A mysterious Japanese 'killing stone' split in half just over a year ago, sparking fears that a demon trapped inside would be released once again.
The evil demon 'Tamamo no Mae' was locked inside the rock to stop her from haunting the country, according to an ancient prophecy.
It's believed that anyone who touched the rock - which is officially known as Sessho-Seki - would die.
The rock, dubbed the killing stone, was a particularly popular tourist attraction in the mountains of Tochigi, which is near Tokyo.
But the killing stone's attraction dried up ever since it mysteriously split into two almost-equal parts.
The boulder suddenly split in March 2022, after rainwater got inside and thawed the rock.
It's actually believed the process of splitting started years before it eventually broke into two.
However, there's a common misconception about the killing stone, according to folklorist Matthew Meyer, who runs Japanese ghosts and monsters database yokai.com.
He claimed that the evil spirit Tamamo no Mae wasn't necessarily trapped inside the rock at all.
"I was a bit dismayed at how so many Western media sites got the facts wrong and didn't seem to look beyond Twitter for the actual story behind the superstition," he told howstuffworks.
"Tamamo no Mae was never 'trapped' in the stone. She was the stone."
The demon was believed to once take the form of an incredibly beautiful woman, who was part of a secret plan to kill the Japanese emperor who ruled from 1107 to 1123; Emperor Toba.
But her true identity was actually a nine-tailed fox that was one of the most powerful creatures ever to live.
She was also an expert in manipulation, and used her charm to influence global affairs.
While she never actually succeeded in killing the emperor, her legacy completely destabilised the country, and resulted in civil war.
After her death, her spirit was reportedly trapped inside the rock Sessho-Seki, and remained there for almost 1,000 years.
