Master Series Episode 10: "Seance Experiment"

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(Translated and arranged by Saya)

✨⭐🎄 Happy Holidays everyone!🎄⭐✨I forgot to write this before but this story is meant to be a kind of Christmas gift to you all! 😆💓✨Love you lots! Enjoy the story!❄️❄️❄️⛄⛄⛄✨

It was in the first year at university. From the time around the GW,*1 I started visiting a certain internet forum on a regular basis.  

The forum was a place where people who were interested in the occult would gather together; it was a fairly popular site that there were always at least one or two people there even after midnight.

One time, in the middle of the rainy season, *2 someone suggested we do a "seance experiment."

The regular members had gotten together offline before and done it a few times already. 

At the time I was an eager novice of the occult study, and desperately wanted to be part of the experiment. I tried my best to draw their attention to myself by repeatedly messaging them: "please, please, PLEASE let me in, I'm free anytime. I have nothing to do at the moment." My effort paid off and they let me in.

I'd heard that the leader of the group, whose name was "koko," was a gifted psychic.

It was she who often called people together to do seances.

The date was set, but most of the people weren't free on that day, so that left us with koko, Mikacchi, Kyosuke and me.

That didn't seem many but the others were all regular members.

"Is that OK with you?"

I had no objection, but I was itching to take someone with me to the experiment, even at the risk of overstepping the boundaries of my position as a newbie.

 That someone was my Master in the Way of Occult, and although he had little talent as a medium, he could still "see" things that were invisible to ordinary people.

At the time my admiration for the man's talent was growing daily, and I simply wanted to flaunt him in front of the other members.

However, no amount of coaxing would make him agree to come.

"I'm too lazy." "Sounds too dumb for my liking." "I won't go there just to baby-sit you."

I didn't give up immediately but tried to explain about the experiment in detail; and the moment I mentioned the name "koko" my master's demeanour obviously changed.

He said, "You'd be better off not going."

Taken aback, I asked him why.

"If you go you will experience some scary shit."

From the way he spoke, it seemed like he knew who this "koko" was; but I was going there because I wanted to experience some scary shit.

"Anyway, I'm not going. I won't be responsible for what happens to you. If you want go, then go."

Master would not tell me anything more, but I was even more excited now that I got an unexpected "gurantee" from Master that the event was going to be special.

On the day of the experiment, our group met in a restaurant.

We had planned to first spend some time in there discussing occult topics, and then when the time seemed right, move to koko's apartment room, which was where the seance was going to take place. 

       

koko was pretty but expressionless, and she gave off a creepy vibe.

Mikacchi was a very talkative woman and koko mostly just listened to her, nodding occasionally to what she said.

To my surprise, I discovered that they were both senior students at my university.

"Kyosuke has to work today and will not join us until later," said koko.

I wondered if koko and this Kyosuke guy were lovers ( Note: Kyosuke is a boy's name).

At around 11 p.m., we got into Mikacchi's car and drove to koko's place.

Kyosuke called us again to inform us that he would arrive later than expected, so we decided to start without him. 

I began to feel quite nervous.

koko had sealed up all the windows with papers to make sure no light got into the room. 

I had played Kokkuri-san*3 many times in the past, but I had never done anything as serious as this.

Seance experiment is, in short, an act of bringing a spirit down into a human body. 

Soon after I entered the pitch dark room, someone lighted a candle. 

"Now, let us begin." 

All traces of emotions disappeared from koko's face. 

"We have a newcomer with us today, so I will start off with a caution --- whatever happens from now on, please remain calm. Any disturbances in the mind would invariably cause an unwelcome result." 

koko spoke impassively. Mikacchi kept her mouth shut. 

I tried to hide my nervousness by asking, rather flippantly, " don't we have to open the window a bit like when we do Kokkuri-san?" *4

koko glared at me with a face that resembled a Noh mask*5, and whispered to me: 

"Windows do not act as barriers to spirits. They do not prevent them from entering inside. 

However, what I am going to do now is turn my body into a cage. I hope I will succeed in doing so, or else..." 

A Noh mask of a young woman

She fell silent. In other words, I was dealt a counterblow. 

My heart started thumping faster than ever before and I wanted to run away. 

But there was no turning back now. 

The seance experiment commenced.

I closed my eyes as I was asked to do. 

The reddish light of the candle was still flickering against my closed eyelids. 

 koko started talking. Her voice sounded different from before, as if it was coming from a more distant place.  

"....You are now in your own room. You see the familiar ceiling above you. You look out the window and see the usual scenery. 

....Now, please get up. Stretch your body and stand up. 

....Your field of vision has become higher now. You look around. 

....You see the door. You then try to get out of the room."

It sounded familiar. 

Wasn't it that psychology game (Note: follow the link at the end of this post) where you were supposed to close your eyes and walk around in your house in your imagination? And if you encountered something while you did it ---- what was the consequence? I couldn't remember. 

The words koko spoke before we started the experiment popped up in my mind: 

"Normally, in this type of ritual, we would let a spirit descend into the body of a medium, and the rest of the group would go on to ask questions to it. 

But my method is different. I am going to let you meet it "directly"."

　 

I got the picture. 

My fear had already reached its peak, but I knew this could be my only chance to experience something like this. 

Calm down, calm down...I kept telling myself as my mind sank deeper into the imaginary scene. 

"Ggh..." I heard koko emit a strange noise and felt her tremble.

"Let us join our hands in a circle." 

With our eyes still closed, we groped for one another's hands. 

Then the candle was blown out, engulfing us in complete darkness. 

koko's faint voice continued to guide us:

".... You have stepped out of your room. Perhaps you are now in the hallway or the kitchen.

You are only seeing what you are accustomed to seeing. After you look around well, you decide to reach for another door...."

In my imaginery scene, I was in my own room in the house where I grew up, not in my apartment room where I currently lived. I could see everything vividly and clearly.  

I walked along the hallway and opened the door to my parents' bedroom. 

Bright sunlight was streaming through the window. I squinted as the reflected light from the tatami mats*6 hit my eyes. 

A room with tatami mats and fusuma doors

Then I went downstairs. The stairs creaked as I stepped on them. I felt the coldness of the handrail with my palm. 

There was a fusuma (a sliding door *7) on my left. It led to a guest room. The room always had the amado (storm shutters on the exterior of a house*8) covering the windows, so it was dark even during the daytime .

I never liked this room as a child.

The faint voice spoke again:

"....You look around and ask yourself --- is there anything unusual about this place? 

...Is there anything unusual about this place?"

Is there anything unusual about this place? 

I turned on the light. 

In the middle of the room, on the tatami mats, lay a severed hand. 

I gasped. 

Someone's right hand. Blood was dripping from the wound, creating dark stain on the tatami mat. 

I must not stay in this room. 

I turned on my heels and rushed out of the room.

Then I ran along the hallway and went into the dining room. 

There was a severed foot lying on the table. 

I shrank back in fear. 

This is not good. We have messed it up. This spirit isn't something we can handle. 

I had reached my limit. I tried to open my eyes --- but failed. 

I yelled: 

"Let me out!" 

 But my voice only echoed in the empty room, never answered.

I ran. My shoes were left lying around at the back door. 

I didn't even stop to wear them. I turned the door knob and pushed and pulled, but it wouldn't open.

"Let me out!" 

I pounded on the door with my both fists. 

The faint voice drifted over from somewhere but I could no longer discern what it said. 

I ran to the front door. But before I reached it, I tripped on something and fell. 

Pain. Pain. So much pain. 

I took a good look at the thing that I had just tripped on --- it was a torso without arms and legs. 

The mail slot on the front door opened with a clatter. 

Something was trying to get inside through it. 

I am going to die in here --- my gut instinct told me. 

Ding-dong, ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong! 

Just then the doorbell rang. 

And with that, the door clanked, and I heard a cheery voice say:

"Heey! Having fun?" 

My eyes were open before I realised it. 

Darkness all around me. But I was back in koko's apartment room. 

"Hey, are you all in there?"

The door opened and a dazzling fluorescent light beamed through it. 

I saw the faces of both koko and Mikacchi illuminated by the light.

"Oh, did I interrupt you? Sorry about that!"

I was saved. My hands trembled from a sense of relief. 

The person who was speaking with the light behind her appeared like a goddess to me. 

"Yes, you did interrupt us." I caught koko mutter sulkily, and I hastily drew away my hand from her. 

I was soaked all over with cold sweat.  

Some days later, I went to visit Master in his room and told him what happened.

But Master only giggled at my terrifying experience.

"You walked straight into her trap."

"What do you mean?" I didn't even try to hide my annoyance. 

"That was hypnosis."

"Eh?"

"In that psychology game, you don't normally have someone continually talking like that, leading you to have certain specific images --- "is there anything unusual about this place?" She said that, right?" 

I wasn't fully convinced. But Master was certain that that was the case. 

"I guess it's time to reveal to you the secret. It was me who asked her to do something to give you a shock. You are becoming overly confident recently, and I wanted to teach you a lesson." 

"So you knew her." I felt suddenly drained and my knees gave out. "But I never imagined "Kyosuke" would turn out to be a girl. I thought she was koko's boyfriend."

Master laughed out loud at what I had said. 

"Of course she wasn't. koko is my girlfriend."

The following day, when I dropped by the university club, I was greeted by Master and koko. 

"I am sorry about the other day. I went too far."

koko made a bow to me, but my master was grinning next to her. 

"She is a ghost member (Note: a member who rarely participates in club activities). You both belong to the same club, yet it's the first time you see each other." 

koko was pale-faced even in the bright daylight. 

"Anyway, you should stop doing this "seance" nonsense. I didn't teach you hypnosis so that you can play such a joke on others."

koko simply brushed him aside and turned to face me. 

"I am Aruku Kayano.*9 Nice to meet you, kohai. *10 " 

Ever since that time, I had become rather wary of the girl. 

Later on, Master said:

"By the way, it's strange you saw things like a severed hand or torso in your imaginary scene. 

  She asked you if you could see something unusual about the place and those were what you saw. 

  Are those the mental images you usually have of spirits? " 

  

Of course, they weren't. 

"Then, perhaps you will really encounter them one day." 

"What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind. You will understand what I mean when the time comes." 

Master flashed me a mysterious smile. 

--------------------------

*1 GW -- short for Golden Week. It is a period between the end of April to the beginning of May which consists of multiple public holidays. (Japan Guide)

*2 The rainy season ---  In early summer, most parts of Japan get visited by a rainy season, the so called tsuyu (梅雨, also pronounced baiu), literally meaning "plum rain", because it coincides with the season of plums ripening (Note: this is just one of many theories regarding the etymology of tsuyu.) (Japan Guide)

*3 Kokkuri-san --- A method of summoning a lesser spirit (often an animal spirit), similar to ouija board. The Kokkuri-san: Unlikely Origin 

*4 Open the window --- Some say you need to open a window a crack to let a spirit in while playing the Kokkuri-san. 

*5 Noh mask --- a mask used in Noh (a classical Japanese dance-drama). To look like a Noh mask means to look expressionless. 

Noh masks by Ichiyu Terai 

Noh Masks Database

What is Noh? (Kids Web Japan)

What is Noh? Complete Guide to Noh Theatre

Noh (Wikipedia)

My favourite Noh play is Sotoba Komachi 

⭐ On YouTube:

"The Spirit of Noh 能" -- Oldest Surviving Form of theatre in the world

A Noh actor and mask artisan explains the importance of masks in Noh plays. 

Excerpt from the Noh play Kurozuka 

This is a horror story based on the legend of Onibaba. You can read the plot on Wikipedia. 

I have a related story here: Mountain Witch!

The Basic Knowledge to Enjoy "Noh"

A brief introduction to Noh.

Noh Masks

Flowers on the Stage: Noh Costumes 

Longer documentaries which explore the art of Noh in details. 

*6 Tatami mats --- a Japanese traditional flooring.

13 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Tatami

*7 Fusuma --- In Japanese architecture, fusuma (襖) are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. (Wikipedia)

Fusuma  in Japan -- Japanology (YouTube)

 

*8 Amado --- Literary "rain door." Traditionally they are exterior sliding doors made of timber which are used to protect the house from rain, wind and thieves. 

Amado (JAANUS)

How do you put all these window shutters away (YouTube)

 

Closing Amado (YouTube)

Traditional Timber Amado

Modern Metal Amado

*9 Aruku --- see this episode where she first makes an appearance in this series.

*10 Kohai (後輩 lit. Behind comrade)--- usually refers to a younger student as opposed to an older student (senpai 先輩 lit. Ahead Comrade).  

Senpai and Kohai (Wikipedia)  

🧡The "psychology game" which appears in this story is probably referring to this one.