The Torii Gates of Freice
The Torii Gates of Freice (Hoterallian: 並外民鳥居, Namimin Torii, Freician: Paiotoa'me Torii Faiose'va) is a Freician-Hoterallian urban legend about abandoned and run-down Torii Gates in Freice. According to urban legend, during the Hoterallian occupation of Freice, several Torii Gates were constructed on the island.[1] However, after the occupation, several were abandoned and left scattered throughout the island. Locals claim that these Torii Gates are a gateway to the underworld and that they are haunted by the spirits of the dead. Many believe the area surrounding the gates is cursed, and visitors who come too close risk being dragged into the underworld.[2] Despite the eerie reputation of the Torii Gates, they have become a popular destination for adventurous tourists seeking a spooky experience.[1]
History
During parts of the Hoterallian occupation of Freice, several Torii Gates were built to convert the native population to Gaoism and to create places of worship for the growing Hoterallian population on the island. Shortly after the handover of Freice back to Riamo, some of the gates were left unattended by the new governance, leaving many to be forgotten by time.[1]
The legend began to spread when an anonymous user uploaded an image of an abandoned Torii Gate in Roheo Radei Oratite on the Hoterallian imageboard "2prog", with the description:[3]
The Torii Gates of Freice, the once remnant of the Phoenix, is now the gateway to hell for others. It's said that during the Hoterallian occupation, they built these gates all over the island. But after the occupation, they were abandoned and left to decay. Locals say that these gates are the entrance to the underworld and that those who pass through them will never return. Some even claim to have seen ghostly apparitions around them at night. Would you dare to explore the Torii Gates of Freice?
— Anonymous, 2prog (May 13, 2005)[4]
Several other users then posted more images of similar Torii Gates in Freice and their experiences when visiting the locations. According to the users and the discussion, they claimed that they felt a strange presence and heard whispers as they walked through the gates. As more and more users shared their stories and images, the legend of the Torii Gates of Freice grew, and it became a popular topic on the imageboards across Anteria. Some even speculated that the Torii Gates were a gateway to the underworld, while others believed they were cursed by the spirits of those who died during the initial invasion by Hoterallia.[5] The legend eventually spread to other online communities and became a popular tourist attraction, drawing people from all over the world to visit the mysterious and eerie gates.
There have been repeated attempts to make the gates a national heritage site, which has received backlash from anti-colonial activists.[6]
Legends
The popularity of the legend then was further popularized through stories and accounts of the mysteries surrounding the gates.
According to one user on the Common imageboard Inukai from 2009, he went to one of the Torii Gates in Koimuke, he stumbled upon a forgotten trail that led him to the Torii Gate, from there, he approached the gates, he felt an eerie chill down his spine. He then heard the faint whispers of the tormented souls that lingered within. Suddenly, the gates creaked open, and he was consumed by an overwhelming sense of dread as he entered the realm of the dead. He was chased by the tormented souls before collapsing and returning to the front of the gate.[5]
There's another story related to the gates, about a woman who encountered a shadowy figure lurking among the gates in Peka. The woman was watched by the figure when she pass by the gates on her way home until one day she confronted the figure, resulting in her being led to the underworld.[7]
The real Torii Gates
According to historical records written during the occupation, around 50-60 gates were constructed, many varying in size and number. Outside of government-recorded gates, around 10-15 gates fit the description of the legend, with most located in Roheo Radei Oratite. These gates are officially referred to as Unattened Gates (Paiotoa'me keresi Atika'me), built between 1925 and 1931.[1]
The reality of these gates was later inspected by a team of professional Gaoist and Hoterallian experts, with the assistance of the Freice-Hoterallian Friendship Association. The team was dispatched by the Hoterallian television network, HHK's nightly show "Watashitachi no Mawari no Nazo" (私たちの周りの謎, The Mysteries Around Us). The show created a two-episode documentary about the legend, with professional Gaoist priests and miko inspecting the gates and sometimes purifying the gates, while others in the team acquired accounts and witnesses of the legends surrounding the gates from the locals living near the areas of the gates.[8]
The team came to the conclusion that the legends surrounding the gates were possibly caused by hysteria or paranoia, mainly due to the eerie atmosphere the abandoned gates create after years of decay. The team gathered around 1 million Hoterallian gen (1.1 million ACU) from donations in Hoterallia and parts of Little Orajioe to restore the gates, as of 2022, 9 out of the approximate 15 gates are fully restored.[8][9]
In popular culture
The legend of the gates inspired several pieces of media. The popularity of the urban legend was followed by many different media adaptations, spawning a trope called "The Haunted Gates", which stated that: "All gates, gateways and entrance, once abandoned and decayed by time, will eventually become a gateway to hell."[10] The Hoterallian horror novel On My Way To Hell (地獄へ行く途中) written by Toshimitsu Kobayashi, based on the legend, was published in February 2019. In November of the same year, a horror game titled Gates of Hell was released on the Hoterallian game distribution service, Nyanko. The story also inspired a 2016 anime television series The Haunting Figures (ホーンティング フィギュア), and The Story of the Torii Gates (鳥居のお話) monoga by Hiromichi Fujiwara.[3]
Gallery
An alleged haunted Torii Gate in Sekapa Seiva
One of the recently restored Torii Gates in Roheo Radei Oratite
One of the very first few Torii Gates that became notorious with the urban legend, Roheo Radei Oratite
An abandoned Torii Gate in Sekapa shortly before its restoration process
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Horrifying, Eerie Stories of The Torii Gates in Freice". HHK. 2017-04-09. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
- ↑ "Encyclopaedia Of The Braves: The Hoterallian-Freician Gateway To Hell". The Ghost In My Computer. 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kobayashi, Michael. "The Torii Gates of Freice: Horror storytelling goes online". Gaze News. Archived from the original on 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
- ↑ 「あなたの一番怖い写真を送って」. 2prog. Archived from the original on 2005-05-13. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Torii Gates In Freice. The Eerie, Abandoned Gateway To The Underworld". unfakely.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ↑ "Torii Gates preservation provokes activist backlash". Radio and Television Freice. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ↑ "Torii Gates in Freice - The Cursed Gaoist Gates". amazinganterianreality.com. 2021-05-07. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Is The Torii Gates in Freice Haunted?". The Mysteries Around Us. 2020-03-06. Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ↑ "The Restoration of Torii Gate on The Island". Hoterallian Civic Centre in Freice. Retrieved 2020-2-24.
- ↑ "The Haunted Gates". Television Tropes. 2019-05-16. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
