Eight-Foot Tall Adult (Part 1)

Japan has an anonymous forum, with a board dedicated to collecting "properly told" ghost stories. On August 26, 2008, someone posted a long thread about something that happened to him ten years ago at his grandparents' house in the countryside. After the post went viral, people later called that thing the "Eight-Foot Tall Adult." Below is the gist of the post.

That summer, he rode his motorcycle to the countryside to visit his grandparents. The old house had a large courtyard, surrounded by a hedge taller than a person. He parked his bike outside the gate, pushed the door open, and walked halfway in when he saw a hat on top of the hedge.

It was a white hat with a wide brim, moving slowly along the top of the hedge. He first thought someone from the neighbor's house was passing by, but then he reconsidered. The hedge was over two meters high, and since the hat was above it, the person under the hat must be eight feet tall, about 2.4 meters.

Then he heard a sound: "pop, pop, pop." Once, then after a pause, once more, at even intervals, like someone softly imitating something, or like a woman's laugh. The sound came from the other side of the hedge, and the hat moved with the sound, slowly shifting from one end of the courtyard to the other.

He stood still, not moving. The hat reached the corner of the hedge and suddenly stopped. After a while, he realized his palms were sweaty. He slowly backed away, retreated into the house, and pulled the door shut.

He went inside. His grandparents were waiting for him in the main room, with freshly cut watermelon on the table, and cicadas calling loudly in the trees outside the courtyard. Everything was just like past summers, except that he, the moment he entered, couldn't help but look back several times.

He told his grandparents about it. After hearing it, his grandfather's face changed instantly, and his grandmother put down her bowl without speaking. He asked what was wrong, but neither of the old couple answered. His grandfather stood up and made a phone call.

Soon, Old Lady K from the village arrived. She was the oldest person in the village, and anyone with any trouble would consult her first. Old Lady K entered the room, glanced at him, and asked him to recount everything he had seen and heard, item by item. After listening, she sighed and said, "You've been taken a liking to."

He asked taken a liking to what. Old Lady K said that thing was called the Eight-Foot Tall Adult. Once it took a liking to someone, it would follow them forever, and before long, it would take the person away. The villagers used to block it with statues of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva on the roads outside the village, so the elders all knew about it. He had never heard of it because the elders never told such things to children.

Old Lady K said a few more things. She said that thing looked roughly like what he had seen: absurdly tall, dressed in white, wearing a hat on its head, making the sound "pop, pop, pop." Hearing that sound meant it was looking for someone. If it truly found someone, it wouldn't rush to act, but would first imitate human speech; once the imitation was convincing, it would coax the person out.

Old Lady K took several things out of her bag: amulets, a small packet of salt, and talismans with writing on them. She hung an amulet around his neck and said, "Tonight, no matter who calls you, do not respond, no matter whose voice it sounds like."

Afterward, several people worked together to seal the room where he slept. Several layers of newspaper were pasted on the windows, talismans covered the door, and a small pile of salt was placed in each of the four corners. A Buddha statue was placed in the center of the room, along with two chamber pots—because at night, he could not step out of this room.

Finally, Old Lady K instructed: Do not open the door or the window before dawn. She told his grandparents to return to their own room and not to come out. After saying this, she went home.

At dinner that day, no one in the family spoke. Grandmother brought the dishes one by one into his room, set down the bowls and chopsticks, placed her hand on his shoulder and pressed it gently, without saying a word. When the sun set, the cicada sounds in the courtyard suddenly stopped, and it became eerily quiet.

That night, he sat alone in the sealed room. The newspapers on the window were pitch black, the light was on, but he didn't dare sleep. Late at night, the wind rose outside, and that sound echoed in the courtyard: "pop, pop, pop."

He glanced at his watch; it was only past eleven. The night was still young, with a very long time to endure. The light bulb buzzed, and the face of the Buddha statue flickered between light and shadow under the lamp. He dared not look too much, but also dared not look away.

He gripped the amulet around his neck tightly.

The sound came near, then far, as if circling the room. He dared not move. Then, something outside tapped against the window, "thud," very softly. After that, someone outside called his name.

#Paranormal #连载 #八尺大人