Teke Teke/Shaka Shaka/ Pata Pata/ Kata Kata/Koto Koto/ Hijikake Babā

The Teke Teke is a form of ghost from Japanese urban legends. The name is an onomatopoeia meant to reference the sound of them dragging themselves with their hands. They are almost always women and look like people cut in half at the waist. Despite the fact that they crawl, they are thought to be capable of keeping up with cars when in pursuit, sometimes reaching 150km per hour. They commonly carry scythes or sickles. Teke Teke can be found in urban areas, commonly along dark roads. Getting attacked by a Teke Teke is horrific, but stories are often unclear about the specifics of these attacks. Commonly victims are cut in half and have their legs stolen. Some believe that victims of the Teke Teke turn into Teke Tekes themselves. Some believe she is constantly searching for her lost legs, while others think she simply kills in blind rage. The origin of the Teke Teke is often the victim of a tragic accident, or suicide. Some believe magic charms can ward her off, but otherwise she is unstoppable. The origin of the story is unclear, but some point to a woman named Kashima Reiko, from Hokkaidõ. The story says that she was assaulted and raped by an American soldier in the time after WWII. She later jumped onto a train track and killed herself, being torn in half. Because of extreme cold, she didn’t immediately bleed out and writhed in pain for minutes. She crawled down the tracks some and an attendant found her, covering her with a plastic tarp instead of helping her.

Some think that after hearing her story, she will appear and ask you a riddle in a dream or mysterious phone call.

– She asks “Do you need your legs?”

– You respond “I need them right now.”

– She asks “Who told you my story?”

– You respond “Kashima Reiko”

If you do this correctly, she might let you live; if you fail at this then she appears three days later and attacks you.

Citations:

Meyer, Matthew. The Book of the Hakutaku: A Bestiary of Japanese Monsters. United States, Matthew Meyer, 2019.