“Hanako-san of the Toilet” is a well-known urban legend/ghost story in Japan. Like many such stories, there are lots of variations on it, but the basic idea is that Hanako is the ghost of a schoolgirl that haunts the 3rd floor restroom of a public school. Kids dare each other to go into the stall next to the one that’s believed to be haunted, knock three times, and call out to Hanako. Maybe she will answer, maybe she tries to strangle the person who called to her. There are a lot of regional twists on the story that change the floor the bathroom is on, what to say to summon her, what she does if she comes, and so on, so take your pick. There have been a couple of movies based on this story too, naturally.
“Hanako-san of the Toilet” is a well-known urban legend/ghost story in Japan. Like many such stories, there are lots of variations on it, but the basic idea is that Hanako is the ghost of a schoolgirl that haunts the 3rd floor restroom of a public school. Kids dare each other to go into the stall next to the one that’s believed to be haunted, knock three times, and call out to Hanako. Maybe she will answer, maybe she tries to strangle the person who called to her. There are a lot of regional twists on the story that change the floor the bathroom is on, what to say to summon her, what she does if she comes, and so on, so take your pick. There have been a couple of movies based on this story too, naturally.
