I was so tempted to buy this poster today, but the bottom is missing :( #Tokaidoyotsuyakaidan #東海道四谷怪談 #四谷怪談 #四谷怪談 #Oiwa #TamiyaIemon #お岩 #おいわ

My son & I braved the nighttime streets of Shibuya, littered with unconscious bodies & awash with vomit to see the excellent Taroman Expo Explosion movie. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qBD... #Taroman #大長編タローマン万博大爆発 #Artisanexplosion #芸術は爆発だ #Nandakorewa #なんだこれは

I'm looking forward to reading this first volume in a series of translations of Japanese tales inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. #H.P.Lovecraft #Cthulu #JapneseHorror #Translation #Paperbacnks #Books #Blueskybooks

’Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?’ #EdgarAllanPoe

I've really got into brass recently. I've just added this Japanese combined pen and pencil holder to the collection. #brass #pens #pencilholder #ballpointpen #Japanesegoods #Japanesecraftmanship

Farewell to Stephen Luscombe (1954-2025) of Blancmange. I loved their early music. When I first heard Waves, I thought it would be No. 1 forever, but it stalled at No. 19. I still can't believe it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvb8... #Blancmange #StephenLuscombe #Synthmucic #Synthesizer

Night of the Wolf, a magnificent BBC Radio play starring Vincent Price and Coral Browne. www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9f2... #VincentPrice #CoralBrowne #VictorPemberton #Werewolf #Wolfman #RadioPlay #Oldtimeradio #OTR #Horrorradio

My son introduced me to Video Market in Shinjuku today. It's a heaven on earth for lovers of horror & cult movies. I found an excellent mummy and zombie documentary hosted by Christopher Lee & Laura in the bargain bin for the grand price of 400 yen! #VideoMarket #Laura #ChristopherLee #VincentPrice

My son has had the VHS of Toire no Hanako-san (トイレの花子さん 1998) since he was at elementary school. He's now upgraded to the DVD. He used to find the cover too scary to see on the shelf! #ToirenoHanako-san #トイレの花子さん #Jhorror

Yotsuya Kaidan pre-war postcard. #Yotsuyakaidan #Oiwa #Yurei #Japanesehorror #四谷怪談 #怪談 #幽霊

A collection of 107 photos of Nio statues. snapmart.jp/photos?keywo... #Niostatues #仁王

My son and I caught the last day of the "Yōkai from Old Folk Tools" exhibition at the Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum in Kawasaki yesterday. The heat was punishing, but it was worth the effort. #Yōkai #JapanOpen-AirFolkHouseMuseum #NihonMinka-en #川崎市立 #日本民家園 #妖怪

Check out this amazing Edward Gorey Dracula doll by bsky.app/profile/eliz...

I've just finished re-reading Dracula. Such a powerful and deeply moving novel! Several passages always make me unashamedly shed a tear. What a bittersweet climax! #Dracula #BramStoker #Vampire #BelaLugosi #Books #Victoriannovel

I need a bigger shelf for Lafcadio Hearn. #LafcadioHearn #KoizumiYakumo #Kwaidan #小泉八雲 #怪談

An innocent-looking pre-war summer greeting card has a ghostly surprise inside. #Japaneseghost #Postcard #Yurei #幽霊

The Seven Wonders of Fukagawa for those who would rather read the legends. exotericjapan.com/the-seven-wo... #Japaneseghost

As I went to the Fukagawa Edo Museum yesterday, here is the story of the seven wonders of Fukagawa with auto-generated English dubbing :( www.youtube.com/watch?v=szeO... #Japaneseghost #7wondersofFukagawa

This year’s obakenosumika event at the Fukagawa Edo Museum is the best yet. The perpetual nighttime lighting makes taking photos difficult, but adds to the atmosphere. Tomorrow is the last day. Don't miss it if you are in Tokyo. #yokai #FukugawaEdoMuseum #Yurei #妖怪 #幽霊 #深川江戸資料館 #お化けの棲家

I planted the seeds from a kabocha that we had for dinner and they grew into this magnificent specimen. #Japanesegarden #kabocha #カボチャ #南瓜 #Jizo #地蔵

If you are in Tokyo this weekend, don't miss the Fukagawa Ghost Festival. www.facebook.com/FK.Obake

My son & I went to see the 25th anniversary 4k V-Cinema version of Ju-on. It is an excellent film, but 4K has met its match. The original video image is far from perfect. Blown up on a cinema screen, it looks awful. It's best watched on a TV. #JHorror #Ju-on #呪怨

The only way to beat this never-ending oppressive heat here in Tokyo is to arm yourself with a yokai uchiwa fan. #Yokai #Japanesefan #uchiwa #団扇 #妖怪

The Printing Museum in Tokyo is hosting a small exhibition on yokai & folklore. It is not worth a trip just to see this exhibition, but the museum itself is excellent. www.printing-museum.org/en/collectio... #ToppanPrintingMuseum #Yokai #Toriyamasekien #妖怪

Some new neighbours have just moved in and brought a friend with them. #Tanuki #タヌキ #狸 #Bake-danuki #化け狸 #妖怪 #yōkai

Subscribers to the Asahi Shinbun can get these superb free Kawanabe Kyōsai prints. I'm not a subscriber, but my wife's friend is, so I could get the set. #KawanabeKyōsai #河鍋暁斎 #Yokai #妖怪 #JapaneseArt

What to listen to today? #OTR #OldTimeRadio #Radiohorror #Horrorrecords #vintagevinyl #vintagerecords

I'm looking forward to Luc Besson's take on Dracula, but no release date has been announced for Japan. We had to wait six months for Nosferatu! www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy_A... #Dracula #Vampire #LucBesson #HorrorMovies #VampireMovies

Let The Right One In, one of the most brilliant vampire movies. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4... #Vampires #LetTheRightOneIn #Horrormovies

For the ghostly season here in Japan, my son became a living ghost. #ghosts #Yūrei #幽霊

Vincent Price's hypnotic reading of Shelley's Ozymandias. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb2R... #VincentPrice #PercyByssheShelley #Ozymandias #RamessesII

I have absolutely no memory of where I bought this, but it has followed me around the world for about four decades. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #EgyptianArt #EyeofHorus #leftwedjateye #udjateye #Horus #Heru #Har #Her #Hor #Ϩⲱⲣ

I spent the morning listening to Black Sabbath while working. So many great songs. This one is sadly still all too relevant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6csi... #OzzyOsbourne #BlackSabbath #WarPigs #HeavyMetal

I got this from a vintage amusement arcade fortune-telling machine in Tokyo Disneyland many years ago. #Fortunetelling #Palmreading #TokyoDisneyland #amusementarcade #palmistry

With summer being the ghostly season in Japan, and it being incredibly hot in Tokyo this year, my smoking skeleton fan is essential when I go outside! #Japanesefoldingfan #foldingfan #扇子 #sensu #skeleton #Gothic

In "Greatest Actors" lists, the name of Conrad Veidt, perhaps the greatest of them all, is usually conspicuously absent. From Caligari to Casablanca, and beyond, he never gave less than a towering performance. #ConradVeidt

I'm revisiting the films (and music) that so impressed me as a teenager all those decades ago. #Spaghettiwesterns #マカロニ・ウエスタン #ClintEastwood #SergioLeone #DollarsTrilogy #Trilogiadeldollaro #ManwithNoName #Trilogiadell'Uomosenzanome #EnnioMorricone

Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, along with George Sanders and Edna Best, make for a wonderful cast in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, one of my very favourite films. #GeneTierney #RexHarrison #GeorgeSanders #EdnaBest #TheGhostandMrs.Muir #Ghoststories #romanticghoststories #supernaturalfilms #RADick

I grew vegetables for the first time this year. All withered and died under the torrential rain and scorching heat except for the thriving kabocha. #gardening #vegetables #kabocha #カボチャ #南瓜

For phantom Friday, this was my very first post here - a wonderful guide to the ghostly inhabitants of London. #phantomfriday

I like the warmth and simple elegance of brass. #fountainpen #pencase #writingimplements #brass #万年筆

I decided to give my writing a little Taisho era glamour with this lovely antique black ink. #ink #fountainpen #万年筆 #Taishō #大正時代 #Taishōjidai #Japan#TeranishiChemicalIndustry #寺西化学 #寺西化学工業

We hung a lantern to guide the spirits of our ancestors back home for Obon. #Obon #お盆 #Japanesefestival #buddhism #Japaneseculture #Japan

Jizō standing watch at our local temple. #Jizō #地蔵 #JizoBosatsu #Buddhist #Buddhism #bodhisattva #JapaneseTemple #Temple #Japan #Photography

I am editing an expanded edition of Grace James' 1910 Green Willow & Other Japanese Fairy Tales. As today is the Tanabata Star Festival, here is Warwick Goble's lovely illustration for the story from the book. #Tanabata #StarFestival #WarwickGoble #GraceJames #JapaneseFairytales #たなばた #七夕

A nice bargain - three great books for only ¥500 in Jinbocho. #books #DaphneDuMaurier #AnaisNin #DontLookNow #TheBirds #Jinbocho ##神田神保町

The heat was brutal today. When I saw this lovely snow scene on a vintage coaster in the wonderful (Former)Tsuruya Yofukuten shop in Jinbocho, I couldn't resist buying it. tsuruyayoufukuten.blog.fc2.com#header #(元)鶴谷洋服店 #(Former)TsuruyaYofukuten #Jinbocho #神田神保町 #SapporoBeer #BeerCoaster

We strolled through the local temple on the way back from a restaurant. #JapaneseTemple #Temple #Japan #JapaneseLanterns

Vastly inferior to Karloff's masterpiece and shockingly poor transfers, but Universal's four sequels to The Mummy are still very enjoyable. #TheMummy #UniversalHorror #TomTyler #LonChaney #MummysGhost #MummysTomb #MummysCurse #MummysHand #AncientEgyptianHorror

It must be the stifling heat that is causing an unseasonal spike in sales of my two volumes of Victorian & Edwardian Christmas ghost stories. If you need a chill, they are available in paperback & Kindle www.amazon.com/Ghost-Storie... #ChristmasGhostStories #Books #GhostStories #VictorianGhosts