Sasi (邪視): A Horror Tale of Collapsing Inward After Meeting Eyes

First, I should make this clear.

The 「邪視」 discussed here is not a confirmed incident record. It is an internet horror story that began with a post made on January 17, 2008, on the 2ch occult board, then spread through reposted versions. This article does not reproduce the original wording, detailed plot, or countermeasures as they are. Instead, it focuses on publicly known motifs and the way the story circulated.

Literally translated, it means something like “evil gaze.” In Japanese, it is written as 邪視, and in Korean it is sometimes rendered as “sasi.” The “gaze” referred to here is not about the direction of the eyes, but closer to their nature. The idea that simply looking can harm another person also touches on older folkloric concepts such as the English-language evil eye, 邪眼, and 魔眼. However, what this article discusses is not that concept itself, but a long-form Japanese internet horror story, especially one widely circulated in the 洒落怖 tradition. Some folkloric interpretations also read this story alongside evil-eye-related ideas.

The story begins like this.

The narrator opens with a sentence along the lines of, “This is a story from when I was fourteen.” During winter vacation