If you’re a fellow Animal Crossing fan, odds are you enjoy collecting gyroids.  In fact, there are over 100 different kinds, and they can be found in each game in the series (aside from New Horizons; we’re still waiting on that update, Nintendo).  They are a rather fun and interesting collectible due to how unique they are and the odd sounds and movements they make.  Gyroids will even move faster or slower depending on what song is playing in your house at the moment or which gyroids are accompanying them.  You can even create your very own gyroid band if the mood suited you!  Pretty neat, huh?  So what if I told you that they might be possessed by the souls of the dead?

You may already be aware, but gyroids have a very spooky association with Japanese history.  They are actually based on haniwa, clay figures that were buried with the dead all the way back in 300-600 AD!  For a bit of bonus history, a possible earlier variation of haniwa can be found in the form of the Ancient Statue, which is actually a Dogu from the Jomon Period that took place even earlier in history, with the one found in the game dating from sometime between 1000-400 BC, though the actual purpose of these particular figures remains largely a mystery….  To top it off, there is speculation that haniwa were believed to house the souls of the deceased.

With everything we know about haniwa, it begs the question: whenever we find a gyroid, are we digging up an ancient gravesite?  And when I keep gryoids in my house, am I actually living alongside the spirits of the dead that passed away over 1000 years ago?  Blimey, I had an entire basement full of the things in my original Animal Crossing town!  Poor Lulu’s house must be so haunted!  I haven’t even seen her in over ten years!  To what unearthly fate have I abandoned her?!

Ahem, speaking of the original GameCube Animal Crossing, I’ll leave you with one final, gyroid-related scare.  While I found the rest of my info on Wikipedia, this next one is something I might have learned about in the Animal Crossing guide book that came for free with the game if you bought it at Kmart.  But since it’s packed now, I have to look online for the information I seek (TV Tropes, surprisingly enough).  Apparently, if you reset your game while visiting a friend’s town, something truly frightening happens.  When you next load your game, you will find that your character’s face has turned into that of a gyroid, complete with empty eye sockets and a gaping mouth!  Does this mean your character’s soul is now inhabiting the body of a gyroid made to look like you?  And what of your actual body?  Are you dead?!  Why do you do stuff like this, Nintendo!