Here is a concise summary of the text:
**Title:** The 7 Most Terrifying Japanese Urban Legends
**Summary:**
A countdown of Japan's most frightening urban legends, known for their dark and sinister nature. The top 7 include:
1. **Hanako-san of the Toilet**: A vengeful spirit in school bathrooms who can drag victims to their death.
2. **Birth of a Monster**: A deformed, blood clot-like baby that comes to life and attacks its mother.
3. **The Spider Woman**: A beautiful woman with an arachnid lower body who uses victims as hosts for her eggs.
4. **Human Sacrifices in Pillars**: A historical practice where people were enclosed in pillars, leading to haunted structures (based on a true story).
5. **Reiko Kashima**: A vengeful spirit of a girl killed by a train, seeking her lost legs and sometimes attacking the living.
6. **Gashadokuro** (implied, not explicitly named): A giant, skeletal monster born from famine victims' bodies, which terrorizes villages.
7. **The Masked Woman**: A spirit who approaches lone individuals, especially children, and punishes them if they don't compliment her appearance, leading to gruesome consequences.
**Note:** The summary maintains the original order and provides a brief description of each urban legend, focusing on the core terrifying aspect of each.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, without opinions, with each fact numbered and in short sentences:
**Japanese Urban Legends**
1. Japan has a culture heavily influenced by ghosts and evil apparitions.
2. Many Japanese urban legends feature malevolent spirits.
**Specific Legends**
3. **The Masked Apparition (#7)**: A spirit wearing a mask approaches people at night, especially children.
4. **The Masked Apparition's Behavior**: If told she's pretty, she reveals a mutilated mouth; if answered honestly (no), she cuts herself; if lied to (yes), she cuts the respondent's mouth.
5. **The Masked Apparition's Popularity**: Believed in by many Japanese children in the 1970s, prompting teachers to escort them home.
6. **Pure Cattle (#6)**: A legendary giant monster from feudal Japan, created from famine victims' bodies.
7. **Pure Cattle's Abilities**: Can grab, bite off heads, drink blood, and add victims' bones to its body.
8. **Pure Cattle's Origins**: Possibly an urban legend to discourage feudal lords from neglecting their people, leading to famine.
9. **Reiko Kashima (#5)**: A ghost who crawls along train tracks and public bathrooms, seeking her lost legs.
10. **Reiko Kashima's Variations**: Two versions exist, one more malevolent, where she drags people to the tracks to be killed.
11. **Human Sacrifice in 17th Century Japan (#4)**: People were enclosed in pillars as an offering to gods to ensure constructions lasted.
12. **Discovery of Human Remains**: Found in pillars after the 1968 Sannai OCU earthquake when buildings collapsed.
13. **The Spider Woman (#3)**: A beautiful woman with an arachnid lower body, using her strength to capture victims.
14. **The Spider Woman's Actions**: Uses victims' bodies as shells to lay eggs, which feed on the victims' insides.
15. **The Deformed Child Legend (#2)**: A mother gives birth to a throbbing clot of blood and raw meat, which is alive and seeks to kill the mother.
16. **Hanako-san (#1)**: A ghost from a supernatural game, haunting public bathrooms, especially school toilets.
17. **Hanako-san's Game**: Players knock on a stall door, asking if Hanako is there; if a female voice responds, the player can either kick the door or run away, risking being chased by Hanako.