Everything you need to know about The Terror: Infamy on AMC

Image: The Terror/AMC

The ancient Japanese shapeshifters

What does yokai mean? It’s a general term for a class of supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore, such as demons and ghosts. In the Infamy trailers, two specific kinds of yokai spirits are mentioned: the yurei and the bakemono, also known as the obake.

The yurei: These spirits are trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead because they have unfinished business. The aforementioned Onryo is a violent and vengeful kind of yurei; currently popular versions of the ghost are seen in Japanese horror films like Ju-On: The Grudge and Ringu (The Ring). Unlike the bakemono, the yurei is the ghost of a dead human being. They are said to present in white clothing, with black hair, hands dangling from the wrists, and as floating, legless torsos.

The bakemono: the terms yurei and bakemono are sometimes used interchangeably, but the bakemono is unique because it specifically refers to a living being or supernatural entity that temporarily operates as a shapeshifter; it can pose as a human even though its true form is something else entirely, such as an animal. The name bakemono literally means “something that changes.”

The AMC 2019 Comic Con ‘Sneak Peek’ trailer, told largely from the perspective of the lead character Chester,  provides some different scenes and a greater sense of horror than the official trailer.

“It’s easy to want vengeance,” says Yamato-san. “Natural as death.” Sure sounds like he’s referring to our onryo and yurei, doesn’t it?