Ancient Japanese 'killing stone' with myth of trapped demon splits open, triggers hysteria

In what has sent superstitious believers into a state of panic, an ancient Japanese stone, which is said to house an evil demon that comes into contact with it, has split into two. Visitors at Tokyo's Tochigi region were set for a shock over the weekend when they found the 'killing stone' separated into two roughly similar sized parts.

According to Japanese mythology, the popular piece of volcanic rock, known as the Sessho-seki, reportedly houses the spirit of a nine-tailed fox, who took the form of a beautiful woman named Tamamo-no-Mae. Legend has it that Tamamo-no-Mae was part of a plot to kill Emperor Toba, who ruled Japan from 1107 to 1123.

The spirit was then believed to have been trapped into the stone, where it would kill anyone who came into contact with it. Located near volcanic mountains in Nasu, the stone was registered as a historical site in 1957, according to The Guardian.

Local media reported that the stone is likely to have split in half after rainwater seeped into cracks that first appeared several years ago, causing it to break.

The Shimotsuke Shimbun newspaper reported that local and national government officials will now decide what happens to the stone. One official says he would like it returned to its original form.  

However, after tourists found the 'killing stone' split in two, it has sent a wave of horror and panic among netizens, with several believers stating that the evil spirit may have been resurrected, releasing poisonous gas.

"I feel like I've seen something that shouldn't be seen," said one tourist who tweeted about the same.

Another feared the release of an evil demon was just the latest horror of 2022, while one user joked that the spirit would want to spend another millennium stuck inside the rock after looking at the current state of the world. 

Here's a look at some of the reactions: