View source for Kaidan

[[Kaidan]] (怪談), which literally means ''strange story'', is a genre of traditional Japanese folk tale, typically tales of ghosts or supernatural events. Kaidan are usually thought of as synonymous with the horror genre, but they are not necessarily intended to be frightening; some are intended to convey a moral and warn against breaking religious rules or mistreating social inferiors. The practice of relating kaidan as a parlour game, known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyakumonogatari_Kaidankai Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai], became popular in the Edo period and led to a surge of interest in collecting such tales. Most kaidan include supernatural beings such as [[yūrei]] and yōkai. Modern Japanese horror movies may take inspiration from popular kaidan, but are not considered kaidan themselves.

Famous kaidan include:

*[[Oiwa]]
*[[Okiku|Okiku and the Nine Plates]]
*[[Yuki-onna]]
*Stories collected by Lafcadio Hearn in his book ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwaidan:_Stories_and_Studies_of_Strange_Things Kwaidan]''

{{Japanesenav}}

[[Category:Japanese Culture]]
[[Category:Terminology]]