May 26 2009
Terrifying Toilet Paper
TOKYO – In a country where ghosts are traditionally believed to hide in the loo, a Japanese company is advertising a new literary experience — a horror story printed on toilet paper.
Each roll carries several copies of a new nine-chapter novella written by Koji Suzuki, the Japanese author of the horror story “Ring,” which has been made into movies in both Japan and Hollywood.
“Drop,” set in a public restroom, takes up about three feet (90 centimeters) of a roll and can be read in just a few minutes, according to the manufacturer, Hayashi Paper.
The company promotes the toilet paper, which will sell for 210 yen ($2.20) a roll, as “a horror experience in the toilet.”
Toilets in Japan were traditionally tucked away in a dark corner of the house due to religious beliefs. Parents would tease children that a hairy hand might pull them down into the dark pool below.
View the story here.
Yikes!
Like most other people, I like to keep some reading material in the bathroom… but I don’t use it to wipe. Unless I’m out of toilet paper, but that’s a different topic altogether.
It just seems weird to wipe your bum with what is–essentially–a work of art. If I were the author of this story, I think it would bother me a little bit knowing that my masterpiece was being smeared with shite on a daily basis. It’s rather offending.
Besides, I prefer to keep my reading materials light during that particular time, though I guess that’s a personal preference. Brings new meaning to the term “scared shitless,” huh? Could this be a cure for constipation?!
Still, though, it’s pretty cool. I wonder if they’ll come out with new stories? Every month they could release a new chapter. It’d be a great way to drive up toilet paper sales, anyway.
I look forward to the next installment.
On a side note… what kind of crappy parent tells their kids that a hairy hand will suck them into the toilet?! Crikey.
