

I think its a Paranormal urban myth, If nobody knows where it happened, it must just be a myth that has evolved over the years. Very creepy, especially with the blood on the walls.

alanborky on Thu, 18th Sep 2008 9:37 pm

It actually sounds like the sort of stuff a hero of mine, comic writer Grant Morrison dreams up, quasi REAL, quasi SURreal, quasi UNreal, with the boundaries never clearly demarcated.

He, in turn, or so I suspect, is highly influenced by Jorge Luis Borges.

It has all the hallmarks of their, at times, almost excessive attention to strange detail, but of a kind you’d never learn from, say, a newspaper article, but only from someone who was really there at the time, or who supposedly knew someone who was there at the time.

That said, I’m a Nipponophile, and culturally speaking, they are very definitely predisposed to an intense and intricate attention to precisely these kinds of ritualistic detail - they also have an unnatural fondness for urban myths, being not so easily convinced as most westerners are, that they are indeed myths.

Steve O'Rourke on Fri, 19th Sep 2008 6:55 am

Al, if it happened since 1945, there would be some record of the alleged events, even if it was only in the archives of the occupying American Forces.

And not that I’m any great expert in Buddhism, but the family ritual would seem to me to *increase* their bad karma, unless they believed in some offshoot far removed from mainstream Buddhism. Or maybe whoever created this myth knows less than I do about karma, and used the wrong word(s), like instead of ‘evil spirit’.

David Edwards on Fri, 19th Sep 2008 12:43 pm

Sounds just like the storyline of the Playstation2 series ‘Project Zero’. But which came first this ‘legend’ or the game?

Warren Ellis » Links for 2008-09-18 on Fri, 19th Sep 2008 1:57 pm

[...] The Himuro Mansion Haunting - Paranormala"Local lore has it that for generations, the Himuro family had participated in a strange, twisted Shinto ritual known as ?The Strangling Ritual? in order to seal off bad karma from within the Earth, every half century or so."(tags:crime weird ) [...]

Enki on Fri, 19th Sep 2008 5:36 pm

The game is so creepy i really can’t play it with the lights off.

Also, the image from inside the mansion is actually a screenshot from the game.

» Blog Archive » links for 2008-09-19 on Sat, 20th Sep 2008 2:12 am

[...] The Himuro Mansion Haunting - Paranormala (tags: japan seed haunting ghost gaming history culture asia strangecrime myth) [...]

Mr. Eff on Sat, 20th Sep 2008 6:57 am

“Sounds just like the storyline of the Playstation2 series ‘Project Zero’. But which came first this ‘legend’ or the game?”

David, Project Zero and Fatal Frame are the same games, just different titles. The former is used in Europe (and Japan I believe) and the latter in North America. Just like Resident Evil being called Biohazard in different parts of the world.

Amazing story. The games scared the hell out of me. I’d love to try and find that place.

Audel on Sat, 20th Sep 2008 7:13 am

Project Zero’s the European name for Fatal Frame, so that’d explain the familiarity, I guess.

lilacsigil on Sat, 20th Sep 2008 7:39 am

@Steve - the ritual is specified as Shinto, not Buddhist, both popular and overlapping religions in Japan. Shinto is a religion with a lot of purity taboos, which would tend to indicate that death is polluting, not protecting. But there certainly are plenty of gruesome ghost stories based on people trying to protect themselves, ending in mass murder-suicide!

LEE H on Sat, 20th Sep 2008 6:56 pm

UTTER NONSENSE, THE PRODUCT OF SUSPICIOUS UNEDUCATED MINDS

Admin on Sat, 20th Sep 2008 7:05 pm

Wow, thanks for all the comments guys!

@alanborky - we have a lot of westerners here shooting this one down (myself included), so I think that validates this: “they also have an unnatural fondness for urban myths, being not so easily convinced as most westerners are, that they are indeed myths”.

Stacey on Tue, 23rd Sep 2008 4:51 pm

@ Lee H–It always cracks me up when I come across posts like yours on a PARANORMAL WEBSITE.

Did you get lost on the way to foxnews.com or are you just TRYING to be a douche?

You know you like this kind of crap, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading up on hauntings. Come on now..get real.

About the mansion—I think every country and region on Earth has it’s own Urban Legends. True or not, I know you won’t catch me lurking around there at night by myself. Better safe than sorry, eh?

~Peace

ufo2012 on Wed, 24th Sep 2008 2:49 pm

im half japanese and i ask my mom if she ever heard of this place,she said her mom wanted to go there and see,my mom described the story down to the bad karma.the japaneses are very supertious people,so i believed this,they also have a big inrtest in UFOS,not like americans at all,very openminded about paranormal claims.look at thier games they create all paranormal!

kurama on Wed, 24th Sep 2008 6:00 pm

It’s based off the game fatal frame. Someone took the basis for the 5 part video game and did a faux history of the mansion. If you go to project zero.com the info shoul be there. better yet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_Frame

kurama on Wed, 24th Sep 2008 6:01 pm

there is also a second manor in game three called the manor of sleep. They did use real japanese legends and folklore for the game, but it is all fiction

rei kurosawa on Sat, 27th Sep 2008 5:24 pm

I’m a big fan of the Fatal Frame Series and I’ve played the first three in PS2, unfortunately, the 4th one which is entitled The Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and is now out in the market is only available on Nintendo Wii… Anyway, at first, I thought that the storyline was very unique and realistic, then later on, I stumbled across an article about the Himuro Mansion and I was surprised to know that some of the parts of the game actually happened. The Strangling Ritual is part of Fatal Frame 3 : The Tormented. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps… Although I must admit, the game really is spectacular.

rei kurosawa on Sat, 27th Sep 2008 5:39 pm

I’m sorry but I just cant help but react… The first picture showing the Himuro Mansion and the hallwayis so very much alike in the game, although in that part of the game, after some flights of steps, instead of the Mansion itself, it was an altar, and the hallway, as found in the map of the game is known as the Partitioned Room… No wonder the game has a huge impact… Its all based on true stories. In the game, Himuro mansion is part of All gods Village which is connected to the Manor of Sleep… The creepiest place was the Manor of Sleep, because thats where the ghost of the Head of the family can be seen, brandishing an axe and running after you.

The Tale of The Chinese Wildman - Paranormala on Sun, 28th Sep 2008 10:46 pm

[...] to the breakout success of our first article, The Himuro Mansion Haunting, we’re going back to Asia for the wild tale of a red haired, human like animal believed by [...]

Misty on Mon, 10th Nov 2008 1:27 am

well, i hope it’s true..it sounds interesting

aiden vernich on Mon, 10th Nov 2008 9:50 pm

in my opinion this story could well be true think of the amytiville horror that was true so that proves that this could happen and the mansion does exist if like the legend says people go in but dont come out then i dont think the police ast that time would be willing to go to the mansion and risk their lives just to report a murder even though a murder is serious and they may have thought that in their hearts that if the story is true then people would come to hear about it through word of mouth that is also why the legend lives on but at the same time if it is true that no one comes out then how did people know to look for the video in the first place

The Ghost Thread - Page 2 - Halloween Forum on Tue, 11th Nov 2008 8:09 pm

[...] Himaru mansion haunting This is an interesting legend about a haunted location outside of Tokyo. The Himuro Mansion Haunting - Paranormala Um.. that is the game called "Fatal Frame" and the images are from the game. Awesome [...]

Electric Children » Blog Archive » Crazy Ghost Stories on Fri, 28th Nov 2008 2:52 am

[...] The Himuro Mansion Haunting and the Origins of Fatal Frame The most popular version of the tale states that bad karma would emerge each December (other versions simply say “toward the end of the year”) from a portal on the Mansions grounds. In order to prevent this, a maiden was chosen at birth by the master of the household and isolated from the outside world in order to prevent her from developing any ties to the outside world, which would in turn, jeopardize the effect of the ritual. [...]

eva & kookie on Wed, 3rd Dec 2008 7:39 pm

lol very creepy

Brett on Sat, 27th Dec 2008 5:52 pm

If the place is really haunted they why havn’t a paranormal group gone there to do an investigation yet? I have seen a picture with a ghost in the halls but that could be anywhere in Japan. Japan has a rich history as well as violant one filled with strange customs and rituals. Before anyone can say a certain location is haunted they’ll need some evidence to back up their claims and any ghost hunting societies should be jumping on a claim as big as everyone is makeing this little story unless it is too farfeched to be real.

tim on Tue, 13th Jan 2009 1:05 am

Brett,
Great question. To my knowledge, no one has actually been successful in finding the actual location of this mansion–the story intrigued me quite a bit, as I (and a small group of others) have been investigating/debunking different ghost stories in Japan. (e.g., the “mysterious chill only felt at night” at the entrance gate of Ueno’s Toshogu Shrine–nothing more than the breeze being funneled along three walls that converges near the entrance.) The “purported image” of the mansion listed above looks more like any of the out-of-the-way shrines that you can find here in Japan. I’ll be updating a list of “haunted sites”/”paranormal sites” in Japan via Google Maps if anyone’s interested: just search for “Haunted Japan”.
Peace,
T

JLA on Tue, 13th Jan 2009 3:43 pm

Im currently stationed in yokota, AB Japan which is about 20 mins in car from the Himuro Mansion, its on the way to THE MALL.. a couple of months ago me and a couple of my friends went to it at night, real creepy, didnt think anything of it.. I didnt know at the time that this was the house they used for the basis for Fatal Frame. Ill probably be going tomorrow or the next day. My friends want to go during the day, because their freaked out about the background story that they read on this site.. I wasnt able to go in,while we were there last time, we didnt hear or see anything, just a creepy atmosphere. Walking up the steps and looking up into the darkness.. We took flash lights up there, it took a couple of mins to walk up the steps, real dark. Couldnt get in because there was a padlock on the door, good thing too, probably would of ended up getting hurt, or worst. But not sure if its haunted. Nothing happened when we went. Wonder if there is anyway to get in the house. If you have any ideas, questions, or information. contact me at my email..

leeno on Sat, 17th Jan 2009 1:55 pm

well i think its scary and cool really!! coz if its reall then count me in i will be happy to go there bt the prob is no body knows the location of this mansion so its a little tricky to go there so if any one knows the location plz tell coZ im really interested with this mansion and its story , i think fatal frame is a beautiful game that really speak about the past of this mansion …. some people pertend that they really went there and some really did and didnt tell so i really don’t know who is tellin the true thing coz they say if u went there u’ll never come back!!! so who knows anything just post it and maybe it’ll help alot!!

AkuRoku on Tue, 20th Jan 2009 1:50 pm

I think that what they say about Himuro mansion might be true. I may not be able to find anything about it anywhere. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not real. If you can’t find information on it that doesn’t come from the game Fatal Frame it must just mean that they don’t want people to know anything bout the rumors. And if that is true then people need to stop looking for it. I’d stop lookin if there is no information on it that you can’t get off of the game Fatal Frame. I believe that Himuro Mansion is real and it really is out there somewhere.

tim on Thu, 22nd Jan 2009 12:18 am

JLA,
If you wouldn’t mind, could you place the location in Google Maps and post the URL here?
Cheers,
T

tim on Thu, 22nd Jan 2009 5:23 am

AkuRoku: A lot of people had thought that the Blair Witch Project was real due to advertising sites on the Internet; I might suggest that this mansion is quite the same thing (that said, there are indeed many places in Japan where strange things had happened–if the Himuro Mansion fails to exist, something with a similar background very well may).
-T

Amri on Tue, 10th Feb 2009 12:06 pm

Actually guys the mansion is real. Locals say that 2 more people went in the mansion and they never came back the next day. They also told me that the location of the mansion is approximately 10km from the city.

gail on Tue, 10th Feb 2009 2:52 pm

the best story on this website, i think this manshion IS real. Ya’ know, they based a video game series on it, Fatal Frame, best game ever, any way if you like this story frame
play fatal

violet on Sun, 22nd Feb 2009 2:35 pm

@ Brett - post a photo or url to one or I call bullshit. I’ve seen other forums where people have said they ‘found’ the mansion, no one ever seems to be able to back it up though, lol.

violet on Sun, 22nd Feb 2009 2:38 pm

sorry, that should have read @ JLA.

i also meant to say, I agree with Brett - if it this mansion really does exist, why has no one been there and why is there still so much ’secrecy’ about its supposed location?

It is a very interesting story though.

Amanda on Mon, 23rd Feb 2009 12:08 pm

All I have to say is if its true that is cool as hell but if not, its still cool to believe it is so that when you play this game in the dark it will give you the creeps!!! But I must say these games are awesome and the first time I played the first game, i played it for at least six hours straight! Yeah for Himuro Mansion!

blog.knowyourmoney.co.uk » Blog Archive The 10 Scariest Video Games Ever (Rated 18) on Wed, 25th Feb 2009 11:56 am

[...] from Japanese horror films, a story from Japanese folklore and the setting from an – ahem – “actual haunted house”, the first of the Project Zero/Fatal Frame series combined effective grainy visuals with a grisly [...]

LRAC on Wed, 25th Feb 2009 8:31 pm

If you stand at the shinto gate on the 31st of december at 11:59pm and walkthrough it exactly at 12:00 midnight go to the entrance, make sure you bring at least 5 mates with you i can’t really explain why? but if you really want to find out abit more of the myth you’ll do it.

P.S make sure you take a mobile phones with you, just in case

Rachel on Mon, 16th Mar 2009 10:21 pm

I do and dont believe the story I would like to find the mansion myself and go with a camcorder do my own investigation the paranormal has always fascinated me and if I could solve the case of the Himuro mansion if even that meant proving it to be a myth would be my lifes dream

The Truth Behind Fatal Frame « Nyoro2kun’s Blog on Thu, 19th Mar 2009 8:33 am

[...] http://paranormala.com/himuro-mansion-haunting/ [...]

Ino on Sun, 22nd Mar 2009 7:12 pm

Well if they have pics of inside the mansion didnt they have to go inside? and i thought that people who went inside were killed by the ghosts, so whoever took the pictures must know something anyone know who took them?

BlueNami on Sun, 29th Mar 2009 7:51 pm

Wow, that’s pretty eerie. I saw on the game it said “Based on a true story.” That scared me pretty bad! When my friend told me “The game developers just put that there to scare you even more.” I had to investigate a bit, and found this. So, it’s based off an urban legend they believe to be real? It makes sence. But I still can’t help but wonder.. is the place really haunted? I’m a chicken when it comes to horror, so I’ll skip out on getting anywhere near there. I’ll just have to stay curious for my own sake. Lol

Ely on Wed, 1st Apr 2009 5:42 am

I’ll be in Tokyo in May with my husband. I’ve got a couple of hints as to where this place is, and so i’ll go hunting for it. If i find it, i’ll post a link to pics of us at the place and give directions etc.

I’m reasonably intrigued at this point, and my husband has got a list of “haunted tokyo” places for us to go in the 4 days we are there!

Cheers and Happy Hunting,

whitenoises on Thu, 2nd Apr 2009 11:13 am

I would love for this place to be really haunted, but it does seem wherever ‘real’ ghosts’ want to play, so to do tour groups. These locations are lit up, transformed and turned into a sick kind of tourist trap. Regardless of whether or not those events actually occurred or if the place is really haunted, its a grave and a sacred place. SHOW RESPECT and dont go breaking into places.

cheyenne on Tue, 21st Apr 2009 6:01 pm