Rokurokubi: The Snake-Neck Woman

The Monster Next Door

The Monster Next Door

Most monsters look like monsters. The Oni is a giant ogre. The Kappa is a turtle-man. But the Rokurokubi looks like your wife. Or your sister. Or the girl serving tea at the inn.

By day, she is a completely normal human woman. She might not even know she is different. But at night, the curse activates. While her body sleeps under the futon, her neck begins to stretch. It extends like melted wax, growing longer and longer, turning into a fleshy serpent. Her head slithers through the house, independent of her sleeping torso.

Licking the Lamps

What does a floating head do? It gets into mischief. The Rokurokubi has a strange craving for lamp oil (which, in the Edo period, was made from fish oil). The head will float up to the paper lanterns and lick the oil dry. It also eats bugs. Sometimes, it just scares people. Imagine waking up to find a woman's face hovering inches from your own, attached to a neck that snakes out the door and down the hallway.

Nukekubi: The Deadly Cousin

It is important to distinguish the Rokurokubi from the Nukekubi.

• Rokurokubi:Neck stretches. Mostly harmless/prankster.
• Nukekubi:Head detaches completely and flies around. Very dangerous. The Nukekubi tries to bite people or suck their blood. To kill one, you must find the headless body while the head is away and hide it. When the head returns and can't find the body, it dies at sunrise.

The Karmic Curse

Why does this happen? It is often a karmic punishment for breaking religious vows or being unfaithful. Her soul literally wanders away from her body while she sleeps. There are stories of men who married beautiful women, only to discover their true nature when they woke up mid-sex to find their wife's head watching them from the ceiling.

Keeper's Log: The Purple Line

How do you spot one before nightfall? The legends say you should check the neck. A Rokurokubi often has a thin red or purple line circling her throat—a stretch mark from the nightly transformation. Some conceal it with high collars or scarves.

The Final Warning

If you are in Kyoto and the lamp oil keeps running out... or you hear strange rustling in the rafters... Check your companion's neck, and maybe sleep with one eye open.