Japan - 13. Gashadokuro

Gashadokuro is a giant skull monster, about 15 times the size of a human, said to have mainly appeared around Kyoto during the Nara and Heian periods. At that time, the skulls of people who died from forced labor or war were scattered around the capital, and it is said that Gashadokuro became giant as spirits and grudges gathered in these bones. It is said to wander the fields at midnight, making a rattling sound as its bones collide, and it grabs passersby, tears off their heads, and drinks their blood, so you must run away quickly. It disappears at dawn and is also said to be weak against talismans. Although it is a monster that does terrifying things, it is also said to repay kindness by saving you in emergencies or telling you where gold is buried if you appease its grudges by collecting and honoring the skulls abandoned in the fields. However, in reality, it is a relatively modern yokai created in the 1960s, based on a ukiyo-e print from the 1840s depicting Princess Takiyasha summoning a giant skull and fighting the warrior Mitsukuni.