Hanako-san

No single canonical origin is given in the sources; multiple, conflicting origin narratives are reported. Versions include: a World War II–era girl killed while playing hide-and-seek during an air raid; a girl murdered by a parent or stranger; and a girl who committed suicide in a school toilet after bullying. The supplied material records these differing accounts without establishing one authoritative origin.

Accounts vary. Common descriptive elements reported across sources include a girl with a bobbed haircut and a red skirt or dress. Some tellings emphasize only a bloody or ghostly hand rather than a full-bodied apparition. Media portrayals range from benign to vengeful, and no single canonical appearance is fixed in the supplied material.

Reported abilities and behaviors are variable across versions. Consistently described is that Hanako-san may be summoned by a school-yard ritual (see rituals). If present, she will answer when asked. Variant outcomes recorded in the sources include manifestation of a bloody or ghostly hand; the hand or Hanako-san pulling the inquirer into the toilet; being taken to Hell; or being eaten by a three-headed lizard in some tellings. The supplied sources present these as alternative motifs across different tellings rather than as uniform powers.