Encyclopedia Entry:
A type of monster known as “tsukumogami” (artificial spirits) that are items used by humans which sprung to life and started moving around. They are born from the fusion of demonic energy and either the feelings of gratitude that dwell in an item which was treated with care and used for a long time, or the negative feelings of an item that was treated carelessly and thrown away. As the name suggests (chochin-obake literally means “paper lantern monster”), they are a tsukumogami that is a living paper lantern. Flames that light everything around them burn within their bodies. Since they were originally a tool, they desire to be used by human men more than anything.