The Japanese Legends That Inspired The Grudge

Summary

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Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong

Episode: The Japanese Legends That Inspired The Grudge

December 29, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Heidi Wong delves into the dark origins of Ju-on (The Grudge), tracing the chilling reality behind one of Japan’s most iconic horror stories. She unpacks the folklore and historic legends that inspired the relentless curses and vengeful ghosts of Ju-on and its American adaptation. Heidi explores the emotional and societal roots of three infamous Japanese ghost tales—Okiku, Oiwa, and Otsuyu—revealing how real-life rage and betrayal can echo from the grave.

"Reality is the real horror." — Episode tagline

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Darkness at the Heart of Ju-on (03:21–08:50)

• Origin of the Curse:

  • The episode opens with the concept of “Ju-on,” which translates as “resentment curse” or “grudge curse.”
  • Heidi describes the legend: when someone dies consumed by hatred, that rage becomes a curse, infecting anyone who enters where it occurred.
  • This idea is directly mirrored in the film’s plot, as the violent murder of Keyako Saeki and her son Toshio at the hands of Takeo births an unstoppable curse.

• Creepy Details from the Film:

  • “It was creepy as hell. Not the kind of horror that makes you jump, the kind that crawls under your skin and stays there.” (01:44)
  • Key scenes from Ju-on include the iconic croaking ghost, faces frozen in terror, and the sense that no one is ever safe from the curse.
  • The American remake (The Grudge) closely follows the formula but adapts the protagonist and setting.

2. Okiku: The Woman in the Well (08:50–09:59)

• Story Summary:

  • Okiku, a loyal maid, is framed for theft by her employer’s bodyguard after spurning his romantic advances.
  • When she refuses to comply, she’s tortured and drowned in a well, her angry spirit haunting the site by counting plates and emitting a chilling scream.

• Cultural Influence:

  • Okiku’s story is an early template for the endlessly vengeful ghost—her tale directly inspires ghost tropes found in Ju-on and The Ring.
  • “A tortured spirit lingering in the place where she died, taking revenge on anyone who gets in her way.” (08:48)

3. Oiwa and the Yotsuya Kaidan: The Hauntings of Betrayal and Vengeance (10:59–16:39)

• The Tale:

  • Based on real events and most famously told in the 1825 Kabuki play, this is the story of Oiwa, a devoted wife betrayed by her cruel, social-climbing husband, Tamiya Iemon.
  • After being disfigured by poison (administered by rivals so Tamiya can remarry for money) and suffering further betrayal, Oiwa accidentally kills herself, cursing her husband as she dies.

• The Revenge:

  • Tamiya, wracked by guilt and haunted by Oiwa’s vengeful, disfigured ghost, is driven insane—her face appears everywhere, culminating in his destruction and the annihilation of his new in-laws.
  • Notable, unforgettable scene: Oiwa attempting to style her hair only to have it fall out in bloody clumps (12:53).

• Signature Moment:

  • “Let the leaves of the Tamiya and Ito family branches wither to exorcise my vengeance." (16:39)
  • The crawling, stringy-haired ghost in Ju-on is believed to be heavily inspired by the imagery of Oiwa’s story.

4. Otsuyu and the Peony Lantern: Love and Loneliness Beyond Death (20:46–29:12)

• The Narrative:

  • During the Obon festival, Ogiwara, mourning his dead wife, meets the mysterious, beautiful Otsuyu, who visits him nightly accompanied by a peony-decorated lantern.
  • Unknown to him, Otsuyu is a ghost. He’s discovered entwined in her skeleton’s arms after giving in to her supernatural temptation.

• Atmospheric Horror:

  • The horror here is subtle—rooted in loneliness and delusion, escalating as neighbors realize Ogiwara is lovingly entangled not with a woman but a corpse.
  • “He saw Ogiwara in the arms of a skeleton… the skeleton opens its jaw and responds with this horrible, haunting voice.” (21:24)

• Inevitable Doom:

  • Even with intervention (a priest’s charm), the power of longing and the supernatural curse is inescapable.
  • Ogiwara's fate matches other Ju-on victims: “Ogiwara had reached for eternal love, but found eternal torment.” (29:00)

5. The Enduring Power of the Grudge

• Thematic Reflection:
  • All three tales demonstrate that rage-fueled curses are inexorable—innocent or guilty, anyone can fall victim.
  • “Ju-on and the three stories that inspired it show how dangerous rage can be, not just for others, but for ourselves. It can trap us in an endless cycle of pain, violence and despair.” (29:04)
  • Each legend ends with the doomed characters’ faces twisted in terror—a mirrored motif between folklore and modern horror cinema.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the nature of the curse:

  "An ancient Japanese legend says when someone dies while consumed by hatred, that rage doesn't die with them. Instead it lingers, dooming anyone unlucky to enter." (00:48)

• Heidi on the film's effect:

  “Six year old me called it the scariest movie she has ever seen in her entire life. To this day, that might still be true… everyone agreed on one thing. It was creepy as hell.” (01:37)

• On Okiku’s ghost:

  “She counts one through nine in a ghastly, spine chilling voice and then screams. And anyone who's unlucky enough to run into her dies a very painful death.” (08:38)

• On Oiwa’s curse:

  “She grabs a sword to fight him off...she falls against the blade, slowly slashing her own throat. With her dying breath, she curses Tamiya and vows vengeance.” (13:56)

• On Ogiwara’s tragic love:

  “He saw Ogiwara in the arms of a skeleton... in his last embrace of Otsuyu, she had dragged Ogiwara into the world of the dead and doomed him to live out his days the same way as her.” (28:26)

• The episode’s closing note:

  “There’s no reason to fear the dark unless you try to hide from it.” (29:09)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:48–03:21 — Introduction to Ju-on, its meaning, and the horror of the curse
• 03:21–08:50 — Breakdown of Ju-on’s film storyline and themes
• 08:50–09:59 — The tale of Okiku, the Woman in the Well
• 10:59–16:39 — The story of Oiwa and the origins of the crawling ghost
• 20:46–29:12 — The legend of Otsuyu and the Peony Lantern
• 29:04–29:12 — Reflection on the danger of cyclical rage and suffering

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Episode Tone & Language

Heidi Wong’s narrative mixes reverence for Japanese folklore with candid, sometimes darkly humorous insights (“Girl was on a mission, she said. I am not stopping.” (23:18)). Her storytelling is vivid and immersive, blending horror analysis with empathy for the tormented characters driving these legends.

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For Listeners

This episode is essential for horror enthusiasts, folklore fans, and anyone curious about how real history and cultural anxieties shape iconic scary stories. Heidi masterfully connects the lore behind Ju-on to contemporary cinema, underscoring how the most haunting curses are born from all-too-real emotions—betrayal, rage, and longing.

Next Episode Teaser: Look out for more terrifying inspirations and hidden truths behind infamous horror stories every Monday.

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Transcript

[Heidi Wong]

Hi Crime House Community. It's Heidi Wong looking for another Crime House Original podcast to add to your rotation. You will love Clues with Morgan Abshur and Kaylan Moore. Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kaylin dig into the world's most notorious crimes, clue by clue. From serial killers to shocking murders. They follow the trail of clues, breaking down the evidence and debating the theories. It's like hanging out with your smart and true crime obsessed friends. Listen to clues on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[Crime House Announcer]

This is crime house.

[Heidi Wong]

It starts with a curse. One you can't break. The kind that doesn't fade with time. The kind that sticks, that spreads, that infects. An ancient Japanese legend says when someone dies while consumed by hatred, that rage doesn't die with them. Instead it lingers, dooming anyone unlucky to enter. Welcome to Twisted, a Crime House Original. I'm Heidi Wong. Every Monday I'll take you deep into the true stories behind horror's biggest legends. From vengeful ghosts to bloody slashers to alien encounters and more, these real life accounts are guaranteed to keep you up at night. But scary stories aren't any fun if you're telling them alone. If you've ever had a haunted moment or a twisted tale of your own, I want to hear about it. Drop it in the comments. The creepier the Better Today we're diving into the folklore origins of the Japanese horror movie Ju on, which was adapted in the US as the Grudge. Ju on came out in 2002 in Japan, and critics didn't quite know what to make of it. Somewhere, some called it brilliant, others called it confusing. Six year old me called it the scariest movie she has ever seen in her entire life. To this day, that might still be true, but I don't know. I was never brave enough to watch it again, so who knows. But everyone agreed on one thing. It was creepy as hell. Not the kind of horror that makes you jump, the kind that crawls under your skin and stays there. And before there was a movie called Ju on, there was the curse itself. That's right, Ju on and all of its remakes are based on the iconic trio of Japanese ghost stories. We actually covered one of these stories in the folklore episode, the story of Okiku, the woman in the well, which the ring was based on. The other two, Oiwa and Otsuyu, round out this trio of terrifying tales. Today we're going to dive into these stories. We'll talk about vengeance, curses, betrayal, and some of the creepiest ghosts you've ever heard of.

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[Heidi Wong]

Ju on translates to resentment curse or grudge curse in Japanese. That's where the grudge comes from. The legend of Juon says that when a person dies carrying a grudge against someone, the place where they died retains the same anger and resentment. This is a curse that doesn't let you go. Anyone who comes into contact with it will either die or carry it with them for the rest of their lives. So if you die in a house, that house will carry your curse and spread to whoever enters. Which is exactly what happens in juon. The movie begins with the backstory of Keyako Seaki, a devoted mother and wife who dedicated her entire life to her husband Takeo and their son Toshio. But Keyako doesn't get that same devotion from her husband. One day, Takeo finds Keyako's diary where she'd written some nice things about one of her son's teachers. When Takeo reads it, he thinks she's been cheating on him. So obviously he murders her in a fit of blind rage, stabbing her repeatedly and crushing her neck. Then he also murders their son Toshio. That's when the curse is born. Keyako's pain, her hatred, her terror, all of it becomes the ju on. And Keyako's ghost gets her revenge by killing Takeo. Now the family's Tokyo home is cursed and and anyone who sets foot inside is. Next enter the Tokunaga family. Wife Kazumi, husband Katsuya, and Sachie, Kazumi's sick elderly mother. They move into this nice new house, completely unaware of the nightmare they've just walked into. One by one, the family falls victim to the curse. While the local welfare officer hadn't heard of Sachie or her family in quite a while, they sent Rika, a local social worker, to check on the old woman. To her horror, Rika walks in to find Sachi. Catatonic. Rika had unknowingly walked right into the ju on. Then she hears it. Noises from another room. Wide eyed and terrified, Rikka rushes in to find what the noise is and sees something crawling down the staircase. Long hair, pale skin, that awful croaking sound. It's Keyako, transformed by the Ju on into something out of a nightmare. It's so terrifying, Rikka faints in terror. But she survives and is able to get away after her boss comes to get her. But the Ju on curse is in full force after what happened to Rika. The Tokyo police go into the house and find Katsuya, Kazumi, and Sachi all dead, with no signs of forced entry, no sign of a struggle, and no clear cause of death. Just their faces frozen in horror. Eventually, Rika returns to the house, determined to defeat the curse once and for all. But inside, she meets not just Keyako, but the source of it all, Takeo, the jealous husband who started the curse. You probably saw this one. Comingrika doesn't survive because in Ju on and with the original curse, nobody does. Once the curse finds you, it never lets go. Juwon's American remake, the Grudge hits a lot of the same notes. It's about an American nursing student in Tokyo named Karen Davis, who plays the same role as Rika. From the original, things play out pretty much the same way, except in the end, Karen burns down the house. Or at least she tries. The movie ends with Keyako's ghost looming over Karen, proving that nobody can escape the curse. So pretty scary, right? But in the centuries old Japanese folklore that these movies are based on, it's arguably even scarier. They're creepy, subtle, even shivers up your spine disturbing. Now, you might remember that we covered the story of Okiku in the folklore episode, Another famous Japanese ghost story, the Woman in the well. This story is also a part of the Ju on tradition, one of the several Japanese folktales that use the creepy trope. Check out our episode on the Ring for more details on this story, but I'll give you a little refresher. Okiku is a maid, and her boss has this bodyguard named Aoyama who's madly in love with her. He tries over and over again to woo her, but she's not interested. However, instead of accepting rejection like a normal person, he decides to frame her and force her to accept his advances. So he hides one of the castle's ten precious heirloom plates and accuses Okiku of stealing it, a crime punishable by death. Aoyama tells Okiku that he'll cover for her if she sleeps with him, but Okiku was still like, nope, I am not sleeping with you. They'll just have to kill me. So unfortunately, they do. Aoyama orders his servants to tie her up, tortures her, and drowns her in the castle well. Okiku dies in a fit of rage, infecting the castle with the Ju on curse. Once she dies, she haunts that well every night. She counts one through nine in a ghastly, spine chilling voice and then screams. And anyone who's unlucky enough to run into her dies a very painful death. So you can see why this story is a part of the inspiration behind the Juwon movies. A tortured spirit lingering in the place where she died, taking revenge on anyone who gets in her way. And the next two stories take that rage to the next level.

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[Heidi Wong]

Our next story is called the Yatsuya Kaiden. It was Originally written in 1825 as a Kabuki play, a form of Japanese theater that focuses on historical events. And this story is apparently based on real people from the 17th century. It starts with a samurai named Tamiya Iemon. He's married to Oiwa, who's a really great wife. But her dad did not like her husband, who was a masterless samurai, which makes him pretty low on the samurai food chain. And not only that, but Tamiya isn't exactly an honorable guy, to put it mildly. He's a liar and a thief. And it's not long before Oi was sick of it. So she decides to leave Tamiya, which he does not react well to. He tries to go after her, but her dad stops him. Yotsuya tells Tamiya it's over. He knows about all the bad things he's done and that he'll turn Tamiya in if he doesn't divorce Oiwa. Well, Tamiya doesn't react well to that either. He draws his sword and kills the dad in a fit of rage, bringing on the Ju on curse. And this is only one of the several anger fueled murders in the story. When Tamiya catches up to Oiwa, he says that he saw a stranger kill her father. And he promises that if she gets back together with him, he'll avenge his murder. She falls for it and agrees to stay with him. And they even have a son together. But to no one's surprise, having a kid doesn't change Tamiya's ways. Before long, he starts getting tired of Oiwa. She gets sick after giving birth and they don't have a lot of money. Plus there's this girl named Oume who who's got her eye on Tamiya. Her family are the rich and influential Ito's. They live in a big mansion in Tamiya's neighborhood. And they really want her to end up with this guy that she likes. And Tamiya, bored with his wife, definitely wouldn't mind ending up with this super pretty, really rich girl who lives just down the street. So the Ito send Oiwa a medicine that secretly contains poison and it horribly disfigures this poor woman's face without her realizing It. And Tamiya, who we already know is pretty shallow, is now even more desperate to get rid of his wife. Not only are they not getting along, but her face is all contorted. But Oiwa, who doesn't know that her face has been mutilated, cannot for the life of her figure out what's up with her husband. He's not attracted to her anymore, and he's being even more of a jerk than usual. And that's putting it mildly. And in his plot to get rid of her, Tamiya asks one of his friends to assault assault Oiwa, so that he can accuse her of having cheated on him and have a justification for divorce. But thankfully, unlike Tamiya, the friend has a conscience and instead brings her a mirror. She sees her deformities and realizes that she's been betrayed by her husband, by their neighbors, and by the doctor who gave her the poisoned medicine. And she's not going to just take this lying down, though. She decides she wants to go next door and confront the Ito's, and she wants to look perfect when she does it. This leads to a famous scene where Oiwa is desperately trying to make herself look presentable. The substance. She's sitting in front of this big mirror, trying to do a cute hairstyle, but every time she brushes her hair, it falls out in bloody clumps. All women have a little bit of a Lisa sue within them. You know what I mean? She's obviously heartbroken. Heartbroken and filled with rage. The friend who gave her the mirror knows it's not a good idea for her to go and confront the Ito's in that state. So he tries to hold her back. But Oiwa, who has been wronged and betrayed at every turn, thinks he might also be in on it. She grabs a sword to fight him off, but she's weak, partially blind from the poison, and dizzy. And she falls against the blade, slowly slashing her own throat with her dying breath. She curses Tamiya and vows vengeance. There's the Juan now. As we know, Tamia isn't the kind of guy to have a normal reaction to something like this. When a servant finds his wife's body and tells Tamiya what happened, he's happy about it, and he doesn't exactly hide it. Tamiya realizes the servant is getting suspicious, so naturally, he kills him. And with his servant and his wife dead, he nails both of their bodies to opposite sides of a door and throws them into a river. And with his wife dead, Tamiya is finally free to marry Oume. Itou. They're all ready for the ceremonyoume in a beautiful veil. Tamiya, free from any obligation to his late wife. The wealthy Ito's bankrolling the whole affair. But Oiwa's ghost, hell bent on revenge, has other plans from beyond their watery grave. She and that servant guy are not going to let Tamiya get away with this. On his wedding night, Tamiya stands before his bride and prepares to lift her veil for a kiss. But when he lifts the veil, he doesn't see Oume. He sees Oiwa's horribly disfigured face staring back at him. Terrified, he pulls out his sword and slashes at her. But to his horror, he's killed Oume, his bride, and not his dead wife. And Oiwa's grudge curse doesn't end there. She, along with the servant that he killed in a fit of rage, continue to haunt Tamiya. He sees her disfigured face everywhere. In the lantern lights, in the shadows, even on his flight.

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[Heidi Wong]

She creative as she should. Day after day, Tamiya is reminded of what he did. And all of this, probably including his guilt, made him super paranoid. And he ends up killing the entire Ito family. He feels like he's going crazy. One night, Tamiya tries to calm himself down by fishing at a lake called Dead Man's Ditch, which is the same lake where he had gotten rid of the bodies of his wife and servant. While he's fishing, a door begins drifting towards him. Yeah, that door. The door with the servant and Oiwa's body nailed to it. He watches, terrified, as the corpses approach him in the murky water. The door washes up right next to him. And then Oiwa's corpse raises an arm and speaks. What exactly she says varies in different versions of the story, but it's something along the lines of let the leaves of the Tamiya and Ito family branches wither to exorcise my vengeance. Which I have to say, is pretty badass. Fun fact. The infamous pale faced, stringy haired woman that comes crawling down the stairs in the Ju on film and the Grudge. Some people theorize that the trope comes from the story of Oi WA. It makes sense. The ghost in the Grudge movies is depicted as being all slimy and wet. That comes from the river and she's disfigured. That's the poison. So Tamiya is sitting there by the river, getting yelled at by the ghost of his dead wife. Then, as if he's not already horrified, the door flips on his side. And the servant's corpse croaks to life and starts yelling at him too. Tamia knows for sure that he's cursed, and he's absolutely wracked by guilt. On the verge of going insane, Tamiya takes his parents and and goes into hiding. At a nearby village on Snake Mountain. The villagers pray for Tamiya and his family, but it's no use. Of course he plays victim. This guy. This guy is cursed beyond help. In a final act of revenge, Oiwa's ghost murders both of Tamiya's parents and his travel companion. At this point, Tamiya feels like he's gone totally crazy. His dead wife's curse of vengeance has wiped out his family, his friends, friends and his sanity, giving her her final revenge. Just like in the movies, the ju on curse follows Tamiya wherever he goes, no matter what he tries. There's no escaping it. And in our next story, you'll learn that the curse can come after anyone, even if they don't deserve it.

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[Heidi Wong]

Just like the story of Oiwa and Tamiya, the story of Otsuyu and the peony lantern is ancient and has a lot of variations. But all of them are just as unsettling, just as quietly disturbing. And all of them will haunt you long after you hear them. The story begins during Oben, an annual Buddhist festival where ancestor spirits return to earth to visit their relatives. We met a man named Ogiwara and Shinjo. In some versions he's a samurai, in other versions, he's a student. But in every version, poor Ogiwara's wife has recently died. Ogiwara lives alone in his little house in the countryside. And it gets pretty lonely. So lonely, in fact, that his neighbors can feel the loneliness radiating from his house. Every night, Ogiwara sits out on his porch and watches the world go by, yearning for someone to hold him again. It's so sad. This poor man just wanted some company. But then, on the first night of the three day Oban festival, Ogiwara sees a breathtaking woman walking down the street with her servant. The two women have long, silky black hair, eyes that stop you in your tracks. And they're carrying these gorgeous lanterns with little peony flowers printed on them. Ogiwara is totally smitten and goes up to this woman to introduce himself. She tells him her name is Otsuyu. They chat for a bit, and eventually Ogiwara invites Otsuyu to his house. Can you blame him? Finally, someone is talking to him, and she happens to be really pretty. So of course we'll do whatever the hell she says. That night they sleep together. It's a kind of one night stand. Otsuyu leaves as the sun rises, but Ogiwara is ecstatic when Otsuyu actually comes back the next night, along with her servant, carrying that same peony lantern. They sleep together again, and she leaves in the morning. Every night Otsuyu comes back. That is sketchy as hail. She is a vampire or something. Soon enough, Ogiwara is completely in love with her. She returns night after night for almost a month. Ogiwara stops leaving the house, stops taking care of himself, stops sleeping, and falls head over heels for this woman. Now Ogiwara is totally fine with this arrangement. He doesn't really care that the rest of his life had fallen by the wayside. He really just wants to see Otsuyu in that beautiful lantern she always carries. But Ogiwara's neighbors are getting kind of concerned. His wife died, he started seeing this new girl, and suddenly he's a recluse. They wanted to make sure he was okay. One neighbor in particular was a wise, elderly man. Every night he would hear Ogiwara and Otsuyu next door laughing and singing. But he also saw how Ogiwara had stopped taking care of himself and stopped leaving the house. So one evening, when he's hearing the usual laughter and singing, the old man takes a peek through a hole in the wall of Ogiwara's house. But he doesn't see a beautiful woman. He sees Ogiwara in the arms of a skeleton. He watches as Ogiwara talks to the skeleton as though nothing is wrong. And the skeleton opens its jaw and responds with this horrible, haunting voice. The man is appalled, but understandably. The very next morning, he marches over to Ogiwara's house and gives a firm knock on the door. He needs to find out what is going on with his poor neighbor in that spine chilling scene he witnessed the night before. When Ogiwara lets him in, the old man explains that it's not a beautiful woman that he has fallen in love with. It's a ghost. He's like, I know you're lonely, but this lady is literally dead. He says Ogiwara needs to go to the temple in consent insult a priest immediately. Ogiwara is pretty spooked. He had no idea that this lady was dead, of course. But now he's really freaking out. He heads over to the temple and walks up to the gate. To his horror, he finds a grave with an old raggedy peony lantern hung on it. O Tsuyu's grave. His neighbor was totally right. Terrified, he begs the priest to guide him. He'd fallen in love with a ghost and he has no idea what to do. The priest tells Ogiwara that this is really serious. He's in danger. And the more he sees Osuyu, the deeper in love he falls, the worse the danger becomes. The priest tells Ogiwara that he was on the verge of being taken into the world of the dead. And if Otsuyu was successful in bringing Ogiwara into that world, he would be cursed to become just like her. So the priest gives Ogiwara a magical charm and instructs him to put it on his house. The charm, he explains, will prevent the dead from crossing into the world of the living, so it will repel Otsuyu. So Ogiwara races back home and hangs the little charm on his door. And it works. That first night comes and goes, and Otsuyu doesn't come in. And the second night, and the third, Several days pass without Osuyu coming into Ogiwara's house. But she and her servant do return every night to cry at his door, reminding him of how much they miss him, begging him to let them in. Girl was on a mission, she said. I am not stopping. This is like torture for Ogiwara. He really missed outsuyu. Hearing her cries outside of his door every night was unbearable. And he wanted nothing more than to let her back inside, to curl up in her arms. Other people see seemed to see her as a haunted apparition, a horrifying skeleton. But Ogiwara still remembered her as the beautiful bachelorette with an intricate peony lantern. One night, days after he last let her inside, he starts drinking. Now there are a couple versions of the ending of the story. In one version, Ogiwara decides in his drunken stupor to walk back to the temple to visit Otsuyu's grave. To his delight, Otsuyu is there at the temple gates waiting for him. He happily followed her as she guided him back to her gravesite and then to her coffin. In another version, he finally gives in and removes the charm on his door, letting Otsuyu and her servant inside. But in both versions, that night is the last time anyone hears from Ogiwara. After several days go by without so much as a peep from him, the priest starts to get worried. Maybe the charm had worked and Ogiwara didn't need his advice anymore. Maybe something more sinister had happened. Ogiwara's neighbors are getting worried too. They go to his house and he's nowhere to be found. They rush to the priest and explain that Ogiwara wasn't at home, and that he was usually always at home. The priest had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly where to look. He guided Ogiwara's neighbors to the graveyard, where they walked up to the tomb of of Otsuyu and her maid. The priest pried open Otsuyu's grave, and he saw Ogiwara's corpse wrapped in the bony arms of Otsuyu's skeleton. In a moment of weakness, perhaps in a moment of drunkenness, Ogiwara had given in. In his last embrace of Otsuyu, she had dragged Ogiwara into the world of the dead and doomed him to live out his days the same way as her. Ogiwara had reached for eternal love, but found eternal torment laying there in his dead lover's coffin. Ogiwara's face was fixed in an expression of pure terror, just like the faces of Katsuya, Kazumi and Sachie laying dead in their cursed home in Tokyo. And also, just like them, Ogiwara was touched by something evil from beyond the grave, something that wouldn't let him go. Juwon and the three stories that inspired inspired it show how dangerous rage can be, not just for others, but for ourselves. It can trap us in an endless cycle of pain, violence and despair. And by the time we realize it, there's no escaping it. Thanks so much for joining me on this episode of Twisted A Crime House Original. I'd love to hear from you. What did you think about today's stories? Anything you're dying for me to COVID Leave a comment or review wherever you're tuning in, and make sure to follow Twisted Tales so we can keep building this community together. I'll be back next week with another unbelievable true story. Until then, stay curious and remember, there's no reason to fear the dark unless you try to hide from it.

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