Hitodama
In Japanese folklore, hitodama (人魂 "human soul" or 人玉 "human ball") are the souls of the recently dead in the form of a fireball. They appear as a pale blue or sometimes green sphere with a long tail, and are believed to originate from gases rising from human graves.
In folklore
- Hitodama are usually seen near graveyards and forests in summer time, the traditional time for ghosts and spirits in Japan.
- They are sometimes said to appear near a dying person as the soul leaves the body.
- Most hitodama are said to fade away or fall to the ground shortly after being spotted.
- They are said to lead travellers off track so that they become lost.
- Ghostly fires in Japan may also be called onibi (鬼火 "demon fire").
- Its counterpart in English folklore is the Will o' the Wisp.
In Fatal Frame games
- In the first game, hitodama appear as the spirits of the mansion are defeated and exorcised with the Camera Obscura.
- Certain ghosts in the series (such as the Headless Priests) can conjure up and fling hitodama at the player, damaging them upon contact.
- In Fatal Frame II Mayu's charm is a magatama, which, in addition to being a talisman in the Shinto religion, traditionally represents the hitodama.
- Hitodama are seen rising to the sky in the endings of both Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame IV.
- In Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir, ghost voices appear in the form of hitodama.
Japanese Culture
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| Religion |
| Buddhism - Shinto |
| Japanese Ghosts/Creatures |
| Funayūrei - Goryō - Hitodama - Ikiryō - Onryō - Ubume - Yōkai - Yūrei |
| Specific Japanese Ghosts/Creatures |
| Oiwa - Okiku - Yuki-onna |
| Terms |
| Dosojin - Grave Mound - Hannya Mask - Higanbana - Jizo - Kaidan - Miko - Mukoyōshi - Sanzu River - Shimenawa - Toro-Nagashi - Wara Ningyo |
| Locations |
| Northeastern Japan - Shizuoka - Sugisawa Village - Tono |
| Media and Entertainment |
| Kagome, Kagome - Ringu |