Okiku - The Doll That Grows Human Hair
A doll named Okiku residing in the Mannen-ji Temple in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, Japan is said to be possessed with the restless spirit of its former owner; a two year old girl named Okiku who tragically passed away. The dolls hair grew in length after the girl’s death and continues to grow despite being trimmed regularly by priests at the temple.
The story of the doll begins with Okiku’s brother Eikichi visiting Sapporo for a marine exhibition. While he was there he went to have a look at Sapporo’s famous shopping street Tanuki-koji and found a beautiful doll to give to his little sister as a souvenir.
What Okiku, the doll that grows human hair, looked like before the hair began to grow.
The doll was dressed in a traditional style Japanese Kimono and had shoulder length hair with blunt edges. It was made of porcelain with black beads recessed into the face as eyes. Okiku was absolutely thrilled with the doll and played with it every day. Okiku and her doll were inseparable.
The following year Okiku grew ill with a respiratory illness and tragically passed away. The family was understandably devastated and placed Okiku’s treasured doll in their family altar and prayed to it every day.
Over several months they started to notice that the dolls hair was getting longer and longer. The girl’s parents took this as a sign that Okiku’s spirit had entered the doll and they began to care for it as if it was their little girl even calling it by her name.
After a while they decided to entrust the doll into the care of their local temple the Mannen-ji Temple to be cared for by the priests there. The doll remains there to this day being protected by the priests who lovingly trim the hair of the doll.
The doll’s hair while originally being shoulder length continues to grow until it reaches knee length and then stops no matter how often it is trimmed.
No one has been able to explain why the dolls hair keeps growing longer but one scientific evaluation determined that the hair is in fact the hair of a human rather than some form of synthetic hair.
Many tourists flock to the temple each year to catch a glimpse of Okiku but photographs are forbidden. Some of the priests who reside at the temple have claimed to have nightmares about the doll. Some visitors to the temple claim that the dolls mouth is slowly opening and baby teeth are becoming visible inside.
Some theories as to what could be causing this strange phenomenon:
The girl’s spirit is inhabiting the doll and she is somehow forcing it to be come more human.
The girl loved the doll so much that her energy imprinted onto it and is slowly being released in strange ways.
The doll could have been made with a long length of hair doubled over itself and placed into the head of the doll. As its condition deteriorated the hair could have been pulled out of the head and become longer.
Whether supernatural or not the tragic story of Okiku has captured the hearts of many people throughout the world. The spirit of the young girl lives on forever in the story of the doll and potentially in the doll itself.
When they reached the car, they found that the driver was dead, and her 18-month-old daughter, though alive, couldn't have been the one speaking.
For more than a hundred years, a ghostly ship has appeared on the Platte River roughly every 25 years. Each sighting has been said to predict the death of someone known to the witness who spotted the eerie vessel.
In the early 1900s, the MacKenzie family line in Scotland experienced several different paranormal omens, warning them about deaths that would soon occur in the family.
Have you been taking photos and discovered mysterious green orbs appearing? What could this mean?
In 1957, Jacqueline and Joanna Pollock lost their lives in a car accident. Their parents believe they were reincarnated the following year as their twin sisters.
A fleshgait is a creature that imitates the voices and appearances of people in the woods, with the intention of luring them away. People who have seen fleshgaits describe them as tall, thin, grey beings with long claws and no hair.
In 1971, strange stains in the shape of human faces started appearing on the kitchen floor of a house in Bélmez de La Moraleda, a little village in Andalusia, Spain.
The Stikini is a humanoid owl that can supernaturally transform from a seemingly ordinary human into the form of an owl.
Black Annis is a blue faced witch from English folklore that is said to have a taste for human flesh and a penchant for wearing the tanned hides of children around her waist.
The Alp of German folklore is a nefarious entity that haunts the nightmares and drains the life force of its unsuspecting victims.
A Victorian-era house stands proudly at 65 Mulberry Street in Quitman, Arkansas. It was built in 1891 and is reportedly haunted by numerous spirits including a WWI soldier, an old man, and a particularly terrifying entity known as the "Dog Boy”.
According to the legend of Tomino’s Hell, if you read the poem aloud you will become cursed.
In the late 16th century, a Newgate Prison inmate in London wrote a terrifying account of a ghostly Black Dog hunting prisoners. Today, reports continue to circulate about this Black Dog haunting the area around the prison.
In Greek folklore, there is an evil undead creature called the Vrykolakas, said to be a type of vampire. If a Vrykolakas knocks on your door and you greet it you will be soon to die.
The Nigerian legend of Madam Koi Koi tells of the spirit of a teacher who haunts boarding schools, preying upon students who arrive too early or stay too late.
La Sayona is a vengeful ghost on the Venezuelan plains, known to seek out and punish unfaithful men who do not escape her wrath.
In 1996, Ukrainian artist Svetlana Telets created a strange painting of a woman in the rain. She has sold it several times, each time it was returned due to the unsettling paranormal activity it brought with it.
If you’re out after dark in Abbeville, Alabama, you might run into Huggin’ Molly. Huggin’ Molly is a 7ft tall woman who loves to grab children in a hug-like embrace and scream in their ears.
Hannah Cranna was a woman accused of being a witch in Connecticut in the 1800s. Legend has it that she had the ability to curse those who wronged her. Some say she even haunts the area to this day.
The Badlands of Dakota are a strange and eerie place, with colorful but bleak peaks and labyrinthine canons, that some say are haunted by a banshee.
There exists a concealed cave that harbors a sinister history spanning more than three centuries. Legend has it that all that enter the cave are cursed.
The Cyhyraeth (pronounced 'cuh-huh-raith') is a ghostly spirit or apparition that is part of Welsh mythology and folklore. It is described as a disembodied moaning or wailing voice that is heard before the death of a person.
La Carreta Chillona is a ghostly unmanned wagon that drives through the streets at night, collecting the soul of anyone who lays eyes upon it.
The Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas has a dark history of death and sorrow. Many claim to have experienced paranormal activity while in the house including receiving unexplained injuries and having objects melt for no reason.
An urban legend spread throughout Latin America in the late 1980s telling of a knife being hidden in Fofao dolls. It turns out it was somewhat based in reality.
Several people have reported seeing a large cat lurking around the US Government buildings in Washington D.C. Some say the cat appears as a warning before significant events.
In 2015 a spree of suicides took place in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Some believe these were caused by an evil spirit called Walking Sam.
According to Chinese legend, Diao Si Gui are the souls of those who took their own lives or were executed. These spirits may manifest as a body with a protruding, lengthy red tongue and attempt to persuade those who cross their path to join them in the world beyond.
Hunting Haunted Secrets: YouTuber Somnus Papilio Uses Spirit Words to Uncover a Mysterious Pond