an ' osei-chu ' (mimicking roundworm ) or ' osei ' (literally , mimicking or parroting the host ' s words ) is a weird disease or a ghostly roundworm which causes the disease known in china and japan , as described in collected essays written in the edo period , such as " shin chomonju " (literally , a new collection of famous tales ) and " kanden jihitsu " (literally , fallow-field essays , continued; miscellaneous essays ). 応声虫(おうせいちゅう)または応声は、中国や日本の『新著聞集』や『閑田次筆』などの江戸時代の随筆集にある奇病、及びその病気を引き起こす怪虫。