Located in the countryside of Kyushu’s Fukuoka Prefecture, lies the lost Inunaki village, a place that exists apart from civilization as we know it. In fact, when you come to the entrance to the village, you will be greeted by signs warning that “the constitution and laws of Japan do not apply here.” Today, Inunaki village and the Old Inunaki Tunnel are considered to be one of the most haunted locations in all of Japan.
At the end of the Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai) (1603-1868), the Inunaki village was under the rule of the Kuroda clan. Located at the bottom of a valley in the mountains, the main source of income for the residents was wood, felled in the forests. Getting into and out of the village was extremely difficult, and in 1884, construction began on a tunnel through the mountain. Technology at the time was lacking, and building the tunnel was a near impossible task, especially with the costs associated. Work was halted for a while, until in 1927 when construction began once again after various village chiefs appealed to authorities to resume progress.
Today, the tunnel is haunted by the screams of those killed during its construction, as it had collapsed, killing hundreds of workers. Some say you can even hear the howling of a dog, which incidentally is how the village got its name. The word Inunaki means dog, or dog’s cry. The howling dog is the spirit of a dog whose owner killed him in a fit of rage. During a hunting trip, the dog continued yelping until his owner snapped, thinking he was scaring away the game. He shot the dog, and shortly thereafter was confronted by a large snake.
That explains the haunted tunnel, but what about the people living in the village itself?
Legend has it that Inunaki village was inhabited by the Inunaki clan – a clan created by violent fugitives. This clan not only practiced incest, but also cannibalism. They kept themselves secluded, and therefore declared themselves free from Japanese law – which explains the sign outside the village.
To anyone who was brave enough to enter, they would be hunted down and killed. Madness was rampant, as was apparent when one man snapped, and killed everyone with an axe.
Another legend claims it was a leper colony or perhaps inhabited by people with another highly infectious disease. The Inunaki tunnel was sealed shut, keeping them from leaving and infecting anyone outside. Eventually, everyone died, and the village has remained abandoned since.
As if the haunting of Inunaki village wasn’t enough, the area seems to possess some otherworldly ability to block all types of electronics. No cell phones, no radios, no cars work in the village. If you got in, good luck taking pictures. If you got stuck, good luck calling someone. In Inunaki village, you are on your own, and it is said that anyone who enters, never comes out.
Now, if you’ve made it this far, you probably realize that these are all just legends, and have no real data to back up the claims. There is, however, a truly tragic story that happened here – contributing to the haunting of the Inunaki tunnel.
On December 7, 1988, Umeyama Kouichi was on his way home from work. As he waited at a stoplight near the Inunaki tunnel, a group of youths, aged 16-19, approached him and told him to get out of the car. They claimed they needed the car so they could go pick up some girls and told him he’d best get out if he knew what was good for him. Umeyama refused, and that was when they attacked.
Umeyama was dragged from the car and assaulted. He was only able to escape when the youths let their guard down, and he ran, trying to make his way home, but the cars on the road refused to stop and let him cross. Unfortunately, the youths were able to catch up to him. They tried to throw him over the edge of Kandara Port, but Umeyama clung to the fence and was able to withstand their assault once more.
Then one of the boys suggested they stop, fearing they might actually kill the man. But the leader didn’t want their crime to be found out and reminded the boys that if it was discovered, they were all guilty and would all go down together. He pushed the boys to actually kill Umeyama. But he wasn’t that easy to kill.
They put him into the trunk of his own car, and beat him again – this time with tools they found inside, like the tire iron. They considered dumping his body into a nearby dam, but worried he would float and thus be discovered. They decided they had to burn his body, so he couldn’t be identified. They took him to the Inunaki tunnel where they poured gasoline over his head and lit him on fire. Umeyama was not yet dead. His screams echoed inside the abandoned tunnel, causing the boys to recoil in fear. After all – the tunnel was haunted.
Umeyama seized the moment and took off, running into the forest.
The youths chased after him, calling for him to come out, pleading with him, promising they wouldn’t hurt him anymore. For whatever reason, Umeyama believed them and came out of hiding. He was captured again, this time the boys bound his hands and feet together. They stuffed torn strips of fabric into his mouth and beat him over the head with a rock. His blood could be found on a guard rail several meters away. But he didn’t die.
Again, the boys poured gasoline on him, and set him on fire. Remnants of his burnt clothing would later be found on that same guard rail.
The pain was agonizing, and Umeyama escaped again, this time running to the Inunaki tunnel where he finally collapsed and died. The boys stuck around for a while, making sure he was in fact, dead this time.
The boys drove back to Fukuoka, where they were overheard boasting about their act in a bar. Umeyama’s body was discovered the next day. His cause of death was determined to be due to loss of blood. The boys were all arrested, with their leader receiving a life sentence.
Today, Umeyama’s screams can still be heard in the Inunaki tunnel.
Today, Inunaki village sits beneath the water. When the Inunaki tunnel became inconvenient it was blocked off with stacks of concrete blocks and a new tunnel was constructed. The construction of the Inunaki dam left the village flooded. It has also become a popular body dump.
The tales of Inunaki village have spawned not only a movie, but also a video game.
Also located in Japan, you will find the Suicide Forest, another place of mystery.