The mysterious, yellow-masked Storyteller is a man whose true name and origin are both unknown. He appears at dusk where children gather and recites sinister tales based on Japanese urban legends, to which his young audience eerily intakes. However, the Storyteller is no ordinary teller of tales. He incorporates a kamishibai, a traditional paper-scrolling device, to add visuals to his already demented narration.
A series of short horror stories, Yami Shibai begins with a bachelor who, after moving into a new apartment, immediately starts sensing a malevolent glare being pressed into him. A single talisman rests on his ceiling, but he has no way of knowing it is one of the few safeguards that separate him from a bottomless pit of suffering. Each story is more terrifying, more appalling, and more sickening than the last as the Storyteller's audience find themselves being sucked into the vicious world of his words.
Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 闇芝居, Theater of Darkness
Genres: Present , Japan , Contemporary Fantasy , Horror , Dementia
Try our anime quiz: Anime Characters Guessing Quiz/Game
Top 10 Anime Like Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories (Yami Shibai) [2026 List]
10. Gendai Kibunroku Kaii Monogatari
The horrid stories that remain in many conversations, the chilling urban legends come to life thanks to the Ga-nime.
The terrible anecdote of an old fridge thrown by a dried up river bed in “Refrigerator”.
The grotesque encounter with an out of place sculpture standing on top of a building in “The Dharma Statue”.
The ghost encounter experience by a boy on a long bridge at night in “The Night Bridge”
A purchase at the flea market that brings a man to an ironic end in “US Army Surplus”
The enigma of continuous deadly accidents near a railroad in “The Railroad Crossing”
The mysterious experience of a boy on summer vacation in a peaceful countryside in “I Want Friends”.
6 pieces of horror put on 1 film. The Japanese urban legends, put on screen in the characteristic drawing of KIMURA Toshiyuki, whose fame reaches outside the borders of Japan, call for a scream, with the talented collaboration for the ending theme of an artist produced by SUDOH Akira, Leilani.
Strange Tales of Modern Mysterious Events has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 現代畸聞録 怪異物語, Gendai Kibunroku Kaii Monogatari
9. Yonimo Osoroshii Grimm Douwa
The truth behind the well-known Grimm's Tales is cruel and full of blood and lust!
Episode 1: "Hansel & Gretel": Two brothers lost in the woods were actually criminals...
Episode 2: "The Blue Beard": The true character of the Blue Beard was a cannibal who was unable to tolerate his wife's adultery.
Episode 3: "Cinderella": Actually Cinderella had abnormal affections toward the prince.
Yonimo Osoroshii Grimm Douwa has finished airing and it has 3 Episodes. It is also Known as: 世にも恐ろしいグリム童話, The Truth of Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tale, Otona no Douwa, Otona no Dowa, Otono no Douwa, Otono no Dowa, Adult Fairytales, Adult Fairy Tales
8. Yonimo Osoroshii Nihon Mukashibanashi
The horrible truths behind Japanese Fairy Tales from the ancient times are finally revealed! This title includes three episodes: "The Monkey and the Crab", "Click-Crack Mountain" and "Urashima and the Kingdom beneath the Sea".
The Truth of Japanese Fairy Tales has finished airing and it has 3 Episodes. It is also Known as: 世にも恐ろしい日本昔話, Otona no Douwa, Otona no Dowa, Otono no Douwa, Otono no Dowa, Adult Fairytales, Adult Fairy Tales
7. Kyougoku Natsuhiko: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari
Tired of writing riddles for children, Yamaoka Momosuke plans on gathering spooky and gruesome stories and publishing them in an anthology called Hyakumonogatari ("One Hundred Tales"). While researching these old myths and legends he comes across a mysterious trio who call themselves the Ongyou. They are detectives who are investigating the legends to reveal their truths...and bring those in the wrong to justice. Each time Momosuke meets the Ongyou he must face horrible truths and battle with his morals, but he's seeing things he shouldn't be seeing...
Requiem from the Darkness has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 京極夏彦 巷説百物語, Hundred Stories, 100 Stories, Natsuhiko Kyougoku's Worldly Horror Stories
6. Jigoku Shoujo
Have you heard of Jigoku Tsuushin (Hell Correspondence)? Those with a powerful grudge may only access this mysterious website at midnight, allowing them to enter anyone's name and have that person be ferried straight to hell. Ai Enma, the Hell Girl, will not judge whether or not the chosen target deserves punishment; she will merely exact revenge on them for you, provided your pain or suffering move her. Not much is known about this young girl other than that she swiftly carries out her tasks with the help of three straw dolls. There is just one catch, however—as payment for carrying out such a request, the user must condemn themselves to an afterlife in hell.
Hell Girl has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 地獄少女, Jigoku Shojo
5. Mononoke
The "Medicine Seller" is a deadly and mysterious master of the occult who travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called "mononoke" to slay. When he locates one of these spirits, he cannot simply kill it; he must first learn its Form, its Truth, and its Reason in order to wield the mighty Exorcism Sword and fight against it. He must begin his strange exorcisms with intense psychological analysis and careful investigative work—an extremely dangerous step, as he must first confront and learn about the mononoke before he even has the means to defeat it.
The Medicine Seller's journey leads him to an old-fashioned inn where Shino, a pregnant woman, has finally found a place to rest. The owner has reluctantly placed her in the last vacant room; however, as she settles in, it quickly becomes clear that the room is infested by a lethal band of mononoke, the Zashiki Warashi. With his hunter's intuition, the Medicine Seller begins his investigation to discover the Form, the Truth, and the Reason before the Zashiki Warashi can kill again.
Mononoke has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: モノノ怪, Mononoke
4. Sekai no Yami Zukan
The anime will be in an omnibus short format that will tell stories of the strange and bizarre in our world, including UFOs, cryptids, curses, ancient civilizations, supernatural powers, spiritual experiences, bizarre cases, different dimensions, and urban legends, told in a picture show style. The anime seeks to evoke the retro atmosphere of pulp horror stories that were popular in the '60s and '70s in magazines.
The World YAMIZUKAN has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 世界の闇図鑑, Sekai no Yami Zukan
3. Ito Junji: Collection
A collection of animated horror stories based on the works of Japanese artist Junji Itou.
Junji Ito "Collection" has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 伊藤潤二「コレクション」, Ito Junji Collection
2. Kagewani
A video blogger attempts to fake cryptid sightings to boost his views, but gets more than he bargained for when his crew is slaughtered by a real monster. Elsewhere, students find themselves preyed upon by a sandworm-like beast, initiating a desperate struggle for survival on their own school grounds.
With more of these attacks from mysterious creatures occurring, researcher Sousuke Banba tasks himself with delving into the mystery. With nothing but the keyword "Kagewani" to lead him, he scours the sites of recent attacks in hopes of finding a lead to eradicating the creatures for good. However, Sousuke finds that these threats to humanity are even closer to home when the pharmaceutical company, Sarugaku, starts to encroach on his investigation.
Kagewani has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 影鰐-KAGEWANI-, Kagewani
1. Kowabon
In today's world full of wondrous technological innovation, the unnatural and mysterious sometimes appear even more horrifying than usual. But despite how far society has advanced, the fear of the unknown always remains. The unfortunate participants in Kowabon find themselves in such a predicament, experiencing the supernatural through their everyday technology. From a frightening sight caught on a parking garage camera to a video chat that takes an unexpected turn, the victims struggle to escape that which haunts them. However, what awaits these doomed souls may be a fate even worse than death...
Kowabon has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: こわぼん, Kowabon
