Okiku Inspired The Ring Ghost

The girl from "The Ring" was inspired by a Japanese legend about a young girl named Okiku, who served a samurai named Tessan Aoyama at Himeji Castle. Aoyama hid one of ten valuable golden plates and threatened to accuse Okiku of stealing it unless she accepted his advances. After she refused, one version says Aoyama threw her into a well, while another says she jumped into it after finding no other escape. According to the legend, her ghost crawled from the well every night, counted the plates, and tormented Aoyama until he lost his mind.

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