One of the most popular and morbid urban legends is that of the existence of human pillars, people that were deliberately buried alive inside of construction sites. Spawning from Japan, this urban myth also known as hitobashira, has been around since ancient times and is based on the belief that a human sacrifice sealed inside of a building or other structure would make for a more durable and stable foundation after construction.
Working conditions on many Japanese building sites were known to be very poor and many men would perish from disease and exhaustion while on the job. These unfortunates would then be buried near the foundations to hide what had happened and to ensure the foundations would stand for decades to come. It has also been suggested that some laborers were terminated during construction of castles as a security measure so that the secrets of the building couldn’t get out to the public.
The story of Matsue Castle remains one of the most famous tales concerning this phenomenon. Built during the 17th century, the stone wall of the central tower would repeatedly fall after construction. So naturally, the builders were convinced that their only option was to sacrifice a human for the main pillar. They found a beautiful maiden dancing at the local Bon Festival – a festival of the dead– and tricked her into coming with them to seal her alive in the castle walls.
Legend says that her restless spirit haunts the castle and supposedly whenever a woman dances in the streets of Matsue, the walls of the castle will shake violently. Soon after, a law was passed prohibiting dancing in public places.
