Teke Teke

Common elements of the legend include that Teke Teke is the vengeful ghost or spirit (also known as an onryō) of a young woman or schoolgirl who fell on a railway line in Northern Japan, which resulted in her being sliced in half by a train, she survived the accident but was in agony, she was neglected by the station's staff and died.{{Cite book |last=Yoshida |first=Yuki |title=昭和の不思議101 |publisher=Taiyo Tosho |year=2017 |isbn=978-4813079682 |edition=1st |location=Japan |pages=58 |language=JA |trans-title=Showa no Fushigi 101}} Missing her lower extremities, she is said to walk on her hands or her elbows, making a scratching, scraping, or "teke teke"-like sound as she moves, hence the name “Teke Teke”. If an individual encounters Teke Teke at night, she will chase them and cut their body in half (often with a scythe), mimicking her own death and disfigurement out of spite.{{Cite book |last=Namiki |first=Shin'ichiro |title=最強の都市伝説 KING OF URBAN LEGENDS |publisher=KEIZAIKAI |year=2007 |isbn=978-4813079682 |edition=1st |location=Japan |language=JA}}

One version of the story concerns a young woman known as Kashima Reiko. As with the original iteration of the legend, Kashima died when her legs were severed from her body by a train after she fell on the tracks.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/10/24/358555307/the-creepiest-ghost-and-monster-stories-from-around-the-world|title=The Creepiest Ghost And Monster Stories From Around The World|last1=Meza-Martinez|first1=Cecily|last2=Demby|first2=Gene|date=31 October 2014|website=NPR|publisher=National Public Radio, Inc.|access-date=6 August 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vix.com/es/mundo/208400/teke-teke-el-fantasma-japones-que-aterra-a-quienes-caminan-por-las-estaciones-de-tren|title=Teke Teke: el fantasma japonés que aterra a quienes caminan por las estaciones de tren|trans-title=Teke Teke: the Japanese ghost that terrifies those who walk through train stations|last=Fierro|first=Romina|website=Vix.com|access-date=6 August 2019}} Versions of the legend often state that, when an individual learns of Kashima's story, she will appear to them within one month, and the only way to stop this from happening is to spread the story. The "Kashima Reiko" story predates that of Teke Teke,{{cite web|url=https://www.kowabana.net/2018/06/30/kashima-san/|title=Japanese Urban Legends: Kashima-san {{!}} Kowabana|date=30 June 2018|language=en-AU|access-date=19 February 2021}} essayist {{Ill|Yuki Yoshida (essayist)|ja|吉田悠軌}} suggests that the two stories influenced each other. The legless spirit of Kashima Reiko is said to haunt bathroom stalls, asking occupants if they know where her legs are. If a questioned individual replies with an answer that Kashima does not find acceptable, she will rip or slice them in half.{{cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japans-bathroom-ghosts|title=Get to Know Your Japanese Bathroom Ghosts|last=Grundhauser|first=Eric|date=2 October 2017|work=Atlas Obscura|access-date=12 July 2019}} Individuals may survive the encounter by replying that her legs are on the Meishin Expressway,{{cite web|url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/07/14-terrifying-japanese-monsters-myths-and-spirits/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720165719/http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/07/14-terrifying-japanese-monsters-myths-and-spirits/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 20, 2016|title=14 Terrifying Japanese Monsters, Myths And Spirits|last=Bricken|first=Rob|date=19 July 2016|website=Kotaku|publisher=G/O Media|access-date=6 August 2019}} or by responding with the phrase "kamen shinin ma", or "mask death demon" (which may be the phonetic root of Kashima's name).{{sfn|Bathroom Readers' Institute|2017|p=390}}

The children's song Satchan is sometimes associated with the urban legend in rumors and scary stories, tying the lyrics She really loves bananas. But she can only eat a half with the missing lower half of the spirit. One popular version spread online says that after a young girl called Sachiko Kiritani died in a train accident similar to the one described in the story of Teke Teke, a student that found the situation funny created a new version of the song with a 4th verse describing the situation, he was found dead without his legs soon after.{{Cite book |first=Kirin |title=あなたの知らないこの世の闇大全 |publisher=Fusosha Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=978-4594085568 |edition=1st |location=Japan |pages=12 |language=JA |trans-title=All You don't Know About the Darkness of this World}}

• Aka Manto ("Red Cape"), a Japanese urban legend about a spirit that appears in bathrooms.
• Hanako-san, a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl who haunts school bathrooms.
• Kuchisake-onna ("Slit Mouth Woman"), a Japanese urban legend about a disfigured woman.
• Madam Koi Koi, an African urban legend of a ghost who haunts schools.
• The Women in Black of Wat Samian Nari, a Thai urban legend about the spirits of two sisters in black who bear a resemblance to Teke Teke.
• Sadako Yamamura, a ghost from the Ring novels and films.
• Teketeke (film), a 2009 film based on the urban legend.
• TEKE::TEKE, a Canadian rock group.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|author=Bathroom Readers' Institute|year=2017|title=Uncle John's OLD FAITHFUL 30th Anniversary Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Annual)|publisher=Portable Press|isbn=978-1684120864}}
• {{cite book|last=de Vos|first=Gail|year=2012|title=What Happens Next? Contemporary Urban Legends and Popular Culture|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|isbn=978-1598846331}}
• {{cite book|last=Murguía|first=Salvador Jimenez|year=2016|title=The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films (National Cinemas)|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1442261662}}

{{Ghosts}}

{{Urban legends}}

Category:Female demons

Category:Female ghosts

Category:Ghost children

Category:Japanese bathroom ghosts

Category:Japanese demons

Category:Japanese urban legends

Category:Legendary creatures with absent body parts

Category:Supernatural urban legends