倩兮女
けらけらおんな

Translation: cackling woman
Habitat: alleys near red light districts
Diet: none

Appearance: Kerakera onna are gigantic, horrid yōkai found in red light districts. Their name comes from the cackling sound of their laughter. Kerakera onna appear as enormous, middle-aged women in colorful brothel kimonos, with thick make-up and slathered-on lipstick. They skulk around in alleyways and on empty roads, dancing, laughing, and mocking the profession that worked them to death. They are rarely seen outside of the pleasure district—the place responsible for their creation.

Interactions: When a man passes a lonely street or alley haunted by a kerakera onna, she unleashes a horrible, shrill cackle that can only be heard by him. A weak-hearted man faints right on the spot, but one who has the constitution to flee finds that no matter where he goes, or who he turns to, the cackle echoes in his ears; nobody else can hear it. Eventually these men are driven insane by the incessant laughing—repayment for the lifetime of abuse the kerakera onna went through.

Origin: During the Edo period, the average lifespan of a prostitute was only 23 years. The demands and hardships of such a life were too much for most to bear. Work hours were long and difficult, pay was low, and abuse was commonplace, both from clients and employers. Very few women made it to middle age. Like most long-lived things in Japan, those who made it were said to become extremely powerful. When aged prostitutes died after serving in such a painful world for so long, their ghosts could not pass quickly and easily on to the next life. Instead, they became kerakera onna.