Kunekune

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The Kunekune is a fictional being created on Japanese internet sites as an urban legend, similar to how popular characters such as Slenderman were made.

On these websites, Kunekune is considered a  Yōkai. The Kunekune is said to resemble a long, slender, white and humanoid shape, like a paper mannequin or a piece of fine fabric. 

It is said that the being can be found at lunchtime during hot summer days. The Kunekune lingers in widely extended rice fields or acres, and in rare cases, it might be found over the open sea. Its limbs are said to wiggle endlessly, as if there was a straight gust of wind, even if it was a windless day.

This behavior gave the being the Japanese name "Kunekune", meaning "to twist", "to wiggle" or "to meander".

Think of it like one of those inflatable, arm flailing tube men, that are apparently called air dancers- I never knew what they were called. It's just a creepy white version of one of them, and it never stops flailing.

The Kunekune allegedly can only be seen from a distance. In the countryside, it looks snow white. In a city, it looks pitch black. If someone tries to look at it up close, they will go insane. If someone touches it, or simply comes too close, the Kunekune will kill them. If someone instead just leaves, the Kunekune will ignore them.

The appearance of the Kunekune may be the result of confusion with scarecrows, which are found in fields of rice and barley. Scarecrows are seen in Japan as very scary and many local ghost stories claim that scarecrows come to life during the night, or if one stares at them too long. Another possible explanation might be thick fog clouds, which appear over the fields during lunchtime. A third possibility might be hallucinations, created by and dehydration during hot summer days.

Either way, Kunekune is a thing out there and probably will be for a long time. If I was a Japanese farmer, I'd totally make my scarecrow look like one for Halloween.


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