October 18th - Yuki-onna (雪女)
Yuki-onna are female spirits often said to be the ghost of a woman who perished in a snowstorm or even the spirit of the snow itself. She is very beautiful, and so pale that she blends in with the snowy landscape. Despite her beauty she is known to be ruthless, often appearing to people outside in snowstorms and causing them to freeze to death with her icy breath. In some cases she is also said to be able to pull a person’s soul from their body. She is also said to enjoy kidnapping children and pushing adults into ravines.
In one famous story, yuki-onna appears to two men lost in a blizzard. She freezes the older man but spares the other man because of his young age, warning him that he must never speak of her or the events of that night. The man goes on to lead a normal life, marrying and having children, all the while keeping his secret. However, one night he tells his wife of his experience in the snowstorm so many years ago. Outraged, his wife reveals herself to be the yuki-onna. She spares him from death once again so that he may take care of their children, but disappears, never to be seen again.
