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The Ghost In My Machine

Stories of the Strange and Unusual

Encyclopaedia of the Impossible: Kashima Reiko, the Mask Death Demon

November 5, 2014 by Lucia

Previously: The Mojave Phone Booth.

Type: CC (corporeally challenged)

Period/location of origin: Unknown, Hokkaido, Japan. Details of subject’s history suggest modern origins, re: presence of trains.

Appearance: Subject, called Kashima Reiko, or the Mask Death Demon, has the appearance of a young Japanese woman. Her most notable quality is her lack of legs; her body ends mid-torso. It is not, it should be noted, a pretty sight.

An abandoned public restroom

Modus operandi: Subject typically appears in public restrooms, although her presence has occasionally been noted in the washrooms of private residences. Upon appearing, subject will ask target a series of questions in a particular order. These questions are:

  • “Where are my legs?”
  • “Who told you that?”
  • “Do you know my name?”

Failure to answer correctly will result in subject forcibly removing target’s legs from his or her body.

[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]

Containment: Answering subject’s questions correctly is the only known method with which a target may survive an encounter.

  • If subject asks, “Where are my legs?”: The correct response is, “On the Meishin Expressway.”
  • If subject asks, “Who told you that?”: The correct response is, “Kashima Reiko told me that.”
  • If subject asks, “Do you know my name?”: The correct response is, “Mask Death Demon.” This response may be arrived at through careful analysis of subject’s human name: “Ka” comes from the word “kamen,” or mask; “shi” comes from “shinin,” or dead person; and “ma” stands for demon. Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, reply “Kashima.”

Additional notes: Subject bears the name of the human she once was: Kashima Reiko, a woman viciously attacked in a public restroom by a group of men and left to die. Although subject sustained fatal injuries, she did not suffer immediate death; her expiration spanned an extensive period of time, during which she search and called out repeatedly for help (which did not, unfortunately, arrive). Subject eventually passed out from loss of blood atop a railway track running alongside the Meishin Expressway. Subject did not revive before a train traversed the track, severing her body at the waist and finally killing her. Following her traumatic death, subject became an onryo, a vengeful spirit in search of both her legs and revenge.

The perpetrators were never caught.

Subject should not be confused with teketeke, another CC taking the form of a young Japanese woman with no legs, or Hanako-san, who also appears in public restrooms.

Recommendation: Subject will appear to potential targets within the 30-day period following target’s initial awareness of subject’s existence.

I’m sorry.

I’m so sorry.

Resources:

Just Another Reason Public Bathrooms Are Terrifying.

Kashima Reiko.

Ghost Stories from Japan: Kashima Reiko.

***

Support The Ghost In My Machine on Patreon for behind-the-scenes access and bonus content. You can also follow on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine.

[Photo via]

Filed Under: Encyclopaedia Tagged With: CC, Encyclopaedia of the Impossible, folklore, ghosts, Japan, Japanese ghosts, Kashima Reiko, public restrooms

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. staysafe says

    April 23, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    It’s really just a literary device used to keep you from forgetting the story, it appears in many urban legends and appears to be pretty effective. People will be going about their daily lives but maybe be bit more cautious around out-of-sight, out-of-mind public areas where they may be exposed to a more immediate danger in the form of human predators.

    Reply
    • Dev^ says

      July 27, 2020 at 8:16 am

      So she only appears in public restrooms? Not inside your house’s restroom?

      Reply
  2. I have spirit friends says

    February 25, 2020 at 4:31 pm

    Okay thanks for having this demon come after me. Now I’m scared of bathrooms and this is day 2 right now for me. (Btw I think the encyclopedia and the games are very cool)

    Reply
    • 丸 たこ焼き says

      June 9, 2020 at 9:56 pm

      Are you alright ww⊂((・x・))⊃

      Reply
  3. 😎 says

    December 24, 2019 at 2:18 pm

    hehe 2 years stronk. I remember reading this story and a couple others on here and the same day one of the lights in my bathroom gave out and I was ssoooo scared

    Reply
  4. Narrator says

    July 11, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    Just so everyone knows, I heard this story in another form about two years ago without the warning and absolutely nothing happened.
    Honestly I think if you stumble on a story that does the whole “now that you’ve heard the story you’re next” trick the best thing to do is look for a different telling of the story and see if that version has the same warning. If it does, then definitely be careful. If not… I don’t know. Probably not going to be a problem

    Reply
  5. nick says

    May 26, 2019 at 5:14 am

    is it gonna come to india?

    Reply
  6. nick says

    May 26, 2019 at 5:05 am

    how could you do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
    • nick says

      May 26, 2019 at 5:08 am

      what am i gonna do?

      Reply
  7. Dar says

    December 31, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    Consider myself terrified, hope this isn’t a super common thing to happen to people.

    Reply
    • Hannah says

      March 30, 2019 at 8:54 pm

      This is really gonna help me if I ever see her
      At first, I couldn’t memorize what to say.

      Reply
      • nick says

        May 26, 2019 at 5:16 am

        me too. I am not gonna leave my house for 2 to 3 months.

        Reply
  8. butter says

    September 6, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    How could you mess up your readers like this? Not cool.

    Reply
  9. feanor no says

    August 11, 2018 at 11:53 pm

    Wow okay thanks for making me even more paranoid than I am at 11:53pm while alone in the house.

    Reply
    • Lavender says

      May 4, 2019 at 11:41 pm

      Lucia, you should really warn people when it comes to these types of legends. I nearly fainted on the recommendation, I’m scared.

      Reply
  10. NUTROLLER says

    September 30, 2017 at 8:43 am

    Well, it’s comin’ to INDIA then.

    Reply
    • Meteor Girl says

      October 29, 2017 at 2:30 am

      And hope she doesn’t get to the Philippines. I live in the Philippines, you know. Thanks Lucia, for boosting the “nightmare fuel”.

      Reply
      • Emman says

        December 16, 2017 at 3:36 am

        Oh god no.
        I remember being scared by Carmen Winstead when I was a kid because I thought it was true. Now I am feeling it again, the terror flowing to my veins.
        I hope I won’t get to memorize this answers.

        I also live in the Philippines, and I remember when the Lucia Joaquin story went viral, I was reading it early in the morning xD

        Reply
        • Naida Laing (aka Meteor Girl) says

          January 30, 2018 at 8:25 pm

          What is the story? I used to know but forgot it, hehe.

          Reply
        • The ghost With No Name says

          January 18, 2019 at 1:01 am

          BTW, Carmen Winstead is up here now. I’ve also received Lucia Joaquin stuff. I feel you.

          Reply
  11. Mascetti says

    July 9, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    Go fudge yourself (but with love) <3 🙂

    Reply
  12. Slander Moon says

    May 21, 2017 at 11:03 am

    can you like look up the answers if she asks you? or do you just have to go with what you know

    Reply
    • Urband legend master says

      April 6, 2019 at 11:13 am

      You can’t look up. she will kill you immediately. so you gotta remember.

      Reply
  13. YetiMonster 1473 says

    January 26, 2017 at 1:57 pm

    I’m very scared right now. I just read this today, and I can’t speak Japanese, nor want to see her. If this “Mask Death Demon” is real, is it only in Japan? D;

    Reply
    • Urband legend master says

      April 6, 2019 at 11:12 am

      She can also reply in English it’s real and its unknown if it’s in Japan but it may also be in China

      Reply
  14. clowns461 says

    January 19, 2017 at 12:23 pm

    do you have a time limit to answer the questions once you meet her?

    Reply
    • Urband legend master says

      April 6, 2019 at 11:09 am

      No you don’t, but if it takes you 2 hours, then she might just kill you.

      Reply
  15. AM6414 says

    December 5, 2016 at 6:50 pm

    You’re all still alive right? ?

    Reply
    • Rainydaysky says

      December 31, 2016 at 3:51 pm

      Yes, don’t worry, we’re all alive. I read this article about 4 months ago, and I’ve yet to encounter a demon in an empty public washroom. 😛

      Reply
      • ⓈⒶⓀⓊⓇⒶ-ⓁⒺⒺ says

        March 26, 2019 at 5:08 pm

        Then again guys this is just a legend but no need to scare anyone but…

        My friend was playing outside and she told me she heard words and saw an 8-foot tall woman with black hair… and they were “Po..po..po” I thought she saw Hachishakusama, so I told her what to do and she is alive. Some of these legends could be…true

        Reply
    • Sailorstar says

      January 4, 2017 at 11:31 am

      Still alive. Learned not to read spooky stories when lacking enough sleep lol

      Reply
  16. Candy says

    November 2, 2016 at 12:27 am

    You should really warn people BEFORE HAND that if they read this post then they will summon a ghost. Even if its not true you could really fuck someone up. Not cool man, not cool.

    Reply
    • clowns461 says

      January 19, 2017 at 12:30 pm

      Yo CANDY, if people are on this website they should be prepared for this or at least a good scare.

      Reply
      • NUTROLLER says

        September 30, 2017 at 8:49 am

        This is me, read this post about 5 minutes ago. Still alive hurray!
        NOT.

        Reply
  17. Emira Hariyanto says

    September 25, 2016 at 12:40 am

    is she gonna book a flight to indonesia? from japan to indonesia is 2,988 miles.

    Reply
  18. Laborharold says

    September 17, 2016 at 12:23 am

    Guys, it’s basically a surprise quiz.

    Reply
  19. greenbuglady says

    September 3, 2016 at 4:21 am

    Hey put that end bit at the start you jerk. I don’t need that paranoia garbage right now

    Reply
  20. Eli says

    March 11, 2016 at 4:37 pm

    Just avoid public bathrooms within 2 months and you will be fine after that

    Reply
  21. Factotum says

    January 15, 2016 at 4:02 am

    …shame on that last two lines.

    Reply
  22. Fanny says

    September 27, 2015 at 2:51 am

    Um I’ve heard of Kashima Reiko on another website and it’s been two years since I read about the story. It’s probably not true. But if she really does appear, is she going to ask the questions in Japanese or English? And if she does ask in Japanese, what should you do if you don’t understand?

    Reply
    • Urband legend master says

      April 6, 2019 at 11:06 am

      She replies in both but if she replies in Japanese then you just reply to what the site said.

      Reply
  23. sailorstar says

    July 16, 2015 at 9:30 am

    This isn’t true, is it? I’ve got the answers on a post it just in case, but this is super scary

    Reply
  24. Katrinasis says

    June 24, 2015 at 4:20 pm

    Oh come on. That wasn’t cool. Guess I’ll have to remember the answers now.

    Reply
  25. Alyssa says

    May 31, 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Why?

    Reply
    • ⓈⒶⓀⓊⓇⒶ-ⓁⒺⒺ says

      March 26, 2019 at 5:05 pm

      Then why’d you tell us this?

      If you know it’s going to happen, why?

      I’ll have to remember this by memory now -_-

      Reply
    • ⓈⒶⓀⓊⓇⒶ-ⓁⒺⒺ says

      March 28, 2019 at 3:44 pm

      Wait just a sec
      What if you pronounce it WRONG??
      Will she kill you?

      Reply

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