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Ao Andon – 青行燈 – The Blue Lantern. - "As the shadows flicker and as the last candle is put out: the room plunges into darkness, Ao Andō appears...." Ao Andon is the 'demon' which was said to be attached to the game: Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai (百物語怪談会, lit. "A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales.") - A popular Edo period game, played at night in the heat of summertime. - [What better way to give your group "chills" on a hot summer night than to tell tales of the dark, paranormal, and the supernaturally strange, right?] - These "Kaidan parties" started as a game that only aristocrats or the warrior class would play, but soon enough word of the fun ghost stories spread and everyone across Japan was eventually playing the game. Hyakumonogatari games where played somewhat like this: One hundred candles would be lit and placed either around the group in a circle, or inside of blue paper floor lamps called "Andon" wich would give off an eerie azure, almost supernatural glow to the room. - But regardless of how you decide to set the mood, the important part would be, that you and your friends would then take turns telling progressively scarier and scarier stories, typically snuffing out a candle after each, causing the room to get darker and darker with the goal of reaching 100 stories total between the group... It was rumored that "something" would happen when that 100th story was told. Sometimes, that 'something' was said to be 'AoAndon' – "A terrible blue faced demon with a white kimono, said to appear from the smoke as that final candle was put out..." (Although it resembles a 'Hannya' in Toriyama Seiken's (as well as my own most other popular illustrations) 'AoAndon' as a yokai, is just an illustration, representative of 'the spirit' that was supposed to appear during those games and the feeling of terror you would get whilst playing. - More aptly put: AoAndon is the very embodiment of telling scary stories and an amalgamation of group horror in and of itself... It’s said that merely talking about evil things, Yokai, Demons and the supernatural for long enough supposedly causes them to appear for real, Whatever the 'AoAndon' actually did when it was summoned isn't well recorded because usualy by the time that 99th story had been told, everyone was too afraid to finish telling that final story: So parties like these where usually concluded on 99, or well before AoAndon could appear. ...as with other 'Paranormal', 'Supernatural' or "Occult” games (whatever you want to call games (which can evoke spirits; 'kokkuri-san' or 'Ouija boards' for example.)) it might actually be more dangerous to leave things unsaid.... in some tellings of "Ino Mononoke Roku" – Gonpachi and Ino Heitaro play and complete a game of Hyakkumonogatari on a nearby mountain top at night as a test of courage to see who's braver. – When they reach their final story: nothing scary happens at all... But then, a full month later: every day and night for 30 days, ghosts, yokai, and paranormal activity begins to manifest in and around Heitaro's home.... –[( Ino Mononoke Roku is often considered to be a true story and a first account description of paranormal activity by many. - The family still has descendants living in the Miyoshi (Hiroshima) area.] – So, I'd suppose that the results of finishing a Hyakkumonogatari game can be delayed as well and it might not be only AoAndon that visits... its also been said that sometimes a gigantic hand would fall from the ceiling. (...only for it to turn out to just be a spiders shadow (heheh.) – Regardless of the exact details: as the darkness grows and tensions rise, something strange, scary & supernatural will certainly happen to those who are brave enough to tell or listen to 100 weird tales on dark summer nights... Yokai Art sticker, design and bio by @samkalensky (👋 Thats me!) - Part of my "Night parade of 100 demons" Yokai sticker series, check my shop for many more and visit my Patreon for high res wall papers as well as the 'full' description: https://www.patreon.com/posts/ao-andon-blue-48400651 - This is also my 100th yokai sticker!! (PS: The blue light was just for effect, The 2nd picture is closer to what the sticker looks like in good lighting. Sticker does not glow in the dark (i'll look into it in future.) it certainly looks cool highlighted with a blue light eh?)

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