Profs & Pints DC: Japanese Ghosts and Goblins

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Japanese Ghosts and Goblins,” a spooky evening of spirit introduction, with Michele M. Mason, associate professor of Japanese cultural studies at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Japan has an impressive pantheon of frightful ghosts, goblins, shapeshifters, and tricksters. These strange and scary creatures trace back many centuries, hail from all parts of the country, and pop up at the center of cautionary tales, moral injunctions, and entertainment. And now, thanks to Profs and Pints, you have a chance to get to know them.

Be on hand at Penn Social as Dr. Michele Mason, a scholar of Japanese culture, discusses such frightening figures of the imagination in an image-rich talk drawing from literature, art, manga, and film.

She’ll discuss how the all-encompassing term yōkai contains a multitude of creepy and crazy creatures that have scared children and adults alike. Among them are innumerable bizarre animals,…