Once upon a time in Japan, there was an awful goblin. He roamed about in the woods of a province known as Adachigahara. People were afraid of the goblin as he killed everyone who came in its way. The goblin also had the ability to transform itself. It often took the garb of an old woman and lured strangers into its cave. Some people believed that the goblin laid an underground trap. While there were others who said that he was an ogre because people kept disappearing without any trace. Some learned and educated people did not believe in such stories. One day, a young Buddhist priest was walking across the plains of Adachigahara. He had heard the stories of the goblin but did not believe them. The priest walked for hours. It was getting dark and he did not find any place to spend the night.
The Old Woman
The priest believed in the Buddha’s protection and so started praying. As soon as he finished his prayer, he saw a small light glowing in the distance. The light was coming from a tiny, decaying cottage. He went closer. The window of the house was broken. He looked through the window and saw an old woman sitting at her spinning wheel. He felt happy and rushed towards the door. The priest greeted the woman and said that he was a tired traveller and new in this land. He asked for permission to spend the night in the cottage. The old woman opened the door and said, “Come in and warm yourself.” The priest sat comfortably beside the fire while the old woman cooked supper. She served him a bowl of rice. While they ate, they talked about the trivia of life.
The Warning
It was getting late and the fire began to die down. The priest said that he would go and fetch some wood. The woman immediately got up and said, “No, no. You are my guest. I will go out and get the wood. You stay here.” So, she set out at night. The cold wind was blowing. She had gone only a few steps ahead that she returned and said, “Young man, please do not go at the back of the house when I am not here.” Before the priest could ask her the reason, she had left. For a few seconds, a strange sensation in his stomach and a feeling of uneasiness crept up his spine. ‘What could be at the back of the house?’ he thought aloud. He hazily remembered the stories about a goblin who haunted these very woods. ‘Foolish people,’ he said to comfort himself so that he may not get scared. But he decided to go and at least have one look at the back of the house.
The Goblin Appears
The priest quietly went at the back of the house. He saw a door. Slowly, he opened the door. He almost fainted at what he saw. The room was filled with human bones. Gathering all the courage, he rushed out of the front door. So, the priest thought that it was true that the goblin of Adachigahara did exist. While he was running, someone called him from behind, “Stop, please stop.” But the young priest did not stop. He turned around and saw that the woman had become a frightful creature. It was chasing him with a knife in its hand. The priest kept running. After a while, when he felt his strength failing, dawn broke on the horizon. The sun came out and the goblin disappeared. Now, the priest knew that he had met the Goblin of Adachigahara. He prayed and thanked the Buddha for protection. From that day on, he told everyone that he had met the goblin.
