Note: This episode [of Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated] loosely parodies the popular Japanese horror visual novel and anime series Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に, Hepburn: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. "When the Cicadas Cry"), in which the titular cries of the summer cicadas belie ill omens of a series of unusual deaths and disappearences, most often starting on the day of the Watanagashi Festival (綿流し祭, Cotton Drifting Festival) which is centered around delivering thanks and praise to the Hinamizawa village's guardian deity "Oyashiro-sama", who is feared and respected alike for his powerful "Curse" capable of "demoning away" disrespectful villagers.