Many of us were afraid of the monster under the bed or in the closet when we were young children. Many times, we would have mom and/or dad check everything first to make sure we would not be taken and eaten up during the night by the monster. Of course, make sure you leave a little light on and don't fully shut the door, Mom!!!
What happens if you're at school and need to go to the bathroom and there happens to be a haunted toilet? Me personally....I'm probably going to wet myself before I can properly use the facility.
Let's travel to Japan and meet Hanako-San...if you chose to be brave enough to summon her. It is said that Hanako-San haunts the third stall in the bathroom on the third floor of schools. Legend says that Hanako-San was a girl playing hide-and-seek in a school during World War II and died during an air strike. Another story says that a stranger or an abusive parent chased down and murdered her in a bathroom stall. In some variations, she was a young girl who committed suicide in a bathroom stall. Overall, people agree that they have seen a girl with a bob-style haircut and wearing a red dress.
The lore is that if anyone decides to "summon" Hanako-San, they need to go to the bathroom on the third floor of a school building and knock three times on the third stall door. After the third knock, you ask, "Are you there, Hanako-San?" If it works, you will hear her reply, "Yes, I'm here". If I made it to the bathroom stall and knocked, I think once I hear her voice, I would be running out of there. If you are much braver than me and actually open the stall door after hearing her reply, it is said that you will see her coming out of the toilet...and then she will drag you down to whatever hellish portal she lives in.
So...I think I'm officially no longer afraid of the monster under the bed or in the closet, but rethinking my bathroom choices. I understand that this legend takes place in Japan and I live in the USA, but I think third stalls are out for me no matter where I need to make a restroom stop.
Is Hanako-San real? Is she folklore, an urban legend? I will let you travel to Japan and find out for yourself. I don't have the guts...or money for the airfare.
-- Audre
Photo by: Wattpad.com
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