Yōkai (妖怪) are a broad category of supernatural beings in Japanese folklore—monsters, spirits, demons, and strange phenomena that exist just beyond human understanding.

The word itself can be translated as “bewitching mystery” or “strange apparition,” which is fitting—because yōkai are not just creatures, but explanations for the unexplainable.

I didn’t want readers to feel that break.

I wanted them to visit a place I wrote about and think:
“This is exactly how it felt.”

So the question became:

How do you write a place you’ve never been—and still get it right?