"Kuchisake-Onna" 口裂け女 or Slit-Mouth Woman

A child walking home from school is approached by a strange woman. The woman asks "am I beautiful?"

Although her mouth is covered with an oversized surgical mask, the woman has attractive eyes and seemingly well-formed nose. So the child replies, "Yes, you are beautiful."

"Even if I look like this?" says the woman, taking off her mask and revealing a ghastly red mouth which is slit from ear to ear. While the child is too stunned to move, the woman takes out a scythe from inside her coat and hacks the child to death.

Kuchisake-Onna is one of the most famous faces in Japanese urban legends. Details of her appearance and background, and her method and instrument of killing differ from region to region. Above story is the most commonly told pattern. Her victims are almost always children.

Ways to avoid getting killed by Kuchisake-Onnna:
■When asked "am I beautiful?" you mustn't give her straight yes or no answers (either way you're done for) but give her ambiguous answers such as "so-so", "normal" or "average." Run away while the woman is busy puzzling over the meaning of the answer.
■Sugar candy is the woman's favourite sweets. Throw it to her and you can get away while she drools over it.
■Chanting the word "Pomade" three times would petrify her and buy time for you to run away.
Why "Pomade"?
The usual explanation for the woman's disfigurement is that it is the result of a plastic surgery gone awry. The surgeon who operated on her was wearing pomade and the odour of it was so strong that it made her sick; for that reason chanting "Pomade" to her would remind her of that traumatic experience; hence her reaction. Instead of chanting the word you can also throw an actual jar of pomade at her, which is a more effective form of defense. Smearing pomade into your hair is thought to have an effect on her too.

Her appearance:
She usually wears a long crimson coat, to camouflage the spatters of blood she gets from her victims. She is thin and pale-skinned, and about 20 years old of age. She always wears a surgical mask, but that is not so unusual in Japan where some people wear such masks to avoid passing their cold onto others.

Other rumours:
■Kuchisake-onnna can run 100m in 3 seconds.
■She is one of three sisters. The other two sisters have split mouths too.
■She likes the number 3. She often appears in places which have "three" in their names.