Is Fatal Frame II based on a true story?
No. Kikuchi-san has stated in interviews that Fatal Frame II drew inspiration from Japanese detective stories of Seishi Yokomizo and both eastern & western horror cinema. (Specifically the Shining, since it is Kikuchi’s fav movie) Japanese fans have pointed out the similarities to the concept of the Lost Village and that of the Sugisawa Village in Aomori Prefecture of Japan. (More information on that in the Lost Village section) This story also inspired the videogame Siren. Makoto Shibata has mentioned in interviews that his grandfather’s old house was inspiration for some of the structures in the Minakami Village. What Keisuke Kikuchi has specifically stated on the subject: “We’ve taken inspiration from a lot of sources — horror movies, both Japanese and Western, novels, and so on. Also, actual events, disasters, things like that, and legends and traditions. We’ve taken the essence of many different sources and put them together. It’s not like we found the story and said “here’s what
