Some Japanese Ghosts
By (Author) Lafcadio Hearn
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Classics
15th July 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Classic fiction: general and literary
Short stories
Narrative theme: Sense of place
Fairy and Folk tales / Fairy tale retellings
Paperback
112
Width 111mm, Height 181mm, Spine 15mm
150g
90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books 'The body was cold as ice; the heart had long ceased to beat- yet there were no other signs of death.' The phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore are in this book driven back into the world of the living. Mysterious brides melt into mist, paintings come alive, and man-eating goblins barter for redemption. Traditional Japanese folktales and legends, infused with memories of Lafcadio Hearn's own haunted childhood, are here masterfully retold.
After a peculiarly gothic childhood in Ireland and tumultuous two decades in the United States, Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) travelled to Japan as a journalist and never returned. There he married into a samurai family, lectured at universities throughout the country, and wrote widely about Japanese society and culture.