The Goblin Spider, by Lafcadio Hearn and Takejiro Hasegawa - ラフカディオ・ハーンと長谷川武次郎による『ゴブリン・スパイダー』

Here's something a little different..it's an old Japanese 'kaidan' or 'strange talk/tale', that tells of a Goblin spider, and which was translated into English way back in 1899 by Lafcadio Hearn, and published in this book, which is part of a series of Japanese Fairy Tales....

The Goblin Spider was lavishly illustrated in Takejiro Hasegawa’s five-volume set of crepe-paper books, which were hand-printed using wood blocks on textured pages.

These spider goblins are closely related to another Yokai called Jorōgumo, spiders who appear as attractive young women to lure in virile young men, who they then wrap up and consume as prey!

But also, goblin spiders are an actual arachnid, with a new variant being found as late as 2023 on Iriomote island! Below is a picture of a female Ogata-Yoroi-Danigum...

Hopefully this actual gobnlin spider won't grow massive and lure young men to their doom...no reports of any such dodgy dealings so far!

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Thanks for dropping by the blog again today...be sure to go check out what the othe Countdown Cryptkeepers are up to by clicking the badge below....or you could just head straight over to Vraie Fiction, where Guillaume is showing off some spooky Fanta cans today and recommending some excellent spooky TV shows! Or My Two Yen Worth again, for more Japanese based spookiness!! Today he's showing off a visit to an Oni Museum, which looks awesome!!

I'll be back tomorrow!