Every legend has a beginning…
Discover the characters, locations, artwork, creatures, and mythology that shape the World of Yurei. Whether you’re revisiting a favorite chapter or uncovering something new, this is where the story continues beyond the pages of the book.
A short reading about the “Blood Moon” from Yurei: Legend of the Shadow Blade.
These are maps drawn by one of the characters in the Yurei novel. These images are also included in the print version of the book. Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read the book yet, don’t review these images yet. Our cover artist Chris J’Tot drew these for the book based on inspiration and visions by me (Mike Bidwell, the author). Each of these images represents layers of reality that exist beyond the physical realm (where we are now).
These other realms are worlds that the characters in Yurei attempt to enter and corrupt.
YureI World Vampire Lore
I have always been a big fan of vampires, from Bela Lugosi to Christopher Lee. Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by these creatures of the night.
When I wrote Yurei, I was excited to bring vampires to Japan, moving them beyond their traditional European roots. I also wanted to expand upon established vampire lore by introducing a few new twists… not to change what already exists, but to build upon it with fresh ideas.
I don’t think of this as rewriting vampire mythology. Instead, I like to think of my vampires as a different species of blood drinkers, one that exists alongside the legends readers already know.
But how did vampires get to Japan?
Of course, there have been vampire novels and other media featuring vampires in Asia. What I’ve done in Yurei is explore how they arrived… and when.
Without giving away too much of the novel, I wanted to create a plausible, historically grounded explanation for how that journey might have occurred.
The Nocturni are vampires capable of procreating with humans. Their offspring, known as dhampirs, are half-human and half-vampire.
Within the World of Yurei, two opposing vampire factions exist: the Immortalis and the Virescent.
The Immortalis feed on human blood. With every feeding, they extend their lifespan, adding years to their lives. If they cease drinking human blood, they will eventually age and die naturally. Because they choose to prey upon humans, they are removed from the natural cycle of death and rebirth. As a result, when they die, they cannot enter the Astral Realm.
The Virescent, whose name means “becoming green”… follow the natural order of life, death, and rebirth. They consume only animal blood and refuse to feed on humans. Although they eventually die a natural death, they are able to enter the Astral Realm and continue through the cycle of rebirth.
Why do vampires drink blood?
In the World of Yurei, blood is more than a source of life… it is memory itself.
Blood carries information, data, experiences, and power. Through blood memory, a vampire can absorb the memories, knowledge, skills, and even fragments of the identity of the person whose blood they consume.
My vision with Yurei was to bring samurai and vampires together in the Land of the Rising Sun. As I researched, I discovered there is no real historical evidence of European-style vampires existing in Japan before the influence of Western literature and film.
That inspired me to tell two stories at once: one rooted in the world of the samurai, and the other in the ancient legends of European vampires. The question became, how could vampires naturally and historically arrive in Japan?
The answer was the Silk Road.
The Silk Road was a vast network through which religions, technologies, artistic traditions, stories, ideas, and beliefs traveled across Eurasia for centuries. It became the perfect foundation for imagining how the parasitic influence of vampires could slowly spread eastward, eventually reaching Japan.
That simple question: “How did vampires get to Japan?” became one of the foundations upon which Yurei was built.
Yurei World 