Hanako of the Toilet
In Japanese schools, children knock three times on the third toilet stall and call for Hanako, a girl who isn't there.
What was reported
Toire no Hanako-san, 'Hanako of the toilet', is one of the best-known Japanese school legends. Children say that if you go to the third stall of a girls' toilet, knock three times and ask, 'Are you there, Hanako-san?', a faint voice answers, 'Yes, I'm here', and sometimes a girl in a red skirt appears.
The story has been told since at least the 1950s, and she has become the subject of films, anime and manga.
Explanations offered
Folklorists treat Hanako-san as a modern tale shaped by children, one of many 'toilet ghost' stories in Japanese schools, where daring each other in the most ordinary place is part of the fun. Some versions give her a sad backstory, but none is based on a recorded event.
- When
- Told since the 1950s
- Where
- Schools across Japan
- Witnesses
- Generations of Japanese schoolchildren
- Status
- Urban legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.