Do you remember all those 3 am challenges that were all the rage in 2016-2018, you know, before a global pandemic hit us? Ah...Simpler times...
Well anyways, the internet was in a '3 am craze' making slime at 3 am, summoning ghosts and/or demons, playing games, basically everyone was making videos about something scary happening in the early hours of the morning, which may or may not be fake. But have we ever stopped to think about why there is such darkness or cursed energy and supernatural influence on a time we are supposed to be asleep? So have I! So that's why I'm writing about it.
However, there are many variations and time frames of supernatural strength in the early morning. In places where Christianity is prominent like Europe or the U.S., they have the 'witching hour' (Not the Anne Rice book) or AKA, the 'devil's hour.' It's your basic idea of paranormal activity running amok like my brothers when they decided it was a good idea to drink coffee...
The definitions of the witching hour vary, and include the hour immediately after midnight, and the time between 3:00am and 4:00am. The Devil’s Hour being 3 AM is considered significant as it’s the opposite hour to the death of Christ. The Bible reads that Jesus Christ was placed on the cross at 9 AM and darkness covered the land from noon until Jesus’ death at 3 PM when Matthew cried out: “It is finished.”
So that's the reasoning behind why the hour is so infamous in Christianity. It also doesn't help that young children try to summon or call upon spirits around this time. I see all of you in the back who tried to summon Bloody Mary in the bathroom! This was also believed to be the time in which witches would cast their spells, boil their brews, and fly on broomsticks...
some say that your likelihood of dying happens around 3-4am (not proven) or that our bodies are at their weakest point at this time.
But Western folklore isn't the only belief with cursed or supernatural hours of the night. In Japan and China, they have hours that correlate with the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Rabbit, tiger, dragon, snake, horse, rat, dog, monkey, sheep/goat, boar, rooster and the ox.
They each represent an hour on the 12-hour clock. The hour of the ox is between 1:00 and 3:00 am. It is believed that this is the time when the lines between the human world and the world of yokai are blurred and spirits are at their most powerful. The supernatural is said to be most prominent at this time, just like the devil's hour, and its also the appropriate time for a sinister and intricate spell to take place. This is ushi no toki mairi ( 丑の時参り) which translates to 'ox hour shrine visit.'
It has very intricate steps and is said to be a powerful curse, so why wouldn't I include this in a page of the Codex about creepy things happening at night? I've been anticipating writing something about ushi no toki mairi for a while now, and so I have the perfect time to include it now.
This ritual requires a couple of items but one of them is a bit disturbing which is a wara ningyo. (藁人形) If you watch Jujutsu Kaisen (or read the manga) you may recognize this item. (It's the same item Nobara Kugisaki uses for her cursed technique, permission to geek out?)
And if you don't watch Jujutsu Kaisen, this is who and what I was referring to.
She carries a wara ningyo with her, think of it as like a voodoo doll of sorts. (I mean the most popular idea of voodoo dolls being used to inflict pain) She uses the doll, a hammer and nails. In this scene she uses the doll to exorcise a curse (supernatural creature in this universe) she tosses the doll into the severed limb of the curse, infuses a nail with cursed energy, and hammers it into the doll and, you guessed it, she kills it.
you can watch the full scene here: https://youtu.be/A8JwHBIByb8?si=6AVPs39oNaxIl2KX&t=45
So what was the significance of me dragging an anime into our Codex? Well, I wanted to give you an idea of what this small piece of straw can do, in the folklore, it works in a similar way to the way shown in Jujutsu Kaisen and ushi no toki mairi appeared to be a huge inspiration for this character's power.
Now back to the ritual...
The wara ningyo is usually imbued with a piece of skin, nail, hair, or blood of the targeted person, like how the character Nobara Kugisaki needed the limb to be able to get the curse. Alternatively, you may use an image of their target, or a piece of paper with the target’s name written on it.
And you can't forget the ceremonial outfit! People who wish to engage in the ritual must don a white kimono and obi, wear a face of thick white powdered makeup, an upturned trivet is placed on your head, and you attach tapers (slender candles) to its legs and light them.
Tall, single-toothed geta are worn on your feet. A mirror is carried over your breast, a dagger is tucked behind the obi, and a comb is held between your teeth. At this point, is the ritual even worth it?
Once you spend 3 hours getting ready, you sneak into a Shinto shrine during the hour of the ox and approach the sacred tree of that shrine. You then get a long nail, and hammer your wara ningyo into the tree, this symbolizes the breakage of the barrier of the living and spirit worlds. You call out to evil spirits, demons, and yokai to come into the world. This ritual must be repeated every night for many nights, and it is very important that the person performing the curse not be seen. If there are any witnesses, they must be killed immediately. Otherwise the evil of this curse will rebound onto the caster.
(No witnesses...)
Once the ritual has been completed, it is not clear what exactly will happen, but one thing is certain, something bad will happen. It is believed that the victim of this curse, the person you made to be the wara ningyo, will die an agonizing death. In other accounts, the entire process is torture for the victim, causing days of suffering while the curse is being performed. In some stories, the curse summons yokai which haunt the victim, and in other stories, the person performing the ritual transforms into a powerful oni or kijo. (Oni is a male ogre-like demon, kijo are the female counterparts.) It is believed that jealous lovers were the ones to perform these rituals, or just people who want to get away with murder. Fun fact! In Japanese law studies, attempts to commit murder through the ushi no mairi is often cited as the "textbook example of impossibility defense case crime."
That's all there is to it, nothing like some good ol' hexing and cursing to get you in the Halloween spirit,
And the third and last item, this Codex entry couldn't be complete without La mala hora, this literally translates to 'the bad hour.' This tale obviously has to do with the early hours of the morning and guess what? Something scary happens! This phenomenon takes place in New Mexico, mainly in rural areas, and it takes place after midnight, so once the clock strikes 12, you aren't going to leave the ball in a hurry, you're going to deal with evil spirits.
So, if you happen to be roaming around late at night for whatever reason, your chance of encountering a demon doubles. When you are wandering around in la mala hora, you'll either encounter an actual demon, or evil incarnate, in the form of a woman.
'La Mala Hora first appears as a large, black lump, constantly moving and changing shape. It can also change size rapidly, growing larger and smaller. Some say it looks like a ghostly black shroud or a large black cotton ball. Anyone who is unfortunate enough to set eyes on this demon runs the risk of being driven insane.' like a miasma of insanity and eminent doom...
Now that's not all, it will also attempt to suffocate you and kill you, and when it succeeds, you shall be found the next morning dead on the side of the road like roadkill....
You either get a black death fog, or an encounter with a beautiful woman. It is considered a bad omen at best – the female spirit dressed in black is specifically thought to be a harbinger of death – and a vengeful demon at worst.
She appears wearing all black clothing, more commonly a dress, and long disheveled hair. She seems like a spirit, floating around aimlessly hovering over the ground. People in New Mexico say she rarely appears in human form, but when she does, it is considered an omen of death. If you find it at a crossroads, it usually means that you or someone you know is going to die.
And it should be known that la mala hora is considered on par with the Devil himself! Like the locals are so afraid of it, that when asked about it all they will say is: “Es cosa mala!”
which translates to 'it's an evil thing!'
The roots of la mala hora are unknown, but a popular belief is that it's a deity that was around before the Spaniards even set foot on what is now Mexico. They believe she was a goddess of death or darkness who made the 'simple' demands of human sacrifice from her followers. (And you thought today's influencers were nuts!)
Some believe that la mala hora is a punishment for sinners and criminals, a challenge for those in search of adventure, or even just a cautionary tale. In conclusion, we all have an uneasy feeling when it comes to the dead of night.
Maybe it's the silence, the enveloping darkness that looms over while many are asleep, maybe its feeling that you are at your most vulnerable while you are sleeping and the fact that someone.... or something...could do you harm while you lay there unaware of the dangers.
Whatever the reason may be, I hope you enjoyed this, and that you learned something.
Don't go wandering around at night, or casting spells without adult supervision kids!
All this may be just fairy tales and magic...
But are you willing to risk it...?
Thanks everyone and sweet nightmares! 👻
(Stay tuned for the sources.)
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