From the earliest forms of Japanese literature, the monstrous feminine has been an integral aspect of horror. However, the image of the monstrous mother was rare in Japanese horror literature until the late twentieth century. With the corresponding decline in the birth rate in Japan and the increase in single mothers, a moral panic began over the role of mothers in Japanese society. The image of the monstrous feminine transformed into monstrous mothers in films such as Ringu (1995), Dark Water (2002), Kuchisake-onna (2007), and Confessions (2010) this moral panic is on full display. Here, a monstrous mother most fully embodies the moral panic over the apparent decline of motherhood in Japanese society. The reactionary stance of Japanese horror concerning the role of women in light of the moral panic demonstrates a rigidity in perception concerning the role of women and is worthy of deeper exploration.