What Intrigues Me Most About Japanese Ghost Stories

The Yūrei and other figures possess a special emotional quality

When I was writing my novella The Ghost of Madison Avenue, I wanted to come up with ideas beyond the usual “Boo!” I wondered about creating something besides a story of the undead spirit hiding in the attic.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a classic ghost story like Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw or Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. And I have a special place in my heart for Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of…