Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #605

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Baby On Japan Store Sign Turns Into Horror Poster Child As Ink Melts In Summer Heat
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yYTN3yKa6Qw
By Junji Ito-core
A sign outside a store in Shiga prefecture, Japan, which fea- tured a photo of a baby, has turned into something out of a horror movie as the ink melted due to intense heat in recent years.
Many people have since stopped outside the store, Hangai Nagahama, to take
pictures of the ghast- ly sign, the store owner told Japanese media FNN in 2023.
However, weather conditions over the years have caused the sign to deterio- rate.
The black ink used for the baby's eyes and mouth melted and spread across the sign, smudging the baby's features
into something more sinister.
The store was found- ed in 1933 and sells a range of miscella- neous goods. "We have lots of good, cheap things," the baby sign reads.
The owner, Masanao Itaya, said the sum- mer heat likely melt- ed the sign, which has been up at the
storefront for almost a decade.
He told FNN in 2023 that he failed to notice the deteriorat- ed state of his "favourite sign" until then, adding that he had never seen the sign melt so fast.
"I noticed it at the beginning of August and thought some people might find it creepy, so I thought
about changing it," he told Japanese media.
However, he did not change the sign immediately as Japan's Obon holi- days, observed from Aug. 13 to 16, was around the corner.
"I thought I'd leave it as it is for a while, so that people can enjoy it as a summer horror experience," he added.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine