Okiku | The doll with growing hair

In 1918, a boy from Japan bought a doll

for his little sister, Okiku. She named

the doll after herself and took it

everywhere, to bed, to meals, even to

the market. But one winter, Okiku got

sick and never recovered. She died at

just 3 years old. Heartbroken, the

family placed her beloved doll on a home

shelf to remember her. But soon,

something strange happened. The doll's

hair, originally cut short, began to

grow. At first, it reached the

shoulders, then the waist. They trimmed

it, but it kept growing. One night, the

mother claimed she heard soft footsteps

near that shelf. Another time, the

lights flickered when someone tried to

move the doll. The family became

convinced their daughter's spirit was

inside it. Eventually, they entrusted it

to Manenji Temple, where monks agreed to

take care for it. Visitors began

reporting odd chills or hearing someone

whisper their name when alone, and the

hair still grows. Even now, over a

hundred years later, the monks say they

still trim it. And last year, one of

them swore it smiled with its eyes still

wide