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Aka Manto - Red Cape
In the last bathroom stall, a voice asks: 'Red paper or blue paper?' Choose red—you're sliced until red with blood. Choose blue—you're strangled until blue. There is no escape from Aka Manto.
1980s - Present
Japan
100+ witnesses
Aka Manto (Red Cape) is a Japanese urban legend about a malevolent spirit haunting public bathrooms.
The Legend
According to documented folklore:
In bathroom stalls:
- A voice asks “Red paper or blue paper?”
- Choose red: sliced until covered in blood
- Choose blue: strangled until you turn blue
- Any answer results in death
- Only “no paper” or ignoring can save you
Origin
The legend emerged:
- In the 1980s
- Popular among Japanese schoolchildren
- A type of “toilet ghost” story
- Spread through oral tradition
Description
Aka Manto is said to be:
- A beautiful masked man
- Wearing a red cape
- Hiding in bathroom stalls
- Particularly the last stall
- Often in schools or public bathrooms
Survival
The only ways to survive:
- Say “no paper”
- Ignore the voice entirely
- Leave immediately
- Any color choice means death
Cultural Context
Japanese toilet ghosts:
- A common folklore theme
- Other examples include Hanako-san
- Reflect anxieties about vulnerable spaces
- Popular in children’s scary stories