Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology
Alternative names: Yang Wulang (楊五郎鬼)
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Yang Wulang Ghost is a terrifying ghost recorded in Volume 4 of the Yijian Zhi, a Song Dynasty collection of strange tales. Unlike most ghosts, it possesses a massive physical body rather than appearing as a transparent spirit.
The creature is described as standing nearly ten feet (about three meters) tall, with arms as thick as a man’s thighs. Although enormous and immensely powerful, it is surprisingly agile, capable of making swift leaps and moving with unnatural speed. Its entire body is covered in coarse black hair, and its grotesque face bears three protruding eyes.
According to the legend, villagers eventually managed to capture the monster. When they stabbed it with knives, no blood flowed despite cutting deeply into its body. Its abdomen was opened, revealing ordinary-looking intestines and internal organs, yet the creature remained an unnatural being rather than a living man.
To destroy it permanently, the villagers placed the ghost into boiling oil. As its flesh cooked, its body gradually dissolved into black liquid, which flowed away until nothing remained, finally ending the creature’s existence.
Later writers have suggested that the famous literary image of the powerful monk Lu Zhishen from Water Margin may have been partially inspired by the legendary monk Yang Wulang, from whom this monstrous ghost also takes its name.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 楊五郎. In 維基百科，自由的百科全書. Retrieved June 27, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A5%8A%E4%BA%94%E9%83%8E