The Ghost Candy Store
Not only is there a ghostly tale surrounding this small business, but it also claims to be the oldest candy store in Japan with a history dating back 450 years.
The story goes that about 400 years ago the owner of the shop was disturbed late by a knock at the door. He opened it to find a young woman wishing to buy some candy. The shop owner obliged, and the woman then left. This happened again the next night and the next. After the seventh night the owner was becoming a little annoyed at being called upon so late at night and also curious as to why the woman kept buying the candy, so he decided to follow her.
He walked a distance behind the woman and was led to a nearby graveyard where he found the woman standing over a grave. She then disappeared. The man went over to the grave to find it open and inside lay a dead young woman, the very same woman that had been buying the candy, and in her arms was a baby boy still alive.
And as for the baby, the story continues that the shop owner raised the child and the boy became a local Buddhist monk.
A variant on the story is that after seeing the young woman in the graveyard the shop owner fled, terrified and then returned the next day with a monk. The monk said that the grave was that of a pregnant woman that had died seven days prior. Praying for her, they then heard the crying of a baby underground. After digging the grave, they found the baby boy sucking on candy from the shop!
Whatever the truth behind the tale, the story has given its name to the store and people still come to buy the Ghost Candy.
And if you would like to listen to HIDDEN PATHS' Phillip Jackson telling the story on the podcast The Unexplained with Howard Hughes follow the link below and scroll forward to the 27 minute point to hear the full chilling tale!
