The pandemic hampered the momentum Japan had going when it comes to ハロウィン (harouin, Halloween). Gatherings in Shibuya are discouraged or highly regulated, the Kawasaki costume parade has come to an end … in fact, the scariest thing happening on Oct. 31 this year is an election.

That doesn’t mean you can’t get into the spirit of the season, though. Japan has plenty of 妖怪 (yōkai, monsters) and お化け (obake, ghosts) to keep you spooked through the rest of October.

Japanese horror films saw a boom in the 2000s after “Ringu” and “Ju-on” were remade as Hollywood blockbusters “The Ring” and “The Grudge,” respectively. This brought the image of pale, angry 幽霊 (yūrei, spirits) into the 悪夢 (akumu, nightmares) of people around the world.