I-Ching : The famous oracle of China that predicts the future and guides the user has an additional occult power as an agent of exorcism. Willoughby-Meade paraphrases a tale from Chinese lore wherein the adept Wu was defended himself from psychic attack with the I-Ching. He had insulted a powerful magician, Chang Ch’I Shen who attacked him in the form of a warrior armed with a spear. Wu knocked him down with the book, turning the warrior into a paper doll. He slipped it into the book. Then the magicians sons attacked him with the same result. The magician’s wife appeared before Wu, begging for her family back. He returned the younger son but kept the magician and elder son trapped in the book, satisfied that he had rid the world of two malicious forces.
Ibun : Japanese strange report or weird tale.
Īda, Jouji : Japanese author (a.k.a. George Ida). He is best known for writing the story of the Night Head television series which he also directed. Clamp Studios turned the story into a manga series. Īda also directed the movie version of the story. It revolves around two brothers, locked a high tech facility where scientists are studying their psychic abilities. They escape and have a series of high action adventures.
Igyō
: Japanese for monstrous,
grotesque, fantastic.
Incantations : Incantations play an important role in Asian supernatural, not only to invoke spirits but to heal the sick and do other works through mental concentration of the qi force.
Ihara, Saikaku : Classical Japanese writer. His Saikaku meido monogatari (1697) is known for its supernatural elements.
Iino, Fumihiko : Contemporary Japanese novelist. He is mentioned here for his story collection, Jikan Kaidan (lit.: Ghost Story Time). He is a member of the SFWJ.
Ijime, Risotto Japanese novelist, nominee for Kadokawa award for Fushimi.
Ikiryō : literally a living ghost, a projection of a living person’s extreme emotional energy, comparable to wraith in Western lore. Visible only to the person haunted, it usually gets life from disappointed love or violent hatred. It is the latter case in Hearn’s Kottō tale, “Ikiryō,” where the young hero is drained of energy by an ikiryō from the wife of his boss. She sees him as a rival who might take the family business away from her son. Fortunately, she is persuaded to give up her hatred and the boy recovers his health.
Ikuta Atsumori : A Noh play by Zembou Motoyasu (1453-1532). The hero, Atsumori, dies in battle and descends into the Underworld. He is compelled to relive his worldly battles until his desires extinguish and he can rest in peace. The play contains ghostly imagery and a terrifying messenger from Yama, King of Hell.
Im Bang : Korean writer scholar (1640-1722). One of Korean’s foremost writers who preserved many folktales and legends, some with horrific or supernatural elements.
Ima, Ichiko : Japanese horror manga creator. She is noted for her ghostly comic series, Hyakkiyakosho (literally: Selected Pandemonium, Asahi Sonarama Bunko) which has 8 volumes so far.
Imamura, Aya : Japanese mystery writer (b. 1959). She has written story collections for Kadokawa Horror Bunko some of which may construed as horror, such as “Apparition of a Dead Person.”
Imp : A small device. In old English, imp meant a small offshoot or cutting, so the creature called imp was a miniature device. The imp has a Chinese equivalent in the Liaozhai tale, “The Magic Sword.” The imp appears to be an “imp of darkness,” with a glaring face and blood on his mouth. In Japan, kappa are occasionally referred to as water imps.
Impurity : One of the hallmarks of modern horror is impurity. Man and nature alike have disgust for the impure, the tainted, the half-breed. Most horror monster fall into this category. In horror culture, the creature is either too horrible to be tolerated or it contains the dormant embryo of its own redemption.
The vampire is the prime example, dead body animated by a evil spirit that thirsts for blood. The vampire may look like the living person, but inside, he is degenerate, clean and controlled by base instincts. But like Vampire Hunter D, a vampire can be become a vampire hunter, or a demon, Devilman, can become a demon-slayer. Such a being invokes the hatred and distrust of the common people and animals, because he is unclean. He constantly fights his own malicious influences that other people hate not because its in him but because they see it in themselves.
People project their inner evil nature onto an external horror creature. They believe they destroy the inside them by placing it outside, giving it a name and hunting it down. The angry mob that made the Frankenstein creature literally retreat to the end of the Earth thought they were ridding the town of evil.
Western horror concentrates evil in its creatures. The Frankenstein creation was so impure and unlovable, its creator rejected it. In contrast, in the Japanese anime short, “Franken’s Gears,” the table is turned, the creature rejects the open arms of the enamored creator. Dracula is associated with Satan and is evil beyond possibility of redemption. The mummy is ruthless. The living dead are relentless. The wolfman can only be purified with a silver bullet, a fatal bullet. The story ends with the creature dead and the world is clean and safe once more.
The Asian tradition is not so black and white. Demons have their virtues and may even befriend mortal men, exchanging favors and rescuing their earthly counterparts. The impure are not dark splotches on the human race, a cancer to be removed, but they more essentially human than the rest. The inner conflict is the conflict of everyday man, and instead of ridding the world by driving it to Ultima Thule, the evil must be integrated into the personality, controlled and sublimated. Without this strength Fudo Akira or Devilman could not kill demons and Vampire Hunter D could not destroy vampires.
In and yō : Japanese female and male principles akin to Chinese yin and yang.
Incense : Incense used in Asia like smelling salts is credited with bringing back a person’s soul.
Ind : Locale noted in Japanese demonology where Hazoku paid homage to a demon.
India : India still boasts the world’s largest film industry and it produces its share of horror movies. According to horror film expert, Pete Tombs, Indian horror films can include singing and dancing!
India has been a horror venue in Western literature since Melmoth the Wanderer. Lee Siegel’s novel, the City of Dreadful Night, takes places in both medieval and modern modern with a plethora of vampires, demons, demigods and sorcery.
Penguin books recently issued The Penguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories, by Ruskin Bond, a British native of India. Though a children’s book, it represents a small breakthrough in Hindu ghostly lore, largely unknown in the West.
Indian folklore is an extremely rich source for horror culture. See also Churel, Chordewa, Jigarkhwa, Pisacha, Vetala, Yakku.
Indonesia : Home of a burgeoning horror mythology. Indonesia regularly produces horror films such as Mystics in Bali, Hungry Snake Woman, and Virgins from Hell. These are usually set in dense jungles and traditional villages, with crude special effects and a special affection for strange creatures and gore. The films also utilize Indonesian folklore and myths, especially director H. Tjut Jalil. See also Kuntilanak, Leak, Pocong, Tuyul.
Inoue, Enryou : Japanese occult researcher (1858-1920). Prominent in the Meiji era, he was author of the six volume study Yokaigaku (The Study of Ghosts). Known as the “Ghost Doctor,” he studied ghosts through the application of Buddhist philosophy and science to spirit phenomena. One of the founders of Toyo University in Kyoto, he also started the Research Society for Supernatural Phenomena at Tokyo Imperial University in 1888.
Inoue, Masahiko : Contemporary Japanese horror anthologist (b. 1960). A native of the Shinjuku District of Tokyo, television horror influenced Inoue’s young mind with such shows as Outer Limits, Shock, Alfred Hitchcock Theatre and Mystery Zone.
He is the editor of Love Freak, Shinryaku, and Akuma no Hatsumei. Freak Show Boat (Kadokawa). Cthulhu mythos tales: Sailing under the Bewitching Moon , Nakoto’s Private Room, Hydra’s Funeral Bell.
In his collection of short stories, 1001 Seconds of Horror Film, each story pays tribute to a fantastic movie, and he shares some of his deep knowledge of films in the footnotes.
Inoue, Yumehito :
Japanese novelist. Author of Medusa - Look in the Mirror, which
borrows the Medusa legend from Greek mythology. The hero’s fiancee’s father turns into a stone statue. The hero reads the father’s novel which
seems to be precognitive or turning into reality. The hero begins to doubt his own sanity as the bizarre events and
deaths in the novel come true. It’s a
mixture of science fiction, alternative worlds and supernatural horror.
Insects : Common agents of terror in Japanese media.
Inuki, Kanako. Japanese horror manga creator. She has been called “The Queen of Horror” for her frightening works richly drawing from diverse folkloric sources. She is most intense when writing about horror from the viewpoint of children. Her works include Bukita Kun, the sad story of a zombie youngster in search of love and acceptance. Another is School Zone, yet another haunted school setting but her distinctive style of art and storytelling set it apart from the rest.
Invisibility : Invisibility is a theme in the story “The Magical Arts” recorded in the Liaozhai.
Inyoshi : A Japanese master or professor of the science of in-yo (Chinese yin-yang) based on the ancient Chinese nature philosophy of the male and female principles pervading the universe.
Ito Junji : Japanese horror manga creator. Junji created a manga series called Tomie about a beautiful girl who rejuvenates herself from bits of gore and blood. She incites men to violence to provide herself with a constant supply. This unusual series achieved a cult following in Japan. ComicsOne recently published an English translation of this c;lassic work. He also created the controversial Uzumaki (The Vortex) about a curse that ruins a large city.
Ittan momen : Supernatural creature from Japanese mythology who looks like a white cotton cloth. It suffocates its victims by wrapping it around the their faces. Strangely, one of the Japanese kanji (Chinese characters) for fear depicts a heart wrapped in a cloth.
Izutsu : A Noh play about love after death and ghostly phenomena. The traditional tale says that Arithara no Narihara and Lady Izutsu were childhood lovers. They were separated for years while Narihara sowed his wild oats but Lady Izutsu patiently waited for him. In Noh play, the story continues after with the ghost of Lady Izutsu still in love with the deceased Narihara. A priest sees her visiting his tomb, which is a Noh playwright’s way of depicting eternal love. Source: Weird Tales of Japan.
Ishii, Hisaichi : Japanese manga creator. He is noted for the Cthulhu mythos tale, “Gangu shuuriya” (“Toy Repair Shop”, 1998) which appeared in Comical Mystery Tour 3.
Ishigawa, Kōsai : Japanese writer of the Meiji era. Noted for the suitably titled Night Window Devil Stories (1889).
Itahashi, Shūhō : Japanese manga creator. He made Cthulhu mythos comic story “Chi no Soko Fukaku” (“The Earth’s Deep Abyss”, 1995) based on Robert Barbour Johnson’s Weird Tales classic “Far Below.” A textbook over-reacher plot, the protagonists dig too deep into the Earth and discover the unsavory unknown creatures that gibber beneath our feet.
Itsuki, Takashi : Japanese manga creator. He made the comic Yoso no Himitsu (Secret of the Worm, 1995) based on a Cthulhu mythos story by Robert Bloch.
Iwaaki, Hitoshi : Japanese manga artist (b. 1959). He is known for his popular work Kiseijū (Parasyte). A science fiction body horror story, the parasite of the title envades the hero’s hand. Through their symbiotic relationship, the parasite feels sympathy for his host and helps him fight the rest of the invading parasites.
Izumi, Makoto : Japanese horror novelist. She wrote a two-volume book series based on the Cthulhu mythos called the Jashin Hunta (Evil God Hunters, Seishinsha). Illustrated by Shirow Masamune, it is the story of martial arts expert Sarah Nanamori’s fight against the Esoteric Order of Dagon. The EOD’s mission is no less than reviving the monster Cthulhu and destroying humanity. Nanamori must also save her best friend, Manami Ayase who was kidnapped by the EOD.
