Modern rumors of uncertain origin that spread by word of mouth and over the internet.
Entries: 73
A famous urban legend and game in Europe and America: if you say "Bloody Mary" three times facing a mirror in a dark room, the ghost of a bloody woman appears in the mirror. One theory says the name comes from the nickname of Mary I, the 16th-century Queen of England who had many people executed.
Belief and ritual worshipping the Christian devil (Satan). From the Middle Ages on it was used as a pretext for accusing heretics and witches, and in 1980s America a baseless panic over "satanic ritual abuse" broke out. Real organizations need to be distinguished from rumors and conspiracy theories.
A "library of cosmic memory" said to record every event since the beginning of the universe, down to people's thoughts and feelings. Talked about in 19th-century Theosophy, it spread in the spiritual world as a way to learn about past lives and the future. There is no scientific support for it.
A children's song for a game in which two teams take turns claiming children from the other side while singing. Because "ichi monme" was an old unit of money and weight, a dark theory says the song depicts child traders buying children cheaply.
A children's song about an exchange between a parent and child walking the narrow path to a Tenjin shrine and the gatekeeper. Because it says going is fine but coming back is scary, many dark meanings have been suggested, such as abandoning children, human sacrifice and checkpoint inspections.
A children's song for a game in which children circle a blindfolded "it," who must guess who is standing directly behind. Because of its cryptic words, many dark meanings have been suggested: the sorrow of a courtesan, a miscarriage, a prisoner, an execution, even a code for the hiding place of the Tokugawa treasure.
An urban legend about the children's song "Akai Kutsu" (Red Shoes). There are rumors that the girl taken away by a foreigner was kidnapped, or that the "foreigner" in the lyrics was really a "great-grandfather." A sad true story is told about the girl said to be its model.
The phenomenon of seeing another self that looks exactly like you. The German word means "double walker." It is said that seeing your own doppelganger means your death is near, and there are accounts of sightings by Goethe and Akutagawa Ryunosuke.
The conspiracy theory that humanity's first moon landing by Apollo 11 in 1969 was really faked by the United States in a studio. A waving flag and the lack of stars in the sky are offered as evidence, but all have been explained scientifically.
The conspiracy theory that a tiny secret elite plans to unite the world under a single government and control the people. Originally a term in international politics for "the new international order after the Cold War," it spread as a rallying cry of conspiracy theories.
A real secret society founded in Bavaria, Germany, in 1776 and dissolved only about ten years later. Even after its dissolution, conspiracy theories that it "survived and controls the world from behind the scenes" have been passed down, making it a byword for urban legends.
A school ghost story in which, when you find there is no toilet paper, a voice asks, "Do you want red paper or blue paper?" Answer "red" and you are covered in blood; answer "blue" and your blood is drained until you die pale blue.
School ghost stories in which piano music is heard from the empty music room after school, or the eyes of the composers' portraits on the wall move. They have been told all over Japan as a staple of the "seven wonders of the school."
A school ghost story in which a voice in the school toilet asks, "Shall I put a red vest on you?" If you answer "yes," your throat is cut and blood runs down your back, making it look as if you are wearing a red vest.
An urban legend about the doll hung from the eaves to wish for sunny weather, and the children's song about it. Because the song's third verse says the doll's head will be cut off if it doesn't clear up, frightening stories about its origin are told.
An urban legend about the 1959 children's song "Sacchan." It was rumored that the song has a "phantom fourth verse" telling how Sacchan died in an accident, and that Sacchan appears to anyone who learns of it.
An urban legend about "Green Green," a song sung in elementary school music classes in Japan. Because the later verses describe the boy's parting from his father, many dark interpretations are told: the father died in a war or accident, or it is a song about nuclear war.
A legendary substance of alchemy believed to turn metals such as lead into gold, and even to grant immortality when drunk. Many alchemists of medieval Europe sought to make it, and a legend says the Paris scribe Nicolas Flamel succeeded.
A legend that just before the fall of the Edo shogunate, its huge war chest was secretly buried somewhere. The theory that the shogunate's finance commissioner Oguri Kozukenosuke hid it on Mount Akagi in Gunma Prefecture is famous, and large TV excavations drew attention, but nothing has been found.
An urban legend about the children's song "Ichinensei ni Nattara," which expresses excitement about starting elementary school. Because counting up the song's friends leaves one person missing, dark interpretations are told, such as "one was left out by bullies" or "someone vanished."
