The Slit-mouthed Woman (or Kuchisake-onna) is probably one of the most famous Japanese urban legends. The creature is pretty old and part of the variegated supernatural Japan background as much as any other Yokai or Onryo. The most official source for the Slit-mouthed woman is a newspaper article in Gifu prefecture dated back in 1979. Then, more articles about the creature started to spread, almost causing panic across Japan. Other references connect the Slit-mouthed Woman with the victims of horrible crimes back in feudal Japan, making her a proper Yokai.

Regardless of her origin, the story and the appearance are pretty much the same. The Woman looks normal, the only peculiar element is a mask covering her mouth, often a surgical one. In Japan, face masks were always very common, long before the advent of COVID-19. However, there was probably a time back then when it was still not so common to see people around wearing it, thus creating this urban legend. After the mask is removed, the Slit-mouthed Woman will show her terrifying face, with a big and carved mouth, often depicted as full of pointed teeth. The creature always carries with her a blade, such as a knife or scissors, which she uses to kill or disfigure her victims. When encountering a victim, the Slit-mouthed Woman will ask if she is pretty. If the victim agrees with her, she will carve the victim’s mouth to create the same disfigured smile. Instead, if the victim answers negatively, the Slit-mouthed Woman will simply slice the victim’s throat. Possible ways to escape from this terrible fate include giving a more generic and neutral answer. The Slit-mouthed Woman can also be driven away by showing her a distraction, such as throwing candies or money on the ground.

The Slit-mouthed Woman appears as the first case in the horror-adventure World of Horror. The game has an interesting 1-bit art-style and features deadly mysteries to solve and disturbing creatures to defeat (you can have a glimpse of the bestiary here: The most disturbing eldritch creatures from the bestiary of World of Horror). World of Horror takes huge inspiration from Japanese folklore and horror mangaka such as Junji Ito or Kazuo Umezu. It then comes without surprise that creatures from Japanese urban legends are also widely present in this game. In fact, the Slit-mouthed Woman is the first boss encountered during the tutorial. The mystery is set inside a school where brutal murders are happening, caused by a woman wielding a pair of scissors. The Scissor Woman here is more of an eldritch curse, a being materializing from dense smoke to massacre people, to then disappear to curse another place. To stop the Slit-mouthed Woman, it is necessary to find the correct elements of a ritual and to draw the perfect glyphs on the blackboard. By doing this, the player can face a normal version of the Slit-mouthed Woman, a very simple battle in a usually complex game. The Scissor Woman will take shape from black smoke as a tall woman wearing a raincoat and wielding a pair of scissors. The creepy detail? Her head is composed of three different heads, lined up vertically and connected by a continuous twisted and grin smile. However, the interesting detail is that this is only one of the four different versions of this boss.

For example, if the player fails to perform the ritual, a more eldritch version of the Slit-mouthed Woman will manifest. And this will be a tougher battle. The Horror Slit-mouthed Woman is a far more difficult enemy, the true eldritch essence of this monster not weakened by the ritual, with more attack power and HPs. Her face is more twisted and evil, even far less human, with void eyes or even multiple eyeballs in her faces. Defeating this strengthened version will award a special weapon, her Cursed Scissors, the second most powerful weapon in the game but with the downside of having a small probability with every attack of fastening the coming of eldritch gods. Defeating the Horror Scissor Woman also unlocks the Ending B. Both versions of the Scissor Woman can also permanently disfigure the main character by carving her characteristic creepy smile on their face.

The third version of the Scissor Woman is very peculiar to face because it is completely related to another case. This mystery is a long investigation involving mermaids, creatures from the depths, and the mad school janitor. During the final face-off with the janitor, one of the options to survive without fighting the boss is to burn down the school. Yes, a very drastic option that will damage the main character but also opens a new possibility. In fact, if you then have available the Scissor Woman’s case and you play it after burning down the school, the game will remember this event. While exploring the ruins of the school, you will face the Burned Scissor Woman, a modified version of the Horror one with fewer HPs but even higher damage. Her design is similar to the Horror one, but in this case, her skin looks almost melted.

The last version of the Scissor Woman can only be challenged when selecting Timeline B upon creating a custom scenario. Timeline B is a more difficult playthrough, and it will often open to new boss battles in previous cases. Regarding the Scissor Woman, by playing Timeline B you can face the Ghost Scissor Woman. This is by far the most challenging and eldritch design. Losing any human appearance, the Scissor Woman is now only a towering pile of heads, twisted and grotesque, spiraling around in a mix of grin smiles and eyes opening inside the hairs. Every face will be maddening whispering “Am I beautiful?” with different tonalities. This time, the Scissor Woman is not a tangible being but a Spirit. In this case, a proper battle is impossible, and the player should find the correct combination of Bows and Claps to complete the ritual and exorcize the Ghost Scissor Woman. Failing the ritual unlocks Ending D, which implies that the ethereal form of the Scissor Woman can possess and control other people, marked by the creepy smile.