20 Things You Didn't Know About The Ring

Much of modern horror has its origins in tales older than you may think, in this case the legend of the women in the well can be traced back to Japanese theatre over two centuries old.

In 1741, a play named Banchō Sarayashiki made its debut: Once upon a time, a samurai named Aoyama Tessan had a servant named Okiku, a beautiful girl who had refused his offer of marriage on multiple occasions.

Tessan tricked Okiku into believing she had lost one of ten plates, heirlooms of considerable value. She confessed and was forgiven under the condition that she married her master. When she refused, Tessan had her thrown down a well to her death. Her ghost could be heard obsessively counting the plates, searching for the lost one.

The depiction of Okiku in Japanese art bears more than a resemblance to Sadako and her US counterpart, Samara.