yokai
Any of various supernatural monsters, sometimes shapeshifters, in Japanese folklore.
Earl didn’t know all the details about what that type of yokais’ powers were, her mother kept the family secrets close to the vest, and he knew even less about which of those powers had gotten passed onto her half-human offspring.
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Japanese 妖怪 (yōkai, “ghost, phantom, monster”), from Middle Chinese 妖怪 ('jew kweajᴴ) with the similar meaning.
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry yokai (CC BY-SA 4.0).