【Japanese Horror】The Hundred Horror Tales — Episode 46: The Bracelet Turned Black | Haunted Kaidan Tales
Listen to the Full Episode
Listen to the horror story with narration and sound on Spotify.
Episode 46 – “The Bracelet Turned Black| Haunted Kaidan Tales” (Full Text)
Prefer reading? Here’s the complete text of Episode46.
Episode 46 The Bracelet Turned Black
In the darkness, no one moved right away.
When the light that had been there just moments ago disappeared,
it felt like even the sounds—the presence of others—had drifted a little farther away.
Only the faint scent of tatami and the quiet rhythm of someone’s breathing remained.
—click.
A small sound broke the silence as someone struck a match.
—shh.
For an instant, sparks scattered.
A tiny flame was born,
then slowly passed to the first candle.
A dim glow began to trace the outline of the room.
—click.
The second.
—click.
The third.
—click.
The fourth.
—click.
The fifth.
The flames flickered, forming a circle once more.
The darkness from before hadn’t fully disappeared—
it still lingered faintly in the room.
“…Man, what the hell was that story?”
Shūji muttered under his breath.
“The kind where the living are scarier than the dead.”
Miwa let out a soft laugh.
“Right?”
“That’s what I said—
being hated is the scary part.”
Aoi shifted slightly.
“…Stop it.”
“I’m definitely not going to the bathroom tonight…”
“You were totally fine listening just now,” Shūji teased.
“That’s different…
the ending was just unfair…”
Sōma shrugged lightly.
“Well.”
“When you know you can’t see it,
your imagination just fills in the rest.”
Silence fell for a moment.
Beyond the flickering flames,
it felt like those words were still hanging in the air.
—Live the rest of your life in fear of my shadow.
“…But you know,”
Sōma spoke slowly.
“It’s not always about being cursed or hated.”
“Sometimes it’s simpler than that.”
“Like… you’re the one choosing it—
you just don’t realize it.”
Shūji looked up.
“What do you mean?”
Sōma thought for a second, then continued.
“Like when something small changes your life.”
“It could be coincidence,
or just your imagination.”
“But if you start thinking—”
Sōma stared at the candle flame as he spoke.
“‘It’s because of this.’”
Aoi tilted her head.
“…Because of what?”
Sōma gave a faint smile.
“Nothing special.”
“Just something I heard before.”
“About someone I knew.”
“He bought something weird…
and things started going off after that.”
Shūji leaned forward, interested.
“Something weird?”
“Like what?”
Sōma answered calmly.
“A power stone bracelet.”
Aoi blinked.
“A bracelet?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve seen those ads, right?”
“The ones that promise better luck,
or that your wishes will come true.”
Miwa chuckled.
“Oh, those.”
“Super sketchy ones.”
Sōma nodded.
“He thought the same at first.”
“But once he saw it—
it just kept showing up.”
Shūji gave a dry laugh.
“Yeah, that happens.”
“Those ads don’t let go.”
“At first he ignored it.”
“But then the content started changing.”
“Stuff like—
‘Haven’t things been going your way lately?’”
“Or—
‘This stone is meant just for you.’”
Aoi frowned.
“…That’s creepy.”
Sōma briefly looked away from the candle before continuing.
“And he was already into stones.”
“Nothing serious—
just thought they looked nice.”
“But then he saw one he’d never seen before.”
“It had this faint purple color.”
“A little cloudy,
but depending on the light, it looked strangely beautiful.”
“The description was vague.”
“It didn’t clearly say what it did.”
“But there was one line.”
Sōma kept his eyes fixed on the flickering flame.
“‘The color may change depending on shifts in energy.’”
Miwa frowned.
“…That’s kind of unsettling, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Sōma said plainly.
“But that’s exactly what caught his attention.”
Shūji smirked.
“Well, if it changes,
it feels like it’s actually doing something.”
“Exactly.”
Sōma nodded.
“And on top of that—
it said ‘Free for a limited time.’”
Miwa immediately scoffed.
“Yeah right.”
“That’s always a lie.”
“Probably just shipping fees or something.”
“Probably,” Sōma said.
“But he didn’t think too much of it.”
“Just figured—why not.”
“So he ordered it.”
Aoi spoke quietly.
“…That’s kind of bad, isn’t it?”
“At that point, though…”
Sōma narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Nothing had happened yet.”
“The bracelet looked normal.”
“A few purple stones lined up.”
“Kind of nice.”
“A little heavy.”
“That was it.”
The air in the room grew just slightly still.
Sōma kept his gaze on one of the flames.
“And then…”
“From the next day on…”
“He just started wearing it.”
The five candle flames flickered,
almost at the same time.
At first, he treated it like nothing more than an accessory.
Something he’d casually put on his wrist when going out.
That was about it.
He didn’t make any wishes with it.
Didn’t do anything special.
He just wore it.
And still—
starting around the next day,
small changes began to happen.
He’d wake up earlier than usual.
A train he should’ve missed would be delayed just enough for him to catch it.
He’d win a random lottery at a convenience store without even trying.
Nothing big.
Just small things.
The kind you could easily brush off as
“just being lucky.”
At first, that’s exactly what he thought.
He didn’t pay much attention to it.
Just went about his days like normal—
with the bracelet still on his wrist.
That went on for a few days.
Once or twice could be coincidence.
But when it keeps happening,
people start to think about it.
Just a little.
Like—
“Maybe I’ve been getting lucky lately.”
Even then,
he didn’t connect it to the bracelet.
He was just wearing it.
That’s all.
Then one day—
he left the house without it.
No real reason.
He had just forgotten to put it on.
That day didn’t go well.
He overslept.
Missed his train.
Made a few small mistakes.
Nothing terrible happened.
But things just… didn’t line up.
That kind of day.
When he got home,
he noticed how light his wrist felt.
That’s when he realized
he hadn’t been wearing the bracelet.
He picked it up from his desk without thinking.
The stones—
they were supposed to be purple.
But something felt off.
The color looked slightly dull.
He turned it in his hand,
thinking it was just the lighting.
But no matter how he looked at it,
it seemed faintly clouded.
That’s when he remembered the description.
—The color may change depending on shifts in energy.
The moment he thought of that,
something clicked.
If it was changing,
then it must be reacting to something.
In other words—
it was working.
That idea settled in naturally.
The unease he felt just moments ago
faded without a trace.
He put it back on.
And from that point on—
he started becoming aware of it.
Little by little.
Before leaving the house,
he’d check if he was wearing it.
Even while he was out,
he found himself touching it without thinking.
When something went well,
his fingers would trace over the stones.
Even when nothing was happening,
he’d touch it at random moments.
Like a habit.
Nothing more.
But—
as that habit grew,
a certain thought began to take shape in his mind.
“Maybe… it’s because of this.”
At first, it wasn’t something he believed strongly.
Just a vague feeling.
But day by day,
that feeling grew stronger.
Before he realized it—
what had once been just an accessory
had started to carry meaning.
Inside him.
Without a doubt.
After some time—
the bracelet stopped being
“just something he wore without thinking.”
He never left the house without it.
If he realized he had forgotten it,
he’d even go back home just to get it.
That’s how much he had started to depend on it.
At first, he thought it was just a habit.
But it wasn’t just that.
Things started going well—
noticeably more often.
At his part-time job,
he began getting praised for small things.
He was given better shifts.
At school,
things that used to trip him up suddenly made sense.
His test scores even improved a little.
Too much to be just coincidence.
Enough to make him think something had changed.
By then—
the idea that
“this is because of the bracelet”
had already become almost natural to him.
Whenever something went well,
he would touch the stones without realizing it.
Run his fingers over them.
Grip them lightly.
It became a habit.
And on the other hand—
whenever things felt even slightly off,
he would start to worry.
Was the bracelet still on his wrist?
Were the stones positioned the right way?
He kept checking things like that.
And then—
one day, he noticed.
The color had changed.
The stones that were supposed to be purple
had grown noticeably darker.
Duller than before.
Almost black.
Even when he held them up to the light,
they no longer had that same clarity.
If anything—
they seemed to absorb the light.
Normally,
that’s where you’d start to feel something was wrong.
But he didn’t.
He remembered the description.
—The color may change depending on shifts in energy.
And he accepted it.
“If it’s changed this much,
then it must be reacting.”
“That means it’s working.”
That’s what he thought.
Apparently, he even seemed a little pleased.
Like it was proof that the effect was real.
And from that point on—
the way he saw things changed completely.
If something went well,
it was because of the bracelet.
If something didn’t go well,
it was because he hadn’t used it properly.
Maybe he hadn’t touched it enough.
Maybe he hadn’t focused enough.
That’s how he started thinking.
At the same time—
his distance from other people began to change.
People from his class
stopped reaching out to him.
Conversations started to feel off.
Friends he used to spend time with—
he just… stopped seeing them.
Even his coworkers at his part-time job
grew distant.
There wasn’t any clear reason.
It just… happened.
Naturally.
And he didn’t think much of it.
If anything—
he thought it made sense.
“People who don’t fit just drift away.”
That’s all.
Then, after a while—
his thinking shifted even further.
“Maybe the bracelet is choosing for me.”
Keeping only what’s necessary,
cutting away what isn’t.
That’s how he saw it.
And somehow—
that explanation felt right to him.
He wasn’t afraid
of people disappearing from his life.
If anything—
things were going better than before.
That’s how he felt.
Before he realized it—
there was barely anyone left around him.
But that didn’t bother him.
He thought it was fine.
Because everything was going well.
Because everything
was thanks to the bracelet.
That’s what he believed.
And then—
one day,
he noticed something.
The bracelet felt… heavy.
Not exactly heavy—
more like it had settled into his wrist too well.
Like it belonged there.
It bothered him.
So he tried to take it off.
The same way he always did.
Without thinking.
But—
it wouldn’t come off.
It was just elastic.
It should’ve slipped off easily.
But it didn’t.
It caught on something.
He pulled a little harder.
Still—nothing.
That’s when—
he stopped.
For no clear reason.
He just… paused.
It felt like
he shouldn’t take it off.
He didn’t know why.
But he stopped trying.
And just like that,
he let it rest back on his wrist.
Like nothing had happened.
That night—
he was on his phone,
when the ad showed up again.
The same one.
The bracelet.
He opened it without thinking.
It was the same page he’d seen before.
But—
something was different.
The description.
It had changed.
—Purifies what is unnecessary to the wearer.
He didn’t remember it being written like that before.
That’s what he thought.
He kept scrolling.
Another line caught his eye.
—During purification, the color may deepen significantly.
Further down—
—If a strong reaction occurs, removal is not recommended.
His finger stopped.
And in that moment—
everything connected.
Trying to take it off.
Stopping himself.
That strange feeling
that he shouldn’t remove it.
It all made sense.
At least, to him.
He let out a small laugh.
“So that’s what it is.”
Like he had figured something out.
He closed the page,
and looked down at his wrist.
The stones were now completely black.
A dull black—
one that barely let any light through.
And yet—
he didn’t feel afraid.
If anything—
he felt relieved.
It’s working.
That’s what he thought.
Then—
a notification caught his eye.
A message.
From an old friend.
Someone he hadn’t heard from in a while.
A short line on the screen.
“How have you been?”
He stared at it for a moment.
Then—
without replying,
he cleared the notification.
Just like that.
After a while—
he just… stopped responding.
At first,
people thought he was just busy.
But days passed,
and there was still no reply.
He stopped showing up to his part-time job.
Stopped coming to school.
Some people even went to his house—
but no one answered.
That was it.
Nothing more.
It didn’t turn into anything serious.
Little by little,
people just stopped talking about him.
And before long—
everyone forgot.
…Or at least,
that’s how it should’ve ended.
But there’s one thing that’s a little strange.
The social media account he used.
That one…
was never deleted.
There were no new updates.
Everything had stopped.
Except—
there was one post.
Just one.
A photo.
The bracelet—
completely black.
That was all.
No caption.
No explanation.
Just the image.
And then—
that post had a like.
Just one.
No one knows who it came from.
The account name wasn’t familiar.
But—
the icon…
looked exactly like the one from the ad.
The same one
that sold the bracelet.
…Well,
maybe it was just a coincidence.
And honestly—
there’s no way to know
if that bracelet really had any power,
or if he just believed it did.
Maybe everything that happened—
the good things,
the people disappearing—
was just coincidence.
Maybe.
But—
if that ad showed up again…
If it appeared
right in front of you—
what would you do?
Would you buy it?
Or—
Sōma fell silent for a moment.
Then—
without looking away from the candle flame,
he gently blew on it.
—fuh.
The flame flickered,
and quietly went out.
Next Episode
New episode drops on Saturday June 13.
📖 View All Episodes
Work in Progress
✍️ About & Follow
The Hundred Horror Tales is an original Japanese horror anthology inspired by the tradition of Hyaku Monogatari.
Five storytellers gather around flickering candles to share chilling tales—urban legends, ghost stories, folklore, daily fears, and real encounters.
Can you endure until the last flame goes out?
Follow for more:
• Twitter: @KaidanTales
• YouTube: @HK_Tales
If you felt something… or noticed something, we’d be grateful if you quietly left a comment below.
Click here to leave a comment!