Gifu's Shooting House

This is a story that was spread through the anonymous Japanese message board website 2chan concerning a mysterious, abandoned town in Gifu Prefecture.

A young boy loves cycling and so he peddled around the city until he reached the countryside which surrounds him with nothing but nature and the rice fields. Before he knew it a stone block on the edge of the road caught his eye. As he got closer to it, he realized that it was an old, run-down house consumed by nature. He stood with his bike at the main entrance of the structure and found that there was something suspicious about the house. Every time he tried to turn away from that ruin, his eyes caught the curtains moving. It was going to be evening and finding the curtains to be moving, he felt the chills and so he decided to cycle back home. When he got back, he did some research on the old house and found this: A murder case

Japan is known for its many abandoned houses. These houses are usually abandoned either due to the owner’s financial problems, depopulation, or the location itself is not feasible for access with the rest of the world. The Gifu shooting house is easy to miss. It is located at 35°26'33.7"N 137°05'22.4"E which is surrounded by rice fields to the front and a huge forest to the back. It has been abandoned for some time with no intention of anyone buying the property or renovating it for other uses like many other abandoned houses under a measure by the Japanese government. Near this abandoned structure is civilization itself with a well-maintained landed property nearby and further away, the Kani Police Station. Just in front of the abandoned house is the Shirayama Shrine.

There have been many rumors surrounding this house but the most prominent one goes as follows: A young man was discovered by his wife dead on January 3rd, 1994. The wife panicked and called his older brother who then notified the authorities. The ambulance arrived first but the man was already dead. The police were called over to investigate and determined at first that the man was killed in a robbery gone wrong as he was shot from the back at his neck up through the head. The police then believed that the man was murdered as nothing was stolen from the house, but nobody could think why anyone would want to murder this man. They searched the house and around the area but could not have found the weapon. Hence, they suspected that the murderer was a professional killer. The story took a strange twist when it was discovered that the man had a hefty debt. This led to the police at first believing that it was the work of the Yakuza or a killer hired by the Yakuza. However, the man had an even heftier insurance claim which he could obtain the following year. This insurance stated that the man or his family could not receive the claim if he is to commit suicide. Since this is considered murder, the man’s family could receive the life insurance money to pay off his debt. This aspect itself plays a crucial role in the investigations and thus, it was discovered that the man had committed suicide and his wife, and his older brother had hidden the gun from the authorities. Originally with the debt known, it is suspected that the man had committed suicide, but the issue lies with the missing weapon. With the discovery that the man’s original plan was to commit suicide and allow his wife to obtain the money to move on in life, his wife, and the older brother had hidden the gun. Together with two other accomplices, they were promptly arrested with the wife losing her husband as well as the life insurance pay-out.

Nearly thirty years later, people have said that the spirit of the dead husband lurks around the house, watching them. Many have reported eyes watching them as they pass by the house. With the house itself rotten and falling apart, much of the house has been reclaimed by nature. It is reported that you can hear voices in the house possibly the owner crying over his failed plan to support his life in the future. Others have said that video cameras that are used in the house would stop working and would only show static when viewed back.

However, like most stories on 2chan, there is no solid evidence to support that there is suicide that took place in that house. There may be some truth to the story, distorted over the years as stories are spread from mouth to mouth, but many have not been able to find any news publications surrounding this house.