Mu-onna

A Mu-onna (lit."nothing woman") is a type of yokai or Japanese monster. A Mu-onna is a vengeful spirit of a mother who lost her child to famine or war. She protects children in danger, but may also try to merge or absorb them. They can look into the child's soul to find information while merging with them.

To gather the information, or to merge with them, the Mu-onna must cast a spell to put the child's soul to sleep.

The Mu-onna can be found in the anime "Inuyasha". The name Mu-onna is changed to the Unmother for the show.