THE VIRGIN GHOST

ORIGIN: Korean folklore

Also known as Cheonyeo Gwishin (처녀귀신), the Virgin Ghost is one of the most feared and sorrowful spirits in Korean urban legends. 

These ghosts are said to be the restless spirits of young women who died before they could experience marriage, sexual intimacy or fulfill their life's desires and strongest wishes.

Therefore, held down by their unfulfilled destinies, they stay in the world of the living, appearing in abandoned places, forests, or near water, where they cry mournfully.

A Cheonyeo Gwishin is a pale, thin woman with long, unkempt black hair covering her face while dressed in a white funeral hanbok. 

Unlike other spirits, they rarely attack directly, but their overwhelming sadness and just their presence bring huge misfortune, sickness, and death to those who meet them.

In traditional Korean beliefs, rituals and shamans (mudang) perform soul weddings (a symbolic marriage between the ghost and another deceased spirit) to appease them and help them pass into the afterlife. 

However, if ignored, a Virgin Ghost may end up growing vengeful and would begin appearing in mirrors, whispering in the dark, or…

… Will go ahead to possess the living.