How Urban Legends Begin

Insomnia is my latest night-time companion, and one I'm not particularly fond of.  In Ofunato, Insomnia (I feel I need to refer to him/her as a person) is more of a problem, as there's no noise at night.  This is a problem for me.  Tokyo nights are filled with traffic noises, sirens, and the occasional loud quarrel.  In Ofunato, there's no noise.  That means I hear everything.

How can I hear everything if there's no noise?  Glad you asked.  The noise I like to fall asleep to is the Tokyo-type noise.  Cars honking?  A lullaby.  Sirens?  The chorus of a song.  Ofunato?  With no traffic, I hear all the night noises.

Take, for example, the sounds of nature.  They're either frogs or crickets.  That I don't know the difference in the sounds they make is a bit of a joke around here.  Whatever they are, I hear them.  Crows fly at night.  Did you know that?  This makes them all the more mystical and magical, but still, I could do without their "music."

Then there are the noises in the apartment.  This places creeks.  I've been told in no uncertain terms, what I'm hearing are a). ghosts, or b). the natural shrinking of the wood expanded during the day.  The consensus among those I talk to is split right down the middle:  fifty-fifty.

I bring this up to say ghost-sightings are a common occurence around here.  Here again is another fifty-fifty phenomenon.  Some people want to see them, others are terrified.

Rumors, urban legends, stories abound in Ofunato.

Ghosts lined up outside, standing in cue at an opening of a major supermarket.  Ghosts walk the streets at night.  Ghosts are seen hanging onto steering wheels, bags, boxes, rakes, and bicycles.  Ghosts wander around looking for their homes.  Ghosts sitting on the sidewalks, crying.

Pretty much everyone around here believes in ghosts, and understands why they're here.
"After the earthquake, they didn't think a tsunami would come so they stayed home drinking tea.  Then BAM!  The wave hit, and just like that, they died.  But, the thing is," and here my friend points her chopsticks at me, accentuating the point, "They don't know they're dead.  That's why they're wandering around."
I'm not quite sure how to respond to this.  It's not that I don't believe in ghosts.  But, I haven't seen any here.  I'm not particularly scared of them, but I could probably do without an encounter.
"Do they only come out at night?" I ask.
"No.  They're all around.  At all times, day and night."
"Do ghosts live somewhere?  I mean, is there a place they come and go from?"
"Oh yeah.  When they're done for the day or night, whatever, they go back into the ocean."
Interesting.  This is simply amazing.

"You know," another friend, one who works out of my apartment tells me, "People died around here.  My relatives just up there," and here she goes by the window and points up the hill.  "Four people died just around their home.  It would make sense there are ghosts nearby, don't you think?"
"Yeah, but why here, then?  Surely no one died here, right?"  Here, I seriously hope the answer is "No."
"They see your light on.  Because you never sleep!" And, now we're back to my friend, Insomnia.  Laughing, my friend is done talking about ghosts, evidently finding my "little problem" as she so tactfully puts it, more of an appropriate topic for the rest of the afternoon.

Ghosts or no ghosts, the noises in Ofunato at night will surely keep me up for a few months longer.  Until I see one for myself, I will just assume the ghosts don't speak English, and as such, will leave me alone.