Namahage
Japan
The Namahage are demonlike beings who visit Japanese homes on New Year’s Eve. They are portrayed by village men wearing demon masks and traditional straw capes, who scream at the children and frighten them, but when offered sweets, they become calm and say they bring good luck, though only if the children behave. The Namahage were probably imported from China over 2,000 years ago.
This entity appears in the story “22. An East-Asian Warning”.