Short Horror Stories

The Red Room: A Japanese Urban Legend

You're on your computer or laptop, in your room, when a pop-up appears. It's a red Flash pop-up that says "あなたわー好きですな？" Or "Do you like-?" A little girl's mangled voice repeats the question.

Do I like...? Like what? You think, puzzled by the abrupt end to it. You click the exit button, but the words change! The words read "Do you like red?" The little girl's voice becomes more mangled as she asks the question.

Do I like red? You think, confused at the question and frustrated that you can't get off the pop-up. You click it a few more times, and the sentence is changed to something entirely different than when you first got it!

The sentence reads "あなたわs赤い部屋が好きですか？" or "Do you like The Red Room?" The little girl's mangled voice asks the question.

Do I like The Red Room? You think, in a rage and extremely confused. What is The Red Room?!

Then a website pops up, just a black page with no URL or any buttons to exit out of! There's a list of names, and you scan them carefully. You notice that your friends' names are on there, and your name's at the bottom of the list. You feel something behind you.

The next day the police are investigating your grisly suicide. They walk into your room and find you lying on the bed, covered in blood. There's blood on your walls, and it looks like you painted your room red with your own blood, from all of it on your hands. Your laptop still has that list on it with your name at the bottom, and before the police can look through it, it shuts down with an eerie, echoey noise, never to turn back on.

Now, there is some truth to this legend. In 2004, a student known as "Girl A" killed her classmate in Sansebo, Japan. When the police went through her computer, they found that the most popular bookmark was the website with The Red Room pop-up and list on it. The killing was known as "The Sansebo Slasher."