Dear Diary, 

Please remind me never to use the bathroom again, okay? Japan might be one of the safest places in the world, but not in the ghost world. You can't even use the bathroom in Japan without the fear of an evil yokai at every corner. Or in this story, in the last stall. Aka Manto, also known as Red Cape, is a Japanese urban legend about a cloaked figure appearing at your most vulnerable - on the toilet with no toilet paper. Yes, this spirit is that petty. And to make matters worse, there's no way out of this one. You can try to confuse this spirit, but once you are trapped in that stall, it's game over.

The story goes like this: you are desperate to find a bathroom and all of the stalls are either clearly clogged or the doors are locked. The only option left is the last stall and you are desperate, so you go in. But then you come to the sudden realization that you have no toilet paper and should have just stayed home today. That's when Aka Manto strikes. The ghost is scary, dressed in all red with an expressionless mask, and is rudely hovering over you. The cloaked figure appears as a saving grace with two rolls of toilet paper in hand. You might feel relieved, but then the spirit will ask you to pick a color - red or blue toilet paper. 

At this point there is no way out. You can't slip under the stall door or bribe this yokai with sweets; you must choose. If you choose red, Aka Manto will slice you to pieces and you will become as red as the spirit’s cloak, but with your own blood. If you choose blue, then you will either be suffocated or all of your blood will be sucked out of your body, leaving your body a sickly blue shade. So, pick your poison with this yokai because there's no way you are getting out of this one. 

Never drinking water again…

Xoxo, 

Maria