Hida plank bridge crossed nightly by the dead
Gatagata-bashi
A bridge with no one on it creaks and whispers all night. It is not wind or river water, but the last footsteps of those falling toward hell beyond the pass.
Overview
Gatagata-bashi is a bridge apparition from Hida Osaka. Every night at a small plank bridge, people heard violent crossing sounds and many voices. A diviner said the road led to the hell of Tateyama, and the unseen walkers were the dead.
Encounter
Late at night, a busy village bridge suddenly rattles with footsteps and whispering voices, though no one is visible outside. On rainy nights, sad crying is said to mingle with the sound.
Lore
The tale is recorded in works such as Murakami Kenji's Nihon Yokai Daijiten and Miyata Noboru's Yokai no Minzokugaku as a road of the dead toward Tateyama hell.
Traits
By day it is an ordinary plank bridge. At night the dead cross it, unseen by the living. The haunting ends after people build a memorial mound and pray for the spirits.
