In the Depths of Winter Watch Out for the Spine Chilling Snow Woman

In the depths of Japanese winter, folklore warns of the Snow Woman or Yuki-Onna. 

Yuki-Onna is a “Yokai” and according to the Museum of International Folk Art, “Yokai is a catchall Japanese word for ghosts, demons, monsters, shapeshifters, tricksters, and other kinds of supernatural beings and mysterious phenomena.” 

Yuki-Onna is said to prey on travelers lost in heavy snowstorms and is said to possess otherworldly beauty with long black or white hair, ageless white skin, and bodies cold as ice. 

She is said to travel with blizzards while wearing a thin white kimono and can be mistaken for a ghost. 

The Yuki-Onna is said to stay near mountain roads and feed off the life force of her human victims sucking it from human’s mouths with icy breath that freezes their victims solid. 

For some people, the Yuki-Onna is the incarnation of winter storms.