@xyzzy well in latinamerica there was the story of the man of the bag that would kidnap you if you misbeheave or in christmass in northern europe there's the story of Krampus who beat your ass if you were a bad kid so is not that uncomon to use horror stories to traumatize and make children do what you want hell little red ridding hood was born that so girls didnt wander alone in the forest
Man this sure is a complicated weave of folklore. It doesn't help that its exclusively japanese folklore. I didn't even know Hanako was a girl in red. I just know her as the girl in the toilet.
@versub She's most often depicted as wearing a white shirt and a bright red skirt, but I didn't realize that it was, like, part of the legend. Maybe it's just so common in Japan that it's the first thing they think of when they hear about a little girl in red, the way a westerner might think of Death when they see a farmer's scythe.
Clever merging of myths. Anyway, it's unfortunate that manga is mostly black and white when color sometimes becomes important for the story. Hanako is indeed often portrayed in red. Thanks for the translations!!!