Cow’s Head

>>17003838
I first discovered the book on a rainy day during early fall of last year in Kobe.

Being deeply interested in literature, I was drawn to second hand book shops since the beginning of my stay. I was working as a part-time English teacher after I abused my visa to receive legal residence, which freed up a lot of time to research and generally pursue my own hobbies.

After getting settled in, I dug around my mobile phone to find some apps to help me locate the occult. There are many crowded into Japanese Google Play (sorry non-Japanese residence, many of them require a Japanese phone number as verification), and I picked one at random.

These chats are anonymous, people picking nicknames and sharing information about strange news at certain locations, coordinates to find abandoned places, as well as some leading to the Deepweb.

Most of the chats were jokes, and some malicious at that. Due to the anonymity, a few people warned about abandoned coordinates, as some people intentionally give you coordinates to dangerous areas.

It was a rainy morning when I was stretched out on my futon watching tv and idly browsing the chat. Most people were bitching about the weather and more than a few were cracking jokes about “rain ghosts.” I received a private message from a garble of a nickname (huire2918js, for example) and I have translated as follows.

“There is something terrible at Kinomiya book store. It is about ten minutes away from Sannomiya station. You will find it on the third shelf to the left.”

>>17003840
Original:

「キノミヤと言う本屋さんで本当に怪しいモノがありますよ。三宮駅から十分歩いたらいけます。左の方にある三番の棚で見つけます。」

______
At first, I was a little shocked that someone was able to know where I was located. However, checking my phones status, I realized that i had left the locator on (I was prone to getting lost), and thought nothing of it. Kinomiya is a small second hand book store run by an elderly couple at the basement of a large department store. I had been there many times, as they sold international books translated to Japanese for times I wanted to revisit those stories. International books averaged around 3,000 Yen for the brand new copy, and the elderly couple also gave me hefty discounts at half that price.

Thinking that I had nothing to lose, besides getting a little wet by the rain, I ate a simple breakfast and made my way to Sannomiya station.

Nothing was different when I entered Kinomiya, the musty smell of old books, cigarettes, and old coffee was the same as always. Aging, sagging wooden shelves supported large volumes that definitely voided their manufacture warranties, The elderly couple immediately struck up a conversation the minute I entered the door, offering me a smoke and some coffee.

I sat down with the elderly couple and we talked lightly of television shows, why I’m still not married (”I’m only 23″ is not a valid reason apparently), and of course, books. The elderly obaasan was a lover of fantasy and romance, while the Ojiisan was a lover of historical novels, particularly of the Meiji era.

It was when our conversation centered around books, I asked him if he had encountered any strange (怪しい) books. The obaasan’s face blanched suddenly, while the old man threw back his head and laughed, much to my surprise.

He skirted the question for a few minutes, then told me this:

>>17003847
The conversation kind of petered out there, and I finished my coffee and cigarette. I returned to browsing the bookshelves, and noticed that for the first time, the old couple was watching me closely.

They were quite discrete about it. I doubt they thought that I would steal any books, but being a NYC native, I know when I’m being watched by store owners. Nonetheless, I slipped out of their view to the shelf that the message had told me about. I have never stolen anything in my life (except a bottle of Tabasco from my university’s dining hall once, but for $4,000 a semester for sub-par food I decided it wasn’t even stealing), yet for reasons unknown I quietly slipped a book from the bottom shelf into my bag.

After saying my farewells and stating that there was nothing that caught my eye today, the old couple seemed to return to their normal cheery selves. They waved me out the door and told me to stop by anytime for a coffee and chat. I promised that I would.

I decided to take the bus back to my apartment. The rain had increased to steady downpour and my umbrella felt heavy from the amount of endless water. It was only on the empty bus I took a look at what I had pilfered.

It was a book without a title.

>>17003850
I arrived home with my precious cargo in tow. I had stopped at the convenience store at the corner of my block to grab a few snacks and got to work folding my futon into a makeshift couch. I grabbed a few more blankets, a dictionary, and of course my trusty journal.

At that point, had I really expected to find anything of the occult or paranormal nature? Absolutely not. Due to the watchful gaze of the elderly couple, the best that I could do was grab a book, any book, and book it out of there (pun totally intended).

Now that I had my illegally procured book, I scanned over the untitled cover. I originally believed the cover to be made of leather, hardened over time into brittleness. What I discovered instead was an aged wooden cover, with a traditionally carved illustration. I was immediately overjoyed.

The book had to be Kusazoshi ( 草双紙) for those unversed in Japanese literary history, Kusazoshi were books written during the Edo era mainly, with some written even before the Edo period. Kusazoshi isn’t exactly the pinnacle of Japanese literature, but are extremely difficult to find in this day and age. Actual Kusazoshi and not reprints are kept at museums or private collections, never second-hand book stores.

Go on...

>>17004094
where were you when op be kill?
i was in sunagawa, eating some gyoza when my aunt run in
op be kill
>no

>>17004159

>But who was Gyoza?

>>17003856
Kusazoshi are divided into different colors, which denotes themes. There are Blue, Red, Yellow, and Black books to name just a few. The book I was dealing with was a Kurohon ( 黒本), which translates directly into “Black Book.” Kurohon deals with mature themes, usually great myths or the demons, particularly those that were written during the early 1800′s.

The cover was rather unremarkable. I was not exactly able to guess which type of wood the cover was made of, but the book had suffered some damage. The corners were warped slightly, and the border facing the binding was cracked in a few places, but the engravings on the cover constituting the illustration was in marvelous condition.

The engraving was of a sleepy village nestled between two mountains, with thick bamboo groves surrounding it. For reasons unknown, the engraving produced goosebumps all over my arms.

When I flipped the wooden cover, I would be lying if I didn’t say I didn’t scream like a little girl. A yellowed slip of paper fell out of the book and into my lap. I have translated the note to the best of my ability, and unfortunately, I have not made a note of the original Japanese in my notes.

“This is the last remaining copy of the story known as Gozu, a tale of terror and desperation. It is a story with no morals, messages, or treasures to the reader. Its contents malicious, the writer unknown, and the owners lost, it offers nothing and takes everything.” -Showa 40 (1965).

Continue please

Yes plz continue

http://smatterist.com/6131/dont-read-this-before-bed-creepy-japanese-urban-legends-to-scare-you-senseless/

bumping in case op returns

The book killed OP, bump for interest

I bump as well

"OP was never heard from again, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Though the cursed book was never found, a screenplay loosely based on his account is in development under the working title of 'The Grifter.'"

There is the horror flick "Gozu" based off of the same legend if any one was interested.

>>17005115
Seconding this. Gozu is such a slept on Miike movie.

OP is definitely a writer
I wanna buy your books

>>17005063
nice meme

why does OP have to be this way

Hey guys! I thought this thread would slip off into oblivion. Thanks for the feedback and the interest! I have actually finished this story and was considering launching a small blog in the far future to transcribe my journal into a narrative. I am sorry for the slow updates as I got called into an emergency at work (some dude got crushed by an overloaded pallet at work and no one in the warehouse speaks English, of course). I promise I'll be back tonight to wrap up the story. If thread is killed before I return, I'll make a new one and continue where I left off.

See you in a few hours!

>>17005448
MOMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

>>17003838
>so utterly terrifying, it leads to the demise of the reader or listener by fear.
>some believe it may still exist in an oral tradition.

Would make for a pretty short-lived oral tradition.

File: 1445619260816.jpg (175KB, 800x800px) Image search: [Google]

175KB, 800x800px

>>17006171

I will have to try to find it at my local library, right after I return The King in Yellow.

bamp

The rest of the story can be found here http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn;jsessionid=C4D0DF072EA9D76EBEC5AC2373FF3912?titleId=350217&no=31

Sorry guys, new thread >>17007342

I noticed afterwards that the formatting was destroyed reposting to /x/. Can't delete the thread now since its so old. Thanks for waiting patiently.

>>17003838
>cow’s head
>udderly terrifying

>>17008081
Carlos!