Recently, I stayed at an Airbnb in France that I learned had a bit of a dark wartime history. 幽霊を信じていませんが (Yūrei o shinjite-imasen ga, [I] don’t believe in ghosts but...) sometimes I get creeped out when I’m somewhere with a disturbing past.

France has a lot of 背筋が凍る場所 (sesuji ga kōru basho, places that send chills down your spine), but so does Japan. For example, there’s the 犬鳴トンネル (Inunaki tonneru, Inunaki Tunnel) in Fukuoka Prefecture, which is said to be haunted, and 関ヶ原 (Sekigahara) in Gifu Prefecture, where in 1600, the brutal decisive battle of the Warring States took place.

こういう所では鳥肌が立ちます (Kō iu tokoro dewa torihada ga tachimasu, At these kinds of places, I get goosebumps), even though I don’t believe in 幽霊 (yūrei, ghosts).

The instinct to feel 恐怖 (kyōfu, fear) is a healthy one, however, and it’s not unique to humans. 例えば、恐怖は動物が生き残るための本能です (Tatoeba, kyōfu wa dōbutsu ga ikinokoru tame no honnō desu, For example, fear is an instinct that helps animals survive). In recent years, there have also been studies that look into the fear we get from watching ホラー映画 (hora eiga, horror movies). 怖い映画を見ると、恐怖を感じます (Kowai eiga o miru to, kyōfu o kanjimasu, If [you] watch a scary movie, [you’ll] feel fear), but such movies are believed to help many people process fear better in the long run and may even teach them something about themselves in the process: こんな時、私だったらどうするかな？ (Konna toki, watashi dattara dō suru kana?, If that were me, what would I do?)

May 3 was, in fact, National Paranormal Day in the United States. As part of news coverage for a day in which some celebrate 超常現象 (chōjō genshō, paranormal phenomena), the South Florida Reporter wrote back in 2022 that the country with the highest percentage of believers in ghosts were Malaysia at 57%, followed by the United States at 47%, and Canada and the Philippines at 43%. The countries with the lowest percentage of believers were Germany at 24%, the Netherlands at 23% and Brazil at 21%.

My French friends must be among the nonbelievers: 幽霊は存在しません (Yūrei wa sonzai shimasen, Ghosts don’t exist), they told me. However, my Japanese friends responded to me by telling me their own 超常的な話 (chōjōtekina hanashi, paranormal stories). It seems a belief in あの世 (ano yo, the other side) is strong among them.

When relaying stories about things that happen on their own in Japanese, knowledge of how to distinguish 他動詞 (tadōshi, transitive verbs) and 自動詞 (jidōshi, intransitive verbs) is a must. Why? Well, when you’re talking about 幽霊, things tend to happen by themselves, and we use intransitive verbs to describe something acting of its own volition.

Furthermore, you’ll need to use specific particles with each: 他動詞 are accompanied by the direct object particle を (o), while 自動詞 often use the subject marker が (ga).

Case in point, one ghostly experience I heard about was of a friend being in an old hotel and the lights suddenly turning on by themselves. When describing this to me, she said: ベッドで横になっていたら、電気が勝手についた (Beddo de yoko ni natte-itara, denki ga katte ni tsuita, When I was lying in bed, the room’s light turned on all by itself).

Since the 電気 (denki, lights) came on by themselves, the past tense of the intransitive つく (tsuku, to be lighted) is used along with the particle が. To put it simply, 電気がつく (denki ga tsuku) means “the light turns on.” In this case, there is no indication that someone turned the lights on, the only information we have is that the lights turned on. To relay such information, we would need to use the transitive form of the verb, which is つける (tsukeru, to turn on the light), as in, サムが電気をつけた (Samu ga denki o tsuketa), which means “Sam turned the lights on.” The subject, サム, can change, of course.

Here are some other examples of 他動詞 and 自動詞:

  • お湯をわかす (o-yu o wakasu, to boil water) / お湯がわく (o-yu ga waku, the water boils)
  • 明かりを消す (akari o kesu, to turn off the light) / 明かりが消える (akari ga kieru, the light goes out)
  • 仕事を終える (shigoto o oeru, to finish work) / 仕事が終わる (shigoto ga owaru, the work is finished)
  • ドアを閉める (doa o shimeru, to close the door) / ドアが閉まる (doa ga shimaru, the door closes)
  • 人形を動かす (ningyō o ugokasu, to move the doll) / 人形が動く (ningyō ga ugoku, the doll moves)

Another 超常的な experience involves seeing strange things in the sky: 不思議な火の玉が見えた (Fushigina hi no tama ga mieta, a strange fireball became visible). The verb 見える (mieru, to become visible) is intransitive, contrasting with its transitive counterpart 見る (miru, to see), as in 急に怖くなり後ろを見た (Kyū ni kowakunari, ushiro o mita, I suddenly got scared and looked back). The former example explains that a fireball was seen, but the latter indicates that “I” (which is left out of the Japanese sentence but assumed) looked behind me.

Similarly, another example is, 誰もいないはずなのに、人の声が聞こえた (Dare mo inai hazu nanoni, hito no koe ga kikoeta, Though it seemed no one was there, I heard someone's voice). Here, 聞こえる (kikoeru, to become audible) is intransitive, while its transitive form is 聞く (kiku, to hear), as in 祖母から怪談を聞いた (Sobo kara kaidan o kiita, I listened to a ghost story from my grandmother).

光が現れた (Hikari ga arawareta, The light appeared) uses the intransitive verb 現れる (arawareru, to appear), and its transitive counterpart is 現す (arawasu, to reveal), as in, 幽霊が姿を現した (Yūrei ga sugata o arawashita, The ghost revealed itself). Even without any action, スプーンが曲がった (Supūn ga magatta, The spoon bent) involves the intransitive verb 曲がる (magaru, to be bent), whose transitive counterpart is 曲げる (mageru, to bend), demonstrated in マジシャンがスプーンを曲げた (majishan ga supūn o mageta, The magician bent the spoon).

So, do you believe in the paranormal? Whether you do or not, it’s important to be respectful when you have these conversations. 信仰や迷信は国や文化によって違います。まずは否定しないで聞きましょう (Shinkō ya meishin wa kuni ya bunka ni yotte chigaimasu. Mazu wa hitei shinaide kikimashō, Beliefs and superstitions vary by country and culture. Let’s hear [each other] out first without denying [what they say]).