Kitsunetsuki and Cannibalism in the Coming Eschaton

Wikipedia is the greatest thing ever. I used to read encyclopedias all of the time 1st through 3rd grade because I got done with assignments way early, and the teacher would make me just go read encyclopedias, and I always found them captivating, because I just love information that wraps around my wills and desires for that day.

Wikipedia is that sensation, but on crack.

At any rate. Yesterday was look up mythological beast days. And one of the ones I'm very interested in is the japanese fox spirits. Kitsune. Primarily because of their shapeshifting trickster ways. They're almost Loki-esque, but with a cute werewolf bend.

So I came across this:

"Kitsunetsuki (狐憑き or 狐付き; also written kitsune-tsuki) literally means the state of being possessed by a fox. The victim is typically a young woman, whom the fox enters beneath her fingernails or through her breasts.^[26] In some cases, the victims' facial expressions are said to change in such a way that they resemble those of a fox. Japanese tradition holds that fox possession can cause illiterate victims to temporarily gain the ability to read.^[27]

Folklorist Lafcadio Hearn describes the condition in the first volume of his Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan:

"Strange is the madness of those into whom demon foxes enter. Sometimes they run naked shouting through the streets. Sometimes they lie down and froth at the mouth, and yelp as a fox yelps. And on some part of the body of the possessed a moving lump appears under the skin, which seems to have a life of its own. Prick it with a needle, and it glides instantly to another place. By no grasp can it be so tightly compressed by a strong hand that it will not slip from under the fingers. Possessed folk are also said to speak and write languages of which they were totally ignorant prior to possession. They eat only what foxes are believed to like — tofu, aburagé, azukimeshi, etc. — and they eat a great deal, alleging that not they, but the possessing foxes, are hungry.[28

He goes on to note that, once freed from the possession, the victim will never again be able to eat tofu, azukimeshi, or other foods favored by foxes.

Exorcism, often performed at an Inari shrine, may induce a fox to leave its host.^[29]kitsunetsuki were beaten or badly burned in hopes of forcing the fox to leave. Entire families were ostracized by their communities after a member of the family was thought to be possessed.^[28] In the past, when such gentle measures failed or a priest was not available, victims of

In Japan, kitsunetsuki was noted as a disease as early as the Heian period and remained a common diagnosis for mental illness until the early 20th century.^[30][31]ayed by the afflicted individuals. In the late 19th century, Dr. Shunichi Shimamura noted that physical diseases that caused fever were often considered kitsunetsuki.^[32] The belief has lost favor, but stories of fox possession still appear in the tabloid press and popular media. One notable occasion involved allegations that members of the Possession was the explanation for the abnormal behavior displAum Shinrikyo cult had been possessed.^[33]

In medicine, kitsunetsuki is an ethnic psychosis unique to Japanese culture. Those who suffer from the condition believe they are possessed by a fox.^[34] Symptoms include cravings for rice or sweet red beans, listlessness, restlessness, and aversion to eye contact. Kitsunetsuki is similar to but distinct from clinical lycanthropy.^[35]"

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In other news, Ted Turner thinks we will be cannibals in forty years because of Global warming:

"We'll have eight degrees -- we'll be eight degrees hotter in 10 -- not 10, but in 30 or 40 years. And basically none of the crops will grow. Most of the people will have died, and the rest of us will be cannibals."

Buddy, in four years cannibalism will be the least of our problems. Know your eschaton!

At any rate. If the higher ups like Ted Turner are worried, just imagine what you should be. You don't own a solar powered whirligig zombie destroyer. And even if you did, THEY would probably take it away from you.

No. Your best bet in the event the whole world goes cannibal is the dogs. You need to be friendly with a pack of very intimidating and dangerous guard dogs. How else are you going to protect your stolen dragon treasure?!

Which of course brings us back full circle to....Kitsunetsuki.

You can read it all in my forthcoming book: Werewolves vs. Zombies--Survival Tips for The Eschatologically Possessed.