Japan's Haunted Temple Gate to Hell: Supernatural Folklore | Thursday Thrills

Kyoto's legendary underworld well is receiving a rare public viewing. On September 4, Rokudo Chinno-ji begins a three-day special opening tied to the launch of Capcom's Onimusha: Way of the Sword, whose director says the real Kyoto temple is central to the game's world. But the place did not need a video game to become one of Japan's eeriest crossroads.

At Rokudo Chinno-ji, visitors pull a rope through a small opening to ring a bell hidden behind a wall. Temple tradition says the Mukaegane, or welcoming bell, can be heard in the realm of the dead. Behind the main...