Some of these stories were told as true.
What this is
Kaidan: Translated is an archive of Japanese kaidan — true-story ghost tales and internet folklore — rendered into English. The site opened in 2026. Stories are filed by length: Flash, Short story, and Long read. New stories are added regularly; there is no fixed schedule. kaidan.ink is an independent project. There is no company behind it and no editorial staff to name.
Where the stories come from
Every story here was first published in Japanese, on one of these sites:
- 奇々怪々
- 叫び声
- 恐怖の泉
- 洒落怖超まとめ (dangi.link) — a curated collection of 洒落怖 ghost-story threads from 2ch/5ch
We thank these sites and the original authors.
How the translations are made
Each English text is translated directly from the Japanese original, with AI assistance. Nothing here is translated from the Chinese edition. Every story passes automated quality checks, and we spot-check the results. Errors still get through. If you find one, email [email protected]. Cover images are AI-generated.
The sister edition
kaidan.ink publishes two editions of the same project. The other is 日本怪談・譯, in Traditional Chinese. Each story appears there first; the English version follows, translated from the same Japanese source.
Rights and removals
Copyright in the original Japanese texts remains with their authors and the source sites. If you are an original author or site operator and want a translation corrected or removed, write to us through the contact page. It will be handled promptly.
For how this site handles visitor data, see the privacy policy.