I fondly remember spending hours in front of my Playstation, hiding under the blanket, cringing in fear as I played Clock Tower. In the game, you would get chased by a man brandishing a pair of giant scissors. Gosh, I hoped that stuff stays in games. I was proven wrong. Damn you, StumbleUpon!
In Japanese mythology, Kuchisake-onna (口裂け女) or “Slit-Mouth Woman” is a woman who is mutilated by a jealous husband and returns as a malicious spirit. The urban legend became popular enough to cause some panic in Japan during the 1980s, and there are even reports of schools asking children to go home in groups for safety.
The Origins
The Kuchisake-onna legend began in the Edo period, with the woman initially covering her face with her kimono, which isn’t that bad and isn’t a least bit creepy. According to the below video, it seems that in recent years, an unidentified coroner came forward with a case of a woman getting killed in a car accident while chasing some children. Apparently, her mouth was ripped from ear to ear.
The Modern Version
Children walking alone at night may encounter a woman wearing a surgical mask. And I’m not asking you to freak out everytime you see someone in a surgical mask, because its awfully common in Japan seeing how considerate they are. And here comes the not so common part, the woman will stop the child and ask, ‘Am I beautiful?’. If the child answers no, they are killed with a pair of scissors. How’s that for a comeback?
If for some reason the child isn’t spooked by a creepy woman in a surgical mask asking strange questions, and they answer yes, the woman pulls away the mask, revealing her mouth is slit from ear to ear and asks ‘How about now?’. Now, we know Japanese people are a honest lot, so if the answer were to come back as “no”, he will be duly rewarded by being cut in half. If he answers yes, then she will slit his mouth like hers, thus helping him out with his Joker costume for the Halloween. There isn’t really a way out.
Ways to escape the Kuchisake-onna
But there are ways! When the legend reappeared in the 1970s rumours of ways to escape also emerged. These are obviously not tried and tested, but please let me know if you survived the chance to try them.
- If, once the mask is removed, the victim answers neutrally, such as saying “You’re average” or “So-so”, she will become confused and her victim can escape while she is lost in thought. The slit on her face is so deep that it must have affected her brain’s ability to receive neutral answers, so use it to your advantage.
- Another escape route is to tell her you have a previous engagement; she will pardon her manners and excuse herself from your presence because you know how polite the Japanese people are.
- If you have a mouth that big, you would wanna use it. So in some variations of the tale, she can be distracted by throwing fruit or sweets at her which she will pick up, thus giving the victim a chance to run.
- One other way is to ask her if you are pretty, she will get confused and leave. If she answers you, I hope you have a giant scissors handy so you can return the favour.
And what urban legend is good without a movie adaptation.
