The Teke Teke Terror: Did a Viral Photo Capture Japan’s Infamous Half-Body Ghost?

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On a dark night in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, a strange creature was captured on camera, hopping down a residential street. The photo, posted to X (formerly Twitter) in June 2022, quickly went viral, sparking a wave of speculation. What was this bizarre, two-armed, legless creature? While some joked it was a real-life Pokémon, the overwhelming consensus pointed to something far more sinister: the legendary Japanese urban legend known as the Teke Teke.

The Viral Photo and the Urban Legend

出張先に猿？かなんかいたんだけどこれ何？ pic.twitter.com/63aaBgFkuJ

— 777sp aloe (@aloe_sp) June 25, 2022

The photo, taken by a user named 777sp aloe, shows a dark, rounded, bluish creature supporting itself on two arms, seemingly in mid-hop. The witness themselves was baffled, initially guessing it might be a monkey. But for thousands of Japanese internet users, the image immediately brought to mind the horrifying figure of the Teke Teke.

The Teke Teke is a modern yokai (a supernatural monster from Japanese folklore) that rose to prominence during the “school ghost stories” boom of the 1990s. It is the ghost of a young woman who was tragically cut in half by a train. Lacking a lower body, she haunts school zones and lonely streets at night, dragging herself forward on her hands or elbows.

Her name comes from the chilling, onomatopoeic sound she makes as she moves: teke-teke-teke. If she catches you, the legend says she will slice you in half with a scythe, making you just like her.

The Tragic and Gruesome Origin Story

Like all great urban legends, the story of the Teke Teke has several variations, but the most common one is a tale of horrifying tragedy.

The story goes that a young schoolgirl was pushed (or fell) onto a railway line in the snowy, northern region of Hokkaido. A train ran over her, severing her body at the waist. In a gruesome twist, the intense cold temporarily cauterized her wounds, preventing her from bleeding out immediately. For several agonizing minutes, she writhed in the snow, screaming for help and desperately searching for her missing lower half before finally succumbing to her injuries.

Betrayed and filled with a burning hatred, her vengeful spirit (onryō) now roams the earth, seeking to inflict her own horrific fate upon others.

The Science (or Lack Thereof) Behind the Legend

While the story is terrifying, it’s worth noting that it is physically impossible. The idea that extreme cold could stop the bleeding from such a catastrophic injury is medically inaccurate. Furthermore, a person struck by a train would suffer catastrophic injuries all over their body and would certainly not remain conscious.

Interestingly, the Teke Teke’s origin story is almost identical to another famous Japanese urban legend: the cursed fourth verse of the children’s song “Sacchan.” Both legends feature a young girl dying on a train track in Hokkaido and becoming a legless, vengeful ghost. This shared narrative core suggests a deep-seated cultural fear that has manifested in multiple forms.

The Ghost That Leapt from Folklore to Pop Culture

The Teke Teke is one of Japan’s most famous modern monsters, a true icon of internet-age horror. Her fame was cemented by appearances in numerous films, manga, and video games. Most recently, she appeared as a terrifying enemy in the 2022 hit game Ghostwire: Tokyo, introducing her to a new generation of international fans.

This enduring popularity is likely why so many people instantly identified the strange creature in the Gunma photo as the Teke Teke. The silhouette—a rounded torso moving on two arms with no legs—is a perfect match for the legendary ghost.

So, what was really in that photograph? A strangely shaped animal? A clever prank? Or could it be that one of Japan’s most terrifying urban legends decided to make a rare, real-world appearance? Whatever the truth, the photo serves as a chilling reminder: if you’re walking alone at night in Japan and hear a strange teke-teke sound dragging along behind you, don’t look back. Just run.

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