Severance is inspired by tales of the Yuki-onna, the woman of the snow, a figure who appears in Japanese folklore and ghost stories. While accounts surrounding her vary, this version of the tale tells of how she discovered a young man lost and caught in a snowstorm. Taking pity on him, she led him to safety, but before departing, she warned him to never tell anyone of their meeting. Years later, the young man married a beautiful girl named, Yuki, and they lived together happily. However, on a wintery night, the young man revealed to his wife how he had once been saved by the snow spirit, Yuki-onna. She paled at his words, for she was the very Yuki-onna he had met those many years ago, and with his promise being broken, their fates were split and she froze into a pile of snow, melting away through his fingers. As she faded into the cold night, so ended their story, their fated meeting, doomed love, and destined separation.