Korean Egg Ghost
I finished Sell Your Haunted House a couple of weeks ago, and I really enjoyed the drama. I went to do some research on the egg ghost that was used in the drama because I knew there was a good chance that it wasn’t just made up for the show. I found some information on it that I thought would be insightful and wanted to compare it a bit with how the egg ghost in lore was used in comparison to the depiction in the drama. While I won’t be doing a full review in this post, I will be comparing some parts of the drama that will verge or dive deep into spoiler territory, so this is your warning.
Egg ghosts (dalgyal gwishin/달걀귀신) get their name from their appearance as it resembles an egg and are primarily found in forests. The legend states that once someone sees an egg ghost, they will die. While in the drama the ghost is manifested in the characters being possessed by the ghost, largely still looking like the human it is inhabiting, some variations of it’s description is described differently. In some legends they don’t have a nose and mouth or other facial features like depicted, but also don’t have limbs. Other times it resembles a hunchback, as if it’s carrying a heavy load. However most images of them do depict a female with no face.
They are said to stalk hikers, and their ability to hide well is because of their shape, making them unsuspecting to those who leave the path. Because the ghosts aren’t usually associated with anyone in particular, there is speculation that they are a form of a childless ghosts (mujagwi/무자귀). They have no ancestors to perform death rites and memorial services for them and wander around restless. Most Korean ghosts are female, and most deal with some sort of ‘dying before giving birth’ extension of their existences. The egg shape might also hint towards that, because of the symbolic nature of eggs and fertility.
There is also a ghost in Japanese lore the resembles the egg ghost, the Nopper-bo (のっぺらぼう). It’s a faceless ghost that looks like a human except for the facial characteristics - kind of like what we see in the drama and the picture above - however these ghosts tend to trick people rather than hurt. They’d impersonate someone the person knows to lure them.
A lot of the stories of the egg ghost are specifically tied to hiking and the forest, however they can be found elsewhere, mostly in dark areas. There are other stories that talk of how the egg ghost is unsuspecting, that it can be anyone and once it gains the trust it is easier for them to take over that person. Egg ghosts are also able to attack and target specific prey since they are able to hide well.
There is a riddle connected with the egg ghost, “The more you take away, the bigger I get”. A hole might start small, but the more you take from it the bigger it gets. In the drama In Bum’s father was drowning in the snowball of his actions. He was targeted most by Hak Sung and was used to do a lot of things for him, mostly things that he morally was opposed to. It could be the dramas’ intention that he was being plagued with all the things he was doing for Hak Sung that it snowballed into his son being targeted specifically and taken by the ghost. He was led astray by Hak Sung, and fell off the correct life path into danger.
While I do think that the egg ghost was probably a combination of several ghosts and stretched to fit the narrative of the drama, I do think that it was a good ghost choice. The characteristics of the ghost not having a face is creepy on it’s own, and also adds an element of unpredictability. The drama needed a specific big bad ghost that was a lot more powerful than the other spirits that we were presented with, all of whom were already more powerful than average. Her mother’s downfall and death, as well as the PTSD revolved around it with Ji Ah not remembering most of the horrific events needed to have a lot more impact and reason. The egg ghost is supposed to be one of the most powerful and feared of ghosts, so it would potentially strike a chord with viewers who know of it. It is also the sole reason why Ji Ah and In Bum are left without families, carrying the burden that is left from their family on their backs - much like the hunchbacked variation of the ghost.
I’d love to know more about why the egg ghost is rooted mostly in the forest, specifically. It could be that it’s just an easy fear. More of a cautionary ghost, to not be led off the beaten path and fall off of a slope. Or that the forest is a great unknown for lots and adds to a lot to the relatability of there being so many of these types of beings in folklore. People mysteriously die all the time in the forest all over the world, and it is a consistent source of great fear in many different countries, tribes, and cultures. There is also a great loneliness in the forest. It is where most feel isolated, and it’s where one can really truly grasp that the world has some great unknowns. That humans aren’t the only things out there, and once taken in into a place where humans aren’t in control it’s humbling, mysterious, and potentially dangerous.
