The Little Girl in Red
A family filmed their hike in the hills of Taiwan. Watching it at home, they saw a little girl in red walking behind them whom no one remembered.
What was reported
In 1998, a home video was sent to a Taiwanese television show about the supernatural. A family had filmed themselves on a mountain trail near Taichung. Watching it later, they noticed a small girl in a red jacket following close behind the group, her face strangely old. None of them remembered her being there.
The clip became one of the best-known pieces of Taiwanese folklore. Many people link it to the mo-sin-a, mountain spirits said to lead hikers astray, and it has inspired a series of horror films.
Explanations offered
Sceptics point out that the video is blurry and that a local child, or someone from another group, could easily have been on the trail unnoticed. Taiwanese folklorists see the story as a modern version of old beliefs about the mountains.
- When
- 1998
- Where
- Near Taichung, Taiwan
- Witnesses
- A family on a hike, and television viewers
- 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.
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