Yurei are synonymous with ghosts of Western culture. Their name roughly means "faint soul". Typically they were known to have black hair, drooping hands, no legs and wear white clothes. They could be accompanied by hitodama lights and resulted from people dying without proper burial rights or with some task on Earth still undone.

Below are some examples of yurei:

• Kubikajiri - A head-hunting ghost. Without a head of its own, the kubikajiri scowers graveyards at night inspecting others. Those heads that do not match its previous, whether living or dead, are devoured. It is said to give off the smell of fresh blood.
• Zashiki-warashi - A ghost of a child much like a household spirit. Often depicted as a young child of either gender with bobbled hair and a red face. The presense of a zashiki-warashi in a household fortells good fortune, however its departure means ruin for the inhabitants. Rarely is it seen, usually only by children or when it is about to leave. To placate one, a zashiki-warashi must first be identified from its tricks around the house, and then cared for properly. Different kinds of zashiki-warashi are said to exist with varying charateristics and preferences.