Who is Hanako-san of the Toilet? The School Ghost Story You Must Not Knock Three Times For

Tonight, let us turn the pages of the record once more.

I am Shinobu Tokiyomi.

There are times in school restrooms when it is just a little too quiet, even during the day.

The hallway during class.

The voice of a teacher heard from afar.

The white light streaming in from the window.

Beyond that, a row of stalls that should be empty.

If you were to stop in front of the third door,

would you be able to knock?

The third stall on the third floor

Hanako-san of the Toilet is an urban legend widely known as a Japanese school ghost story.

In the well-known version, you go to the girls' restroom on the third floor of the school and knock on the door of the third stall three times.

Then, you ask this:

"Hanako-san, are you there?"

Or,

"Hanako-san, let's play."

If there is no reply, then that is the end of it.

However, what if a small voice from inside replies,

"Yes"

If you hear that reply.

You must not open that door.

That is what has been told.

Where did Hanako-san come from?

There are many versions of the Hanako-san story.

A girl wearing a red skirt.

A girl with a bobbed haircut.

An entity that answers from inside the door.

A story where only a hand comes out.

A story where the person who opens the door is taken to another place.

Depending on the region, an entity with a different name may be spoken of instead of Hanako-san. There are also stories introduced in the form of Yosuke-san, who appears in the boys' restroom.

Therefore, there is no single "correct" form for Hanako-san.

However, there is something common to all the stories.

That is, in school, there is a reply from the other side of the door.

A school is a place you should know.

Classrooms, hallways, stairs, and restrooms.

Precisely because it is a place you visit every day, if a single unknown door were to mix in, the foundation of the world would suddenly shift.

Hanako-san is not a supernatural entity of distant mountains or old mansions.

She is a supernatural entity that might be in the stall right next to you.

Why the toilet?

For children, the school toilet was a slightly special place.

A place away from the classroom.

A place to be alone.

A place with a mirror, the sound of water, and rows of closed doors.

Even if you go with someone, in the end, you must enter the stall alone.

That brief moment of isolation makes it easy for ghost stories to be born.

You cannot see who is on the other side of the door from here.

But, you can hear their voice.

This form of 'there is a reply even though you cannot see them' is at the heart of Hanako-san's terror.

A summoning ghost story

The story of Hanako-san is not just a ghost story you listen to.

There is a procedure.

Go to the third floor.

Choose the third stall.

Knock three times.

Call her name.

Wait for a reply.

Because of these steps, anyone who hears them immediately starts to imagine.

Would I do it myself?

Could I do it if I were with friends?

Even if it's not a school at night, what about a slightly dim restroom during lunch break?

The moment you think that, Hanako-san is no longer just a rumor.

Ghost stories become things that are not just told, but tested.

Overseas, it is sometimes compared to ghost stories where you call a name in front of a mirror. However, in Hanako-san's case, the other party is not inside a mirror.

She is right there, inside the door in front of you.

That proximity is what makes it scary.

The door you must not open

The ending of Hanako-san's story varies depending on the version.

There is a girl in red clothes.

A hand reaches out.

You are pulled inside.

Even though there should be nothing there, the door just closes.

What is important is not what comes out, but what you do after there is a reply.

Will you open it?

Are you going to run away?

Are you going to pretend you didn't hear it?

The ghost story of Hanako-san always makes us choose.

And after you choose, it makes you remember.

That you shouldn't have opened it back then.

Once you graduate from school, you rarely try to test the Hanako-san story seriously.

However, when passing through the hallways of an old school building or in front of an empty restroom, you might suddenly remember it.

If you knock three times, there might be a reply.

If there is a reply, you must not open the door.

The school ghost story you thought you had forgotten remains quietly on the other side of the door.

In a silence that resembles the night, waiting for you to call her name once more.

Whether you believe it or not is up to your own night.

References and Sources

• Database of Supernatural and Yokai Folklore

• National Diet Library Search

• National Diet Library Digital Collections

• Wikipedia "Hanako-san"

• Atlas Obscura "Get to Know Your Japanese Bathroom Ghosts"

• NPR "The Creepiest Ghost And Monster Stories From Around The World"

• Michael Dylan Foster, The Book of Yokai

• Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt, Yokai Attack!

• TOKIYOMI Strange Tales: Hanako-san of the Toilet Short Production Notes

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