Cheuksin (Korea)

Cheuksin is the dangerous goddess of the outhouse. She appears as a young girl with long black hair wearing a white gown.

She does not tolerate sudden intrusions into her territory. If a person enters the outhouse abruptly without the courtesy of knocking first, she flies into rage and strangles them by wrapping her long black hair around their neck, hanging them from the rafter. Even if the person can escape, they will still contract an incurable disease and die shortly after. Cheuksin especially despises children and uses any opportunity to throw them into the waste pile beneath the outhouse. Children who fall into the pit are said to become sick and die not long after.

This legend might have originated from the actual haphazard conditions of outhouses in the past. Back then, these structures were little more than two wooden planks placed over an open pit of human waste. Outhouses were also dark, with moist, slippery floors, making accidents more likely. There were undoubtedly instances where individuals, especially children, slipped and fell into the pit below. Such misfortunes were often blamed on Cheuksin, the goddess with a special hatred for children.

Find out more about Cheuksin in Ghosts, Spirits and Paranormal Entities from Asian Folklore and Mythology (Book 1). Subscribe to read more bite-sized paranormal folklore like this.