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Interesting Ghost Spot Facts in Japan

Recently I picked up the Mook Nihon no Isekai (Japan’s Alternate Worlds) and inside it featured some interesting statistics, a few of which I’d like to highlight here. Have you ever wondered what the most common type of spot to be haunted is? How about the ratio of ghosts, or how these spots came to be haunted in the first place? Then look no further! Let’s take a look.

First of all, if you’re familiar with Japanese ghost spots, then you’ll probably notice the same type of spots show up time after time. Sometimes it seems like every tunnel, abandoned hospital, or empty hotel is haunted. But which is the most commonly haunted spot? Well, by looking at over 2,500 different spots that people claim to be haunted, the top 10 looks a little something like this:

10. Graveyards (3.56%)
9. Shrines and temples (4.18%)
8. Dams (4.22%)
7. Forests (4.95%)
6. Lakes, ponds, and swamps (5.45%)
5. Bridges (6.54%)
4. Roads (7.31%)
3. Abandoned businesses (8.97%)
2. Parks (15.59%)
1. Tunnels (16.17%)

It comes as no surprise to me that tunnels took the number one spot, as there are over 10,000 tunnels in Japan, but I must admit I didn’t expect parks to take second spot.

So, now that we know the most commonly haunted spots, what are the most common types of ghosts you can expect to see there? Number one shouldn’t be terribly surprising, but there is still some variety out there:

10. Elderly men (1.35%)
9. Severed heads (2.27%)
8. Workers (2.41%)
7. Parents and children (2.94%)
6. Soldiers (4.53%)
5. Elderly women (6.12%)
4. Samurai (7.33%)
3. Men (11.67%)
2. Children (16.63%)
1. Women (44.74%).

Yep. When you combine young and old, women make up more than half of the ghosts you’re likely to see in Japan. Still, that might be a little less than some expect, as that means you’re just as likely to come across a male ghost as you are a female ghost!

Finally, let’s take a look at what caused these spirits to haunt their various locations:

10. Other (sickness, etc) (0.14%)
9. Aborted, stillborn, or miscarried (0.69%)
8. Large disaster (1.02%)
7. War (4.21%)
6. On the job (4.68%)
5. Crime (8.43%)
4. Location (9.59%)
3. History (14.68%)
2. Accident (19.04%)
1. Suicide (37.52%)

So, if these stats are anything to go by, the most common type of ghost you’re likely to see is a woman at a tunnel who committed suicide. Doesn’t sound that far fetched when you take Japan’s many haunted locations into consideration!

But what do you guys think about these stats? Did anything surprise you? Let me know in the comments below!

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