The year was 1979 and Japan was gripped by rumors of a new vicious yokey. Her name was

Kuchisake Onna, the slit-mouthed woman. The bottom half of her face was hidden

behind a surgical mask, and she was known to approach children on their way home from school.

Am I pretty? she would ask.

"'With most of her face hidden behind that mask,

"'the children must surely have been perplexed.

"'But they had to answer.

"'Yes, you're pretty.' "'There would be the last words the children would ever say.

"'The woman would suddenly tear off her mask, revealing her huge mouth, cut from ear to ear.

And then she would scream.

Am I still pretty?

Supposing the child answered,

No, you're not.

Then she would proceed to cut them with a knife or a sickle.

The only correct answer was,

Sure, in your own way.

This would not sway her feelings one way or another, and she would leave.

Incidentally, it was impossible to run from her.

Rumour has it, that Kuchisake-Oonna, could run 100 metres within three seconds.

Hey guys, this is your host Tara A Devlin, and welcome to another episode of Kowabana, true Japanese scary stories from around the internet. This week we're going to be looking at supernatural encounters, which brings me right to this week's question.

Have you ever had an experience with the supernatural?

It might seem strange, considering I run this show, but I don't especially believe in ghosts.

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