Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Himuro Mansion, Tokyo, Japan

Edited 2-2-2012

In a rocky area on the outskirts of Tokyo, there is a large house, a mansion of traditional design that hosts many malevolent spirits due to its dark history. The story is, at this point, best known to video game fans in the U.S. because a video game Fatal Frame was created based on the tale.

Legend holds that the Himuro family had a gruesome responsibility - every 50 years they had to perform an ancient and occult Shinto ritual that involved raising a woman in secret (to prevent her from forming attachments to others) and, late in the year, brought to an elemental seal from which evil forces might enter the world where each limb and her neck were tied to oxen who then pulled the woman apart.

The last woman to be killed, sometime within the last 80 years, somehow came into contact with a young man, with whom she fell in love. Her feelings for the young man essentially negated the sacrifice, and so the members of the Himuro family who were responsible for the ritual became distraught. Taking a traditional sword, the patriarch murdered his entire family, feeling their death by the sword was preferable to the evil that he believed was coming.

Since then, people have reported a wide variety of weird happenings at or near the house. Apparitions of family members have been seen both at night and in broad daylight. Bloody hand prints and sprays of blood, as if from a drenched sword, mysteriously appear on the walls. People who enter the house are occasionally found dead, with rope marks on their arms and legs indicating that they had been bound and pulled.

In addition, there are three smaller houses on the same property that had some connection to the ritual. There are reputed to be tunnels under the houses that connect them to each other and the mansion, but it is not known who built these tunnels.

A few photos have been found on the internet that may be from this house, but nobody knows for certain.


Commentary: A short while back, I began looking into ghost stories in Japan. I kept coming across references to Himuro Mansion, and the impression that I got was that it was essentially the Japanese equivalent of the Borley Rectory, except for one thing: while the location of most allegedly haunted houses is known, nobody knew where Himuro Mansion was. Also, the story of how the mansion came to be haunted seemed so over the top that it struck me as obviously false. Add to that the fact that the story is said to have inspired the video game Fatal Frame, and I was suspicious as to the nature of this story. Still, I know little enough about Japanese culture that I though I should look into it further, and that's how I eventually began stumbling across the last couple of bits of information that made the whole thing clear.

The tale behind this haunted house story is an interesting one. There is no Himuro Mansion. Himuro is, in fact, a fairly normal Japanese name (think "Smith Mansion"), and the story is not one likely to be known by many Japanese people. This is an American urban legend about Japan, not a Japanese one. And what's better, it was a consciously created urban legend!

The game Fatal Frame was originally designed and released in Japan, and following it's Japanese release, it was prepared for a North American release. It is not clear when the story of the haunted mansion began, but by the time of its North American release, the tagline "Based on a true story"* was added to the title, and the claim that the game was based on an actual story concerning a haunted house in Japan was circulated. The presence of the internet, probably the best tool for spreading false information and claiming rumor as true ever, made it easy to spread the story, and many people in both the video gamer and paranormal enthusiast communities shared the tale of the haunted house with others. Whether the alleged photos of the house come from the game company or from outside hoaxsters on the internet is not clear.

So, it appears possible that the story primarily exists in North America, and only exists because it was part of a marketing campaign for a video game. As a result, we now appear to have an urban legend about events that allegedly happened in another country, but the legend is primarily in circulation in the U.S. This has to be one of the most convoluted marketing/hoax-based urban legends ever. And I really dig it.

Edit to add:  As you can see if you look down in the comments section of this site, there are a whole lot of people who really want this story to be true, which makes this entry the most commented-on of all of those that I have posted to this site.   The comments section is something of a microcosm of the sorts of weird-ass arguments that people make regarding claims that are demonstrated false, but that they wish to keep believing: you have the people who are unwilling to do their own background research accusing me of not having done mine, you have the people making frankly racist assertions regarding the "superstitious" and "secretive" people of Asia, you have the pseudo-profound ramblings of people who are trying to claim that the fact that this house has never been found is somehow evidence of it's existence, the people who produce weird-ass stories about alleged visits to the house, and you have the people claiming that there is some sort of vast cover-up that would have to include Google, several governments, and more than a few people and companies involved in software development.  It is deeply, deeply strange.

For most of the people posting here who are claiming that the story is true, it seems to be partially a devotion to the game (which I am told is a fantastic game, though I have personally not played it) and partially a desire for a supernatural story to be true.  Regardless, this particular entry seems to get the passions up like nothing else on here...likely this is at least partially because the fact that this is tied in to a video game gives the players of the game a feeling that they have somehow experienced the events, and therefore a deeper investments than they otherwise might have.  I suspect also that the culturally pornographic view that many have regarding the "exotic" nature of Japan makes them invest this story with more meaning than a ghost story set in, for example, New Jersey.  Regardless, it is interesting to me that this one entry gets so much attention when, frankly, it's not even one of the better entries on this site.


*What is it with people routinely falling for this line? I have seen otherwise sane, rational people fall for really tall tales because they were supposedly "based on a true story". My favorite example, though, is that a cousin of mine was convinced that the events depicted in Return of the Living Dead really happened because the opening screen of the film had these words emblazoned across it.


Sources:  Fatal Frame Wiki,   Wikipedia, Internet, Internet, The Illustrious Internet

72 comments:

  1. i still think its resl i wouldnt know untill i go and when i go i might see some scary shit i might not.

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  2. Of course, the fact that there is, in fact, not a Himuro Mansion might prohibit your ability to visit it.

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  3. where is this house? i would like to see it sometime.

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  4. but you said yourself that supposedly no one knows were it is...well i for one think now one should make that statement.... the japanese are real finicky when it comes to their "legends"(and yes it is told in japan)... if they see something they believe to be evil they try their best to keep other people away.
    no one can make the statement that Himuro Mansion doesn't exist until you ask every one... give them all lie tests and bla bla bla.... so yeah... but the story of Himuro Mansion is a in-fact a hard story o trace,but don't get all your info off the internet.. .books.... books and old records are the most reliable source of info.... i do understand why you would say it's not real.... but you need to get your info straight....(and not all from the same source)... just a little for the future of research ^.~

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  5. Leaving aside the fact that making a blanket statement about an entire nationality (such as their attitude about legends) is rather exceptionally bigoted, the simple fact is that the origin and spread of this story is rather easily tracked, and all of the information available points to their not actually being a Himuro Mansion.

    So, you are the one making the untenable claim, and therefore the burden of proof is on you, and not on me. If you have any real information, please share it, it would be great to know about. However, so far you have only made what philisophers refer to as an Argument from Ignorance - "you can't prove it's not real, therefore it must be real!" (or at least as plausible as the claim that it's false).

    One of us needs to get his info straight, but it isn't me.

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    1. I agree with you. The whole "true story" angle was an angle that TECMO came up with to sell the Fatal Frame game. Supposedly, the "true story" wasn't even a Japanese one. Cool game series, though, and I rank it up there with Silent Hill.

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  6. Wow!you really went into depth in you investigation!But i must admit I'm wee bit disappointed about this all being a lie.I was looking forward to going to this place when I went to Japan.But thinks for letting me know!Knowing my luck i would have gotten lost!!! *laugh*

    ~*~*~*~*~Spaz645~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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  7. the mansion is real I've been livin in japan for 7 years. the story line is false from the game comp. . the gaming company made up the story and used the mansion as a backround that is the only tie the mansion as to the game. it's just an abandon masion in the middle of the woods that's it.

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  8. I don't believe that its all fictional. Weird rituals take place in every country. Do I believe all of the details put into in? Hell no, but I believe there has to be a grain of truth behind this...

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  9. please can someone tell me the exact location of the mansion, i plan to go in japan and i would really like to visit the mansion

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  10. I am astounded that, a year later, this one is still generating comments. It's cool...but surprising.

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  11. I just stumbled across this while looking up Japanese ghost stories. I'm not surprised to learn that it was a hoax, since it's rather easy to convince Americans that something weird went down in Japan. We seem to like the mysticism of the place.
    Thanks for writing this. I'll stop trying to hunt down the mansion's myths and just play the game with the lights off to get goosebumps!

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  12. It's interesting to see that people are still trying to find the mansion. It looks like Tecmo and Project Zero did their job spreading the rumor.

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  13. I have a strong feeling that this 'legend' is true. Although there is much that is not explained, how much more proof do you need? I have been inside the mansion myself, though it was nearly impossible to find. I followed a road just outside of Tokyo that came to a dead stop, trees surrounding everywhere, so i took many hours of the day to discover that the road leads off to the left and comes to a dead stop (which I assume was at one time a dirt road). I traveled about three hours with a large group of friends and investigators to stumble upon a group of people (so it looked like) dressed in all white. We were unaware of what they were doing, and we stayed low to the ground and out of sight. Night came and the lights inside the mansion were all on, shining bright as day. Bright the next morning we divided up into groups of 3 (4 groups total). We all had walki-talkies but to our surprise, they had somehow broken in the middle of our cold, scary night. We all decided that ever 3 hours we would meet back in the entry room to make sure all was going well. To my surprise, our first hour, we had no sightings of ghosts, but something didn't seem right. When we all met back up, one of our groups was missing. We heard no screams, nothing to infer that anything dangerous had happened (maybe they had lost track of time), so we all went back in our own separate directions. I was on the second floor of the mansion when I heard someone who sound like Becky Patterson yell out for help. My group ran down the stairs to a small room we guessed was a bed-room at one point, only to find nothing but an open window and sprays of blood along the wall just to the right of the door. We all huddled together in panic, realizing it had only been an hour and a half since our last meeting, so we still had another hour and a half to go before we met back up with anyone. We stayed very aware of our surroundings, and as soon as we walked out what we thought was the bed-room, we saw ropes hanging from the high beams above our heads. We all walked along side the wall when what looked like a hand, reached through the wall like it was trying to grab something to pull its self out of the wall. We all ran back up the stairs, only to realize that there was a strange item bound to the door-knob holding it tightly shut. I told James to help me look around and find something to pry open the door, when suddenly it flew open. We all ran down the stairs as fast as we could and out into the main room. I could have sworn I saw a woman dressed in an all white Kimono with the most horrified look on her face. When we had finally reached the entrance of the building and I found myself standing alone, with all the lights off. One of the last things I remember was seeing a face appear in front of me as I backed into the wall. Hands reached out and tied what seamed to be a rope much like Hemp around my hands, neck, and ankles. At this point I feinted, only waking up to find myself in a room by myself surrounded by horses and one man. This man looked frightened, and he untied all the ropes from my limbs. He picked me up and carried me up a stair case leading into what looked to be a shrine. He flung the doors open and ran me as fast as he could away from the house. I did not know where my friends or the investigators were. All I knew was that I had made it out safe, all thanks to this Man. Legend says that no one makes it out alive, and I am almost positive that It is true (though I am a survivor). I have not heard from, or seen any of my friends that joined me in that journey in 6 years. I do not recommend going into that mansion. If you do make it out alive, please contact me, I would love to know if you have seen any of my friends!

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    1. Really ? Have you been inside there ? I'm sorry if i still curious

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  14. Okay, I don't believe a word of that last post, but it is a gorgeous addition to the ghost story.

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  15. LOL @ Anthroslug. Yeah, that anonymous guy is so full of shit. It's amazing the kind of fantasies these people get themselves into. Given the popularity of Fatal Frame, I'm sure if this guy had discovered the mansion and been through all of that (LMAO @ that again), there would be news coverage. Hahahaha.

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  16. @Kyle: Pretty much, yeah.

    But, as I love ghost stories primarily because of the stories themselves and the ways in which they grow and evolve over time, I am hard pressed to condemn this sort of behavior. The grab-and-bag approach is one of many ways that folklore grows over time.

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  17. If no one knows where it is it must be fake.
    Because if anyone ever went there it would be posted everywhere on the internet :P

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  18. The above comment is untrue. Japan is very true with folktales. The Japanese, if the tale is true, would be intent on keeping people away from the mansion, plus the internet doesn't tell all, some things aren't on the internet you know.

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  19. Wow, and yet more racist blanket statements about a group, and poor grammar to boot!

    I can't believe that this one entry is still getting hits.

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  20. I am currently researching Himuro (or Himikyru) myself.

    Not to offend skeptics, but the "Based on A True Story" tagline is Real for this case.

    I'm here to help researchers. (And maybe get some assistance myself!) Himuro mansion DOES reside near Tokyo, it should be near a mountain called Komagatake. I'm trying to find it using GoogleMaps though... So my research isn't too extensive.

    Please tell me if any of you know anything about the location of Himuro! It will help so much.

    (I actually found the post with the story very interesting... I hope that person will contact me... I want to hear (read) more about their experience.)

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  21. Elly: I don't see why anyone would be offended. I am curious, though, about your comment. You state that you know it to be real, but you also state that you have not been able to find it. I spend alot of time in my professional life looking for buildings and objects in aereal photos (including Google Earth), and if the building complex were real, my experience is that you would be able to find it easily.

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  22. To Anthroslug: Its true that you may not be able to find it, because (I believe) that the area is hidden. Say, someone went through extreme enough measures to hide every piece of information or anything that would lead to it. I can't quite explain why, but, I know without a doubt that this place exists, or once existed.

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  23. So, just to make sure that I understand what you are saying, there is no evidence that it exists, and this lack of evidence is not an indication that it doesn't exist, but evidence for a vast (and it would have to be vast) conspiracy against people finding it?

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  24. I'm not really qualified to be making those kinds of assumptions, but I would propose that as a possible reason. I don't have any proof to give to anyone, I am just very positive that this place exists. Sorry for lack of anything more than that to give information wise.
    (Oh, and sorry to be disturbing you, I do realize that this post is a bit dated...)

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  25. No need to apologize - unlike a normal blog, I view this as being more a collection of stories to be perused (I even make regular edits to past entries as I get more information), and I welcome people searching the blog and commenting as the wish. I was just curious as to where you were coming from on this.

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  26. I'm not even quite sure where I'm coming from. I really want to find this place. All I can say is... some people remember things that no human should be capable of even processing. I'm simply commenting to get replies, gain more info. Then again, I don't really believe to find any information on the mansion on English-based websites. ..Sadly, I'm not fluent in Japanese yet.

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  27. I looked up some of the pictures on the internet about the mansion and there is only one that looks like it could be a real one all the other ones look like they could have came from the game or someone who tried to recreate something from it and make it as real as possible and one of the pictures i noticed i could actually be taken from the movie memoirs of a a geisha because the pathway i am almost positive looks exactly the same

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  28. Tis might be real and it might be fake......but the only way you r goning to find out is if u go there...AND one day i AM goin to GO there.....
    IF(FAKE: It might be a SCOOBY DOO mystery...BUT IM GONNA GET STRANGLED TO DEATH IF I TELL ANY ONE
    IF(REAL):IM DEAD.........

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  29. to Elly
    If you have the time please contact me, I am also searching for myself on google maps and I have locations that looks very similar to what everyone have said, thank you. I would contact you but you have no email visible to send a message and I am new so please contact me...

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  30. There is another indivdual linked with Himuro Mansion. Miyuki Ishikawa:

    Evidently she lived in Himuro for a brief time before fleeing to New Orleans. She was involved with what is known as the Stuart House Haunting. In the swamps south of New Orleans.

    http://parasearcher.blogspot.com/2010/12/lousiana-swamp-monster-activity-near.html

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  31. i dont know what to believe, but if its true. HOLY SHIT man, thats scary..

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  32. I would love for the story to be true. But most likely it was just a way for Tecmo to boost sales. I do think even if it is fake it probably is somewhat based on a true story. maybe there wasn't a mansion, maybe the ritual was different, perhaps it wasnt even in Japan, but i'd bet something like the Himuro Mansion story happened somewhere

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  33. I dont wanna start fights or whatever but wouldnt it be better if you were to ask a japanese person who has been living there almost all their life? Surely you could have an idea. In my opinion i believe there is such place but what happened is all fake :P This mansion is just like any other house except people are not living in there. And for my beliefs, well lets just say for me theres no such thing as ghosts but another thing.....;P no mean comments please im just a innocent person xD

    -Anime

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  34. When the origin of the story can be clearly traced, you have, by definition, found the origin. If there was any evidence that the game manufacturers and marketers had gotten story concept from elsewhere, then I would agree with your suggestion. However, in researching this, it became pretty clear that they simply slapped a "based on a true story" label and intro onto an existing purely-fictional game for marketing purposes. That's the end of the story.

    For the record, I will say that I did speak with some folks I know who are from Japan, and even from the area that the house is said to exist, and they'd never heard of it. So, again, the story is pretty clearly just made up.

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  35. Well yes that was true I remember my friends saying they had no idea whatsoever if there was even such a place. Ok so like umm how would you say this....what about the part in another website saying that if you want to see this place you must ask the authorities? I know you all are gonna say "wtf anyone could have made that up and blah blah blah" but if this statement is true then like what of that then?

    -Anime :P

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  36. Uhh, yeah, you called it, I'm going to have to say "wtf anyone could have made that up and blah blah blah".

    I could write on this website that there is a living T-Rex in Madera County in California's Central Valley. Most people don't know about it, but if you want to see it, you must figure out who the proper authorities are, and ask them for permission.

    Now, you might point out that I just made that up in response to your comment, but I will simply say, following the logic that you are using above, that you can't prove that there isn't a living T-Rex in Madera County, you haven't asked the authorities, and if my claim that there is a living T-Rex is true and that you need to get permission to see it, "then like what of that then?"

    There is, of course, no living T-Rex in Madera County. There is no haunted Himuro Mansion near Tokyo. People making crap up doesn't somehow magically make these things pop into being. Think a bit more critically, and you'll get fooled less often.

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  37. Good point there (speechless... XD) Now the only way to prove this so called "legend" is to visit japan and "see it for yourself" xP

    -Anime

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  38. Wait....wait wait wait HOLD UP people! xD Now i have alot of questions if nobody minds listening to them :P Firstly, why in the world would they wanna say "based on a true story"?? Im pretty sure it doesnt attract attention like that right? O.o 2) How come its mentioned on a map? On other websites i have seen, it shows like a map of japan and shows like "this thing must have happened around the north of japan or what and blah blah" This i slightly doubt it but yea... 3)umm what was it? Oh yes, if this rumour was made before the videogame....then like would it still be possible that this place would have existed? I know i know you all are going to say "Anime shutup you dont know anything we told you its real/not real so would ya quit asking questions already?" Im pretty sure theres other peoplw who are just as questioning as me

    -Anime

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  39. "Firstly, why in the world would they wanna say "based on a true story"??"

    For the same reason that the makers of the entirely fictional "Return of the Living dead" put a title card in stating that it was "based on a true story" - marketing, and some fun on the part of the software company. Oh, and because, as is demonstrated by people such as yourself, the fact that people will continue to defend the product because they have been fooled into thinking that it is based on a true story.

    "2) How come its mentioned on a map?"

    Because people like to perpetuate hoaxes and see who will bite, like you obviously have.

    "if this rumour was made before the videogame....then like would it still be possible that this place would have existed?"

    This would make sense if it wasn't for the fact that the story pretty clearly didn't exist before the video game was exported to U.S. markets. Since it was part of the U.S. marketing campaign to claim that it was based on a true story - a claim that doesn't appear in the Japanese version or any of its marketing materials - your objection makes very little sense.

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  40. "Now the only way to prove this so called "legend" is to visit japan and "see it for yourself""

    There's a type of argument called "Special pleading" in which a person claims that special conditions apply to a particular claim that exempt it from the results of the sort of investigation that would be appropriate for every other similar claim. The problem with special pleading is that it assumes without ever demonstrating that the claim is different, and therefore never establishes any reason to treat the claim differently. Special Pleading is used when someone is attached to a disproven notion, but wants to pretend that the notion has not been disproven.

    In this case, the appropriate way to find out if there's is anything to the story is to go through a few basic steps, and if any step gives a negative result, you don't need to go to the following: 1) determine where the story originated; 2) determine why the story originated; 3) determine the reliability of the sources of the story; 4)determine if what the sources perceived could be explained by other phenomenon than what they think.

    In this case, you never even get to number four, because the answers are: 1) Evidence indicated that the story originated in the United States and not in Japan when the video game was exported for the North American market; 2) evidence indicates that the story originated as part of a marketing campaign; 3) as marketing campaigns are motivated by the desire to sell a product (in this case, a haunted house game) and not a desire to provide accurate information regarding supernatural events in Asia, there is no reason to think that the source of the story is reliable.

    I am fairly certain that there are many, many stories that you don't believe, that you are well aware were cooked up by an advertising company to sell a product, or by a politician to sell a policy, or by a church to sell their theology - and in each of these cases, you probably figure out pretty quickly what's going on. But in this case, for whatever reason, you are attached to the story, and even after it's been shown to be what it is, you are unwilling to judge it the same way that you would judge anything else. And so, you engage in special pleading.

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  41. Wow that Anime kid has alot of questions O_O. Anywho, if this place was real the first thing im gonna do is ruuuun there and hopefully not die xD it's interesting to see how people come up with such fascinating stories. I was playing the game while reading this and then a ghost popped up and I ran from the room leving the game still on and the thing froze on the ghost. My friend comes in and he's like "MOTHER OF HOLY SHIT!"xD We had to wait till morning to turn it off lmfao

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  42. Was there even such ritual they had to do for Shinto beliefs? O.O" if there was then....wow xD.

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    1. Shinto beliefs never went to such violence. Any of the rituals portrayed in the games are representations of the corruptions that can appear in almost any religious setting under threat of "hell", "suffering", or "damnation".

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  43. Wait...though it says that its based on a supposingly "true story", isnt it actually just a combination of a few japanese folktales here and there? Looking at all of the wikipedia,other blogs and stuff they all say that he combined two different folktales and this mysteriously ends up to be "claimed" as a "himuro mansion/true story" thing. Am I right to say that? o_O Because I looked at a few folktales told by my grandma since she lived in japan her whole life and what shes told me, i can pick up a few lines, when combined form something similar to the "himuro" folktale. :D

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  44. It's entirely possible that different folktales were mashed together. As said in the initial post, the original game was released in Japan with no claim about being based on a true story, so it is quite possible that it was just taken from a few different well known ghost stories.

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  45. Id love to visit the place. But the fact that there is nothing of the mansions whereabouts is a little strange. ill continue to hunt some more info and come back if i find anything more.

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  46. I'm not sure which surprises me more, that this post still gets comments a full 2 and a half years after it's initial posting, or that so many people seem to be willing to take a video game's backstory at face value.

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  47. I just stumbled across this.. I do know there is a abandon mansion outside of Tokyo I haven’t been there myself but I have had friends and relatives tell me about it. It is said to be hunted and supposedly people have died there. I do suggest looking in to the city records about the mansion. I do know for a fact that a lot of Japanese people are superstitious about legends and such. It’s mostly in small towns and mostly it’s from older citizens. I have been to a lot of small towns in Japan where a lot of hauntings and deaths had accorded. Many of the older people don’t like to speak of the matter. They either tell me to forget it or not to go there. Sometimes they don’t say anything, but doesn’t every culture have people like that?

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  48. I read all the comments people have made on this topic. I dont know why people use google maps to find things like this. Google maps are only 75% acurate. Like where I live google maps and GPS dont really work. Yeah you can find maps easily to navigate in town but after that google maps and GPS are all off say roads are there and there isnt one or they give you roads that exited 25 years ago and theres a house in the middle of it :D. So looking for the mansion on google maps might not be the route to go. I do beleave the mansion is real (not sure about the ritural). I am going to look further into it and check Tokyo records I let you know what I find.

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  49. I think I read somewhere that the head of the house caught wind of someone leaking info about the rituals they were doing outside of the mansion and so he torched everyone and everything this could probably be why you can't find it on google earth.

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  50. One does not simply believe in bold evidences. BUT! There are things that are too obvious to believe wherein we think that is not true but in the contrary it might be True.

    Since we think that it is too obvious and the evidences leading to the Himuro Mansion is way over line, we have only one conclusion and that is, It's Fake.

    However, what if it is actually True? And the way of hiding the truth is by actually stating the facts that are too much for us to believe.

    One must not simply think inside of the box but also the Outside.

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  51. Wow...that is just...wow...

    I have never seen anyone pack three sentences so full of pseudo-deep cannabis-inspired bullshit in my life. All to defend a rather ludicrous and easily disproven position. Really? "You've shown this is probably false, therefore it is probably true!" That's your argument? Seriously?

    I especially like the line "One must not simply think inside of the box but also the Outside" How many cheeseball, half-wit motivational posters did you look at before you found a saying that you liked?

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  52. I currently live in Yokohoma just 30 minutes from Tokyo. I'm a big fan of the Fatal Frame series and just so happen to own a couple of professional Nikons. If anyone has ANY information as where to find this Mansion, please let me know. I'd like to spend a night there and get some pictures. Worst case scenerio, I may have to ask the Police.

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    1. You have an adventurous soul. :) Please do tell if you happen to find any information. (I probably sound like a superstitious freak, but I really don't care.)

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  53. Why not just interrogate the producer of the Fatal Frame series and get him to admit if it's real or not hahaha

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  54. If it's real, he must cite evidences that can prove that this mansion and the story can be deemed true or at least provide links to bring us closer to the truth about this whole thing. Or maybe at least tell us where he heard the story from. If he can't do that at all, and yet puts a 'Based on a true story' label on Fatal Frame, then he's no longer believable and this is all fake. Doesn't it seem suspicious when the storyteller himself is so vague about it?

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  55. Damn I really hoped this story was real it would make the game 10 times freakier but hey its still a good game and i still play it from time to time

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  56. You know whether it's real or not one explanation of why no one can find it is maybe it was destroyed. I mean if it were to be a real place and true events I know i wouldn't want that place around anymore. Either way it's a great story and a good game and if the story just so happened to be true that would make the story and the game even better.

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  57. Guys this is sooooo real ive been inside the mansion myself.

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  58. hmmmm interesting topic - playing the game atm saw the "based on a true story" thing and was like o.O really!? soooooooo i find myself using google - here's the thing, noone can disprove or prove if its legitimate or not - and the only people who can - are well dead, but like heres my little idea, if this thing is real, which it could be - i know your all like "its against religon laws an all" but in all honesty sacrifing virgins and what not is a known thing throughout history in all walks of life and relgions soo why is some people just ignoring this one, because its against their laws etc etc - they were doing it for the "greater good" or what they wud think wud be for the greater good... and well lets be honest they wouldnt want the genral public to knwo soo it wud be all rather hush hush wouldnt it?

    personally i think the house prob is real and the rituals aswel, sure theres not concrete evidence - but why would there be? yet again years ago - not like they had mobile phones and camcorders

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  59. Ohh, nice. One of my friends is going there soon

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  60. Google Earth I will find it. LOL

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  61. XD a full 3 years later your still getting comments good job. My friend on FB wants to visit and I told her it may be fake but she still insist it exist. Personally I'm taking it all with a grain of salt

    Torre

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  62. Yeah, I am really amazed at the longevity of this one.

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  63. My grandparents lived in Japan for the majority of their lives. They've supposedly found the mansion in Tokyo after being lost in the forests outside Tokyo for a few days. They didn't venture into the mansion because of an eerie, creepy feeling they got. Even on the outside you could tell something terrible happened there. So they've told me, but its fascinating enough to look into.

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  64. Nevertheless, the Fatal Frame series is amazing!

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  65. Ok so I'm not saying it is or isn't true...at this point I can see a semi valid argument for both sides.
    One of the big things that people use to prove the doesn't exist theory is lack of media or police files but I don't think people realize that in Japan (much like the rest of the world) people can be bought...now say hypothetically the family had close friends or distant cousins who'd be negatively effected by people finding out about this 'unspeakable blasphemy' if they had money they could simply pay big bucks to get a cop to turn their cheek and media either wouldn't find out about it or would also be paid off or threatened. Which is how the legend would be created, by someone telling someone telling someone.
    Now I love a great true ghost story and as much as it breaks my heart to say it...this story more than likely is just an urban legend but there are still plenty of urban legends to investigate that could be true

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  66. It may not be real, but I know a place that is in Japan that might be related. It is called The "Ero Book Hut" in Gifu Prefecture. I'm surprised that this urban legend is not popular with westerners, but only one Mexican guy mentioned it on Youtube a while ago.

    If you Google it, you might not find much information, but only an English website having such little info of what the legend is about, but unlike the Himuro mansion, there is a Google Maps link to the place. I suggest any foreigner or expat who reads this to be careful because I don't really know if that place is legal to visit or not. Or you can use エロ本小屋 to search on Youtube just to look at videos at Japanese men who already visited that place.

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