In Japanese folklore, the Jorōgumo (literally meaning “binding bride” or “whore spider”, depending on the kanji) is a type of shapeshifting youkai. In most lore, the Jorōgumo is a spider who can assume the form of a beautiful woman to lure in prey. Rarely, the Jorōgumo can be a more benevolent creature who saves people from drowning.
In Chinese folklore, the Jiangshi (“goeng-si” in Cantonese, “gangshi” in Korean, “kyonshī” in Japanese, and “cương thi” in Vietnamese) is reanimated corpse, similar to the Eastern European vampire and the West African zombie, who seeks to feed on the qi of the living. The Jiangshi can range in appearance from a rotting corpse to freshly dead, but are almost always dressed in official garments from the Qing dynasty and move around by hopping (because rigor mortis prevents regular walking). Jiangshi can be created in a number of ways, such as magical resurrection, possession, imbalance of the hun and po, premature burial, improper burial, or the spirit of the dead person simply failing to move on.
