Japanese Ghost Stories

Penguin Classics

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Eleanor Matsuura, known for AMC's The Walking Dead and Spooks. This definitive recording includes an Introduction by Paul Murray.

In this collection of classic ghost stories from Japan, beautiful princesses turn out to be frogs, paintings come alive, deadly spectral brides haunt the living and a samurai delivers the baby of a Shinto goddess with mystical help. Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: 'rokuro-kubi', whose heads separate from their bodies at night; 'jikininki', or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless 'mujina' who haunt lonely neighbourhoods. Lafcadio Hearn, a master storyteller, drew on traditional Japanese folklore, infused with memories of his own haunted childhood in Ireland, to create these chilling tales. They are today regarded in Japan as classics in their own right.

Lackluster narrator but entertaining tales

The narrator did a good job explaining things in context of the story they pronounced every word correctly, and the stories were very entertaining. Yokai are really cool! Worth the checkout

Finally on Audible!

I have a wishlist of books I want to see on Audible and this was one of them. I was so pleased to see this collection of stories available. The narrator does a fantastic job with pronunciations and has a very pleasant voice. I much appreciated the footnotes, as they explained Japanese words, terms, and ideals that may otherwise be unknown to the reader. It was like having a personal guide to Japanese culture/fairytales, which was a essentially what Lafcadio Hearn’s books were. I was very satisfied with this book!

Beautiful Storytelling and Performance

The reader’s dramatic training, voice, and pace cast a spell. The performance truly articulates the beauty of the stories so that they have an immersive quality, like a storyteller relating a ghost story by candlelight.

The stories Hearn wrote down are strange and captivating, and it was wonderful to hear about his life in this book as well.

I have listened to the stories on this audiobook again and again and never tire of them. The production and performance are among the best I have experienced from Audible.

Difficult to Follow

Interesting information. Probably enjoyed the background on the author the most as it could be easily followed. The rest of the book with footnotes interspersed mid text was a bit difficult.

Great writer great narrator

Forget lovecraft - honestly the depth that this man gets to is way way better and nuanced. Narrator delivers a superlative treatment. Ten stars.