Mark of Death

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(Translated and arranged by Saya)

Have you ever heard of a book called "Mark of Death"?
I have seen it once.

It is as thick as an encyclopedia**, and it contains only pictures of faces of people both when they are alive and when they are dead.
The right page has faces of them while alive, and the left page has faces of them after death.

I don't know how it came to be made, but it is apparently a secret book known only in the world of fortune-tellers. I heard that if you studied those pictures in the book every day, you would eventually be able to tell the "mark of death" which would appear on people's faces when their death was imminent.

The person who showed me the book was a teacher from a private-tutoring school I used to go.
Twenty years have passed since then. The teacher worked for a few years at the school after he graduated from university, and then he quit the job, saying he would go to Bali to learn white magic. That was the last I heard of him.

I will call the teacher Aiba in this story.

Aiba obtained a copy of the book while he was still studying at university. From the time he got it, he would spend the whole day, every day, gazing at those pictures.
He was so into the whole occult thing that he devoted most of his time to the study of it; he didn't even bother to attend classes at the university.
Still, he liked climbing mountains, and would frequently drop by the university's mountaineering club.

One day, the club came up with a plan to climb a winter mountain.
When the day came to climb it, they gathered at B station.
Aiba was taking part in it too, but upon seeing the club members' faces, for the very first time, he recognised  "marks of death" on them.
Of course, Aiba told them that they had marks of death written on their faces, and did his best to dissuade them from carrying out the plan.
But they laughed in his face, ridiculing his claims, and all four of them headed towards the mountain just as planned.

A couple of days later, Aiba was watching TV when a news headline flashed across the screen: "Members of C University Mountaineering Club Reported Missing."
Aiba's name was among the list of members who had been reported missing.

He was astonished, and immediately called the university, and decided to join the the rescue team that had been formed by the ex-members of the club.
They travelled to D, which was the city where the mountain was located.

Because of the inclement weather, the search was delayed until the next morning.
Meanwhile, having nothing to do, Aiba visited a coffee shop which was a usual place the members of the mountaineering club would go to after they had climbed down the mountain.

When he entered the coffee shop, he found all the other four members of the club sitting at a table.
What? You are all alive and well?
They were so happy to see one another again, and congratulated themselves for having survived the ordeal; but one of the members suddenly put down a newspaper, which he had been reading, on the table, and muttered under his breath:

Hey, Aiba. You have a mark of death written on your face.

Aiba was shocked by his words, and ran into the toilet to check his face in the mirror; but he did not perceive anything unusual about his face.

He came out of the toilet, but all the four members, who had been there until moments ago, had gone.
Confused, he asked the coffee shop owner, where have they all gone?
The coffee shop owner didn't seem to understand his question.
The owner said, Aiba suddenly burst into the coffee shop, and started talking on his own, and then dashed into the toilet.

But they were all here... Aiba glanced at the table, and his eyes fell on the newspaper. It had an article about the missing mountaineering club members, together with their small portraits.
And all of the portraits, with the exception of the portrait of Aiba at the bottom,  clearly showed marks of death written on their faces. 



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Kojien
**Encyclopedia ---- Kojien in the original Japanese. Kojien is regarded as the most authoritative dictionary of Japanese (See Wikipedia).


Click to see other posts under the same category ➡(Apparition) ➡ (Appartion #2)


πŸ’–Thank you so much for leaving comments. I love getting comments from you all. It's one of the main reasons why I want to continue this blog😊🌸🌸🌸✨

Comments

iSans said…
Another great story. Keep it up saya ^^
Amuletyu said…
Rip to the students who climbed the mountain and went missing. I’m kind of confused about Aiba. I’m guessing because he now has the power to see those who have “marks of death”, he’s able to see ghosts too since he saw all four of them at the coffee shop? Or maybe he’s delusional? Also, why was Aiba name listed “missing” when he is clearly helping the rescue team and talking to the owner? Is Aiba actually dead or alive after that hiking trip? Or did Aiba not go on the trip? So many questions, sorry! Thanks for the great post, Saya!
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Thank you so much for taking time to comment! I am glad you liked itπŸ˜ŠπŸ‘⭐
Saya_In_Underworld said…
My understanding is that he was going to climb the mountain with the others but didn't, because he saw marks of death on the others' faces. But you never know! It's interesting to think he is possibly dead too!πŸ˜†πŸŒΈ✨ Thank you so much for your interesting comment!πŸ‘πŸŽ΅✨
Miki Park said…
Yesss i’m so happy every time i see a new post πŸ˜­πŸ˜­πŸ’• your blog is literally my favourite thing on the ENTIRE internet πŸ˜­πŸ˜­πŸ’•πŸ’•πŸ’• love u saya!!!
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Thank you so much too πŸ˜­πŸ˜­πŸ˜­πŸ’•πŸ’•πŸ’•LOL πŸ‘❤️🌸 Honestly that is SO CUTE of you! I am so happy that you dropped by to leave a comment. I really appreciate it! πŸ˜†πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–✨
♥ ♥ ♥ said…
I've been reading this site for years, since maybe high school, but this is my first time commenting^^ This story was really spooky, I wonder what happened to Aiba he got to Bali.
S.P. said…
Love it!! I went deeply, imagining the whole scenes, like a movie
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Hello! Thank you for leaving a comment! I am so happy to hear from you! I wonder too what happened to him after that!πŸ˜†πŸ’–πŸŒΈ✨
Saya_In_Underworld said…
I am so glad because I really wanted to write the sentences in a way that stimulate your imagination! Thank you so much for your feedback!πŸ˜ŠπŸ™πŸŒˆπŸ’•πŸ’•πŸ’•✨
Dio said…
This one reminded me of the story where the couple tried to keep one woman in her coma by saying her boyfriend had died instead of them 😱. The dead can be really tricky sometimes πŸ‘€
Incognito said…
Brrrr!!! What a terrible "gift" to wish for! It's nothing but a curse. Even if the dead guy hadn't said anything, what if he had seen the death mark on his face in the mirror? Can you imagine the paranoia? He wouldn't know when or how! Will you be choking on your food? Slip in the bathtub? Die of a brain tumor? Get strangled by a serial killer? Maddening! Even if he knew, knowing when someone is going to die doesn't mean one can prevent it. The proof is in this very story: he couldn't help the moutain climbers escape their destiny. In the movie "The Time Machine" a scientist uses it to come back and save his fiancee who was stabbed in a park the day before. He manages to take her away from the place where she was going to die but a few minutes later she gets run over by a horse carriage right in front of her home (it takes place in the 19th century). The Time Traveller then says to himself "I could come back a thousand times, I'd only be able to watch her die a thousand different ways." He then decides to go to the future to try and find the answer but that's another story :D What I love about Japanese horror stories is that they're not just creepy, they're also philosophical in a sense. Thanks for another great one.
Sunny said…
I was hoping to see what this 'mark of death' was. Haha
Saya_In_Underworld said…
You are probably refering to this!πŸ˜†✨

http://sayainunderworld.blogspot.com/2007/08/good-friends.html
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Yes,this might come in handy if you were a fortune teller, but not if you are just an ordinary person!😱⭐ I wouldn't like to have such an ability!

The Time Machine movie you mentioned sounds so interesting! Thank you so much for your contribution πŸ˜ŠπŸ™πŸ’“πŸ’“πŸ’“✨
Saya_In_Underworld said…
You could try searching for the bookπŸ˜†✨
Frank said…
Nice story Saya.. so excited to wait for ur story
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Thank you Frank!πŸ˜†πŸŒΈ✨ I appreciate your comment!
George V said…
Great story, with a mysterious book, what is not to like?
Saya_In_Underworld said…
I really like it too! I always like stories that aren't straightforward!πŸ˜†✨ Also I find short stories are usually more interesting than longer ones and easier to translate too🀣✨
Haem said…
Another great story! It got me wondering why one of the ghosts told Aiba that he had a "mark of death" on his face despite Aiba being unable to see it. Could it be that the ghost was also able to see the marks of death? What if they learned to see the mark on other people but probably they were unable to see it on themselves?
schlurpie said…
i've been following your blog for more than 10 years now. and i think this is the best japanese horror blog. it's both informative and scary. thank you for sharing these wonderfully scary stories :)
allucinator said…
This is what you get when you are seeing too many patterns. It's somewhat a curse. I have a similar feeling and propensity, of course this is absurd, fictional, and dramatic, but it gets the point across.

This is a caricature of overthinking and patterns. Nonetheless, entertaining. ❤️
Saya_In_Underworld said…
That's a scary thought!πŸ˜†✨
My thought when I read that part was that it was the ghosts' way of taking revenge on Aiba, because they somehow blamed their death on him.
Saya_In_Underworld said…
10 years! 😱⭐ I am sorry my updates have been sporadic! I am so very happy though that you find my blog interesting! πŸ₯°✨ Thank you so much for your comment!
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Sir, your philosophical musings are far too profound for me to understand 🀣✨ And I would never have thought you would use a heart mark in your message LOL ✨
Diogo Valverde said…
The ghosts decided to pay him one last visit and play a prank on him as a parting gift. Nothing vengeful, just one last memory, haha.
Saya_In_Underworld said…
That's such a cute way to interepret it!πŸ˜ŠπŸ’•✨ LoL
Banake said…
I remember 'Mark of Death', it was no 'De Vermis Mysteriis', but it had its charms. :-)
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Who are you, madam/sir, if I may ask?🀣✨✨✨
You seem to be familiar with some great arcane knowledge πŸ˜†πŸ‘✨
Saya_In_Underworld said…
I forgot to say I love you too, MikiπŸ˜†πŸ’“⭐
Anonymous said…
I know this is corny but I was somewhat delighted to see the word "Bali" in the story, since I am from Indonesia :D.
I wonder if there is a good story about white magic in Japan~
Danny Wijaya said…
We missed you so much, Saya!
Anonymous said…
I think the club member told him that there's a mark of death on him because he now has the ability to see the dead, and he may become a target for spirits.
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Oh nice πŸ˜†πŸ’“✨
I have been to Bail once, when I was a child! A really wonderful place!πŸ‘⭐

If I find any stories about white magic, I will upload them on this blog!✨
Saya_In_Underworld said…
That's so sweet πŸ₯°πŸ’˜ Thank you so much!
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Scary!😱⭐ I hope he is still safe and alive lol✨
aiyie2freak said…
Going to Bali to learn white magic is a little.. cuz as far as I know (I could be wrong) magic in Nusantara are mostly black..
Saya_In_Underworld said…
If you say "mostly" black then there must be some white tooπŸ˜†✨
Anonymous said…
Hi Saya!
Glad to see you again, I hope you're always well and healthy :D
I've been an avid reader of your stories since years ago.

Now, regarding this story, strange enough, I have a book regarding the Black and White Magic of Bali just lying around in my bookshelf.... and yes I'm a Balinese so maybe I can actually learn some magic described in the book, if I'm willing enough... XD

here's my book, quite ironic its actually in English. The Balinese ones are in safekeepings around the island, to prevent misuse... I meant its 2020 is bad already... haha
https://imgur.com/a/rQsrvWS
Saya_In_Underworld said…
HelloπŸ’ž Thank you so much for dropping by to leave a comment!


Wow amazing 😍✨ You actually have such a book!? I am so surprised and happy that I am getting many readers from Bali!

I will certainly have a look at it! Thank you so much for sharing! I am sure other readers are also interested in reading it too!
Anonymous said…
Thanks Saya! I hope you managed to open the imgur link I placed, I'll also be very happy if you can also share the photo through your blog, feel free to use it :D

as you can also see from other readers, we also have many supernaturals tales and stories down here, it's just that we never have a compiled list for easy readings unlike your stories. and also how rich are the lores and stories of the ghosts, spirits, youkais, magics, well whatever you may call it in Japan :D be it in a romanticized form such as in many anime and manga or more serious and dark such as the actual tales where it came from. Well Cheers!! I'll wait for more of your stories :D
Saya_In_Underworld said…
Sorry for the late reply! The link works! Thank you for giving me the permission to use the image πŸ˜ŠπŸ™✨

You should open your own site for Balinese supernatural tales. I would be so interested in reading them!
ThegreatProcrastinator said…
The book teaches to recognize the mark of death by showing you pictures of the same person, when alive and when dead.

From this, it can be inferred there is something inherently different between the face of a living person and the face of a dead person, that allows you to tell that a person is about to die.

That's right; it doesn't show you that a person is dead, but that they're about to die. That's also why Aiba was able to warn his colleagues. Because they were still living.

So if you can not see the mark of death on someone, it is because either they're not about to die... or because they are already dead.

Aiba went climbing with them, and had died at this point. That is also why his name was on the list of missing people.
Saya_In_Underworld said…
CoolπŸ˜†✨Thank you for sharing your theory!⭐