Kayla asked Rin Chupeco:

Hello! So I read The Girl from the Well at the beginning of the month and I think it was absolutely stunning. I just have one question though, how did you come up with such a unique plot? I know that Okiku is based off an old Japanese legend, but what inspired you to write a story about ghosts and Okiku? Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to reading more by you in the future.

Rin Chupeco Thank you! The idea of a ghost as a protagonist rather than as an antagonist came during a scary Asian movie marathon with a friend. "How would you beat something like that if you were in their place?" Said friend asked, after an especially brutal scene.

"With another ghost." I quipped - and then realized what great potential that was. I wrote the first chapter the very next day.

This was also inspired by my experiences working at an office in a very old, barely maintained building. I did a lot of overtime, and unintentionally frightened many a person also working late. When you're waiting in near-darkness for a rickety elevator, only to see an Asian with pale skin and very long hair (and a fondness for dark clothes) inside when it squeaks open, you'd probably scream, too. I did this on maybe six different occasions, including scaring off a security guard. I think I made at least one Japanese guy cry (there was a small Japanese company renting space in that building).

They nicknamed me Sadako after that.

It got me thinking about how there could be ghosts who may not be as bad as everyone might assume. Later on, when I had that "Eureka!" moment during that movie marathon, this experience was one of the first things that came to mind.

flag