What is Red Paper, Blue Paper?
Red Paper, Blue Paper is a ghost story about the school toilet. You go into the toilet and suddenly notice there is no paper. While you are at a loss, a voice comes from somewhere: “Do you want red paper or blue paper?”
If you answer “red paper,” blood spurts from your whole body and you die covered in red; if you answer “blue paper,” all the blood is drained from your body and you die pale blue. The horror of the story is that you are doomed whichever you choose.
Is there a way to survive?
Depending on the region, there are variations: answer “yellow paper” and you are dropped into the toilet, or answer “No thanks” and you are saved. Some versions say the owner of the voice is a monster or a spirit living in the toilet.
Links to Aka Manto
This ghost story is thought to have branched off from the rumor of Aka Manto, told since before the war. Ghost stories in which you are made to choose a color in the toilet are told in many forms across Japan, such as one that asks “red cape or blue cape?” and the red vest, which tries to dress you in something red.
