I discovered Lafcadio Hearn some years ago while I was a student of the Japanese language, and he has since quickly become one of my favourite authors. Despite still being well-known in Japan and his works considered classics in their own right, Hearn has unfortunately become somewhat obscure in the West. But his work is nothing less than magnificent. 

Lafcadio Hearn wrote his Japanese Ghost Stories from behind the paper-screens of a rapidly Westernising country, recording the lives and stories of an old Japan that was fading amongst the push for modernisation. Hearn approached this with an openness and empathy that few other Western writers can compare. And with the help of his wife Setsuko Koizumi, we are left with a collection of peculiar stories inviting us into a bygone world both supernatural and vividly real. 

Japanese Ghost Stories features a selection of extraordinary tales, most of which I found to be curious, sometimes frightening, but also bewitching and hauntingly beautiful. There is this incredible poetry in the way Hearn writes, showing us a strong Japanese and Buddhist influence paired with an Irish upbringing, pouring out from the pen of a talented man who was well-versed in his craft. Hearn’s writing has this incredible ability to enchant and allure, and reading his work brings me the same inner-fulfilment and joy as experiencing a particularly beautiful work of art. 

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend also watching the Japanese film Kwaidan, which was based off Hearn’s work and ended up winning the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.

It was so interesting to see a different culture's folk tales, even if it was translated and diluted through a western perspective. I loved how casually death was treated, it was so normal which is quite different to many other myths or legends. Death is not scary. It's the coming back, or the being stuck in between that's horrifying. 

Hearn's style is super minimalistic, and that actually compliments the stories super well. None of them honest to goodness scared me, but a lot of them did elicit strong emotional reactions. Comparing it to Ito, who I'd read recently, made me realise how differently horror can be evoked based on the presentation!

It was really endearing seeing the stories where bits were skipped cause the author was bored, or the tale just well... tails off. Mostly cause SAME DUDE. All in all, I really enjoyed this as a gateway into Japanese folk tales and it's definitely inspired me to seek out more by native authors this time.