Japan is no stranger to supernatural stories, which are still common today. Due to wider access to the information thanks to phones and the internet, any Ghost Story can get popular enough to become Urban Legends and to get commonly referenced across media.
These can be seen as modern analogues of Yōkai.
Due to popularization of Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl, onryō-type ghosts are fairly common and follow a certain pattern, starting off as rumors between teenagers, before manifesting as Vengeful Ghost through Gossip Evolution, who attack people indiscriminately while confusing victims with a Morton's Fork.
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Aka Manto
Red Cape, a ghost who is said to be haunting walls in public bathroom. A victim sitting on a toilet is asked to choose between red paper/cloak or blue paper/cloak. Either option, as well attempt to Take a Third Option, gets the victim killed.
- Ghost Stories: Called Akagami Aogami.
- Persona 2
- Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army: Raido is asked to look into sightings of a red-caped monster, attacking people and drinking their blood. These turn out to be victims of demonic parasytes, amplified by the military for their Human Experiments.
Hanako-san
Hanako of the Toilet is a ghost of a girl who has committed suicide in a school bathroom. As a Scare Dare, children are often challenged to come to the third floor girl's bathroom, knock three times on the third stall, and call her by name. Due to popularity among kids, the death of the challenger is often replaced by a scary prank.
- GeGeGe no Kitarō: Hanako is a recurring extra character in the Sixth Series, presented as a Cute Ghost Girl with Hitodama Light.
- Ghost Stories
- Hanako and the Terror of Allegory
- Persona 2
- RIN-NE
- Shinsei Toire No Hanako San
- Toire No Hanako San
- Toire No Hanako San Shin Gekijoban
- Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun: The titular character is a Gender Flip of the legend and is one of The Seven Mysteries.
- Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II: The Starter Villain is Hanako Akai, a school girl who got bullied into wearing the grade schooler's uniform to resemble the legend and has allegedly commited suicide in the school's bathroom.
- Yo-kai Watch: Localized as Toiletta.
Hashisaku-sama
The 8-feet Tall Woman is a ghost of a woman in a white dress and a white sunhat. She lures young boys, whose fate remains unknown. Originated as a Creepypasta from 2channel.
- Otherside Picnic
- Resident Evil Village: Lady Dimitrescu has some resemblene to the legend, being a giantess in a white dress who stalks the protagonist around the area.
Jinmenken
The Human-Faced Dogs, intellegent dogs capable of Super-Speed, but otherwise harmless and prefer to be alone.
- Ghost Stories
- Mob Psycho 100: Reigen and Mob are asked to look into local urban legend. The human-faced dog they've found turn out to be a normal dog named Tero, who had his face drawn over with a marker by curel kids.
Kokkuri-san
Kokkuri-san, alternatively Angel-san, is a fortune-telling game originated in Meiji era. A pot is placed on three rods labeled by kitsune, tengu, and tanuki, and the pot is shaken by a spirit depending on the question. In modern time the pot is replaced by a paper with letters written in a table, and a coin moves to form the answer, analogous with Ouija Board.
- Gugure! Kokkuri-san
- Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II: It's discussed if Mister Kokkuri is related to the Kokkuri-san rumor, but he's a simple ghost who attack anyone he views as a "delinquent".
- ×××HOLiC: Watanuki is asked to look into the "angel" fortune-telling game. Because invoking the supernatural makes it real and also knowing more than you should is taboo, several students got cursed to death. The ones Watanuki encounters turn out to be Dead All Along, an amalgamation of negative emotions caused by the fear of the game.
Kuchisake-onna
A "Slit-Mouthed Woman" is a wandering ghost with a Glasgow Grin, who asks strangers if she has a pretty smile. Saying no gets the victim killed, while saying yes provokes her to give the same appearance to them with scissors. Avoiding saying "yes" or "no" is a common way to survive.
- Carved
- Dandadan
- Persona 2
- Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II: The Slit-Mouthed Kashima of Chapter 3 is a Composite Character of "Slit-Mouthed Woman" and "Kashima Reiko" rumors, with emphasis on the former. Aside having a Glasgow Grin and desire of being apprciated, she has Shear Menace as legs can kill people from a distance by manifesting scissors from inside.
Red Room Curse
Red Room Curse is believed to have originated as a Flash Creepypasta on GeoCities. A red pop-up shows the question "Do you like the red room?", trying to close it would get the victim killed.
Seven School Mysteries
A collection of school-themed ghost stories that may include other known legends. Has own page.
Teke-teke
Teke-teke is a woman who fell on a railroad track and got cut in half by the train. Improper encounter results in a victim getting cut with a Sinister Scythe. She is often merged with the Kashima Reiko story, who haunts bathrooms at schools or train stations, searching for her legs or her name.
- Persona 2
- Soul Hackers
- Zekkyou Gakkyuu: Yomi is missing the lower half of her body due to being caught in a gas explosion she has caused.
Tsuchinoko
A snake-like cryptid. Has own page.
Turbo Baachan
Turbo Granny or 100km/h Hag is a mysterious spirit that can be encountered in the mountain driveways. She just dashes past cars, sometimes distracting drivers who ride above the speed limit.
Similar style ghost stories
- The Bongcheon-Dong Ghost
- Dark Gathering: Yayoi is collecting ghosts into her private army, usually by having Eiko to look into rumors online. These range from odd visions at certain locations, to anyone getting sent into a parallel dimension where they are killed.
- Digimon Ghost Game: The main premise is the team looking into supernatural rumors, which are always caused by Digital Ghosts, meaning invisible Digimon who are not used to the human world.
- Junji Ito Kyoufu Manga Collection
- Hell Girl: The Hell Correspondence is a website where you can enter a name of someone you have a grudge against, and after sealing a pact with the Hell Girl the victim will suffer a Karmic Death, with the price of the client joining them in Hell when they die eventually. The Hell Girl is said to have existed for a while in a form of newspaper clippings and BBS forums.
- Paranoia Agent: Lil' Slugger / Shonen Bat is a mysterious boy in golden rollerblades, who beats up people who are close to falling into despair, providing them with a convenient victim card. Because it sounded like an easy excuse, more people started using it, which turn out that he's not so imaginary after all.
- Persona x Detective NAOTO
- Umineko: When They Cry: Elder residents of the Rokkenjima island and its surroundings used to tell the kids stories that the forest is ruled by the Golden Witch, so kids wouldn't go there. This story is a mix-up of Akujikishima folk tales, conspiracy by Kinzō Ushiromiya, and other factors revealed later in the story.
- Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z: Shin is a Fanboy is anything supernatural, looking into Yōkai, Urban Legends and aliens. When a particular area has some history behind it, there's likely something more to it.
- Spirit Hunter: The task of each protagonist is Quieting the Unquiet Dead. There is always a rumor about someone dying in unjust manner and stalking the area, which is how the protagonists can track the Vengeful Ghost of the day. The Nig Nad of the first day even mentions that fear created by rumors make spirits stronger.
- Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories: Most episodes follow a format of Victim of the Week noticing some unnatural sightings, before something horrible catching up to them.
- Yomawari: Night Alone
- Zekkyou Gakkyuu: Almost all stories involve schoolgirls talking about a supernatural rumor that appears under a certain condition, which the protagonist of the chapter encounters later, often intentionally.
