Japanese Netizens Warn Against Calling for Your Mom When Living Alone: You Might Attract Something Else!
Living alone means having to deal with every little problem yourself, but apparently, there’s one habit some Japanese netizens recommend breaking immediately: calling for your mom whenever something goes wrong. A post on X (formerly Twitter) sparked a wave of creepy stories after users warned that calling out to someone in an empty house might attract a presence that is definitely NOT the person you’re looking for!
It all started with a pretty ordinary situation. A Japanese netizen explained that even after moving out of their parents’ home and starting to live alone, they still couldn’t break the habit of calling for their mother whenever they ran into a household problem.
Why Are Japanese Netizens Warning People About Calling for Their Moms When Living Alone?
A user known as Kyo shared a situation many people can probably relate to: despite living alone, they got out of the shower, realized they had forgotten their towel, and their first instinct was to call for their mom.
It’s an automatic reaction for someone who spent most of their life living with family. After all, when you need something, you instinctively call someone who’s always been there to help you out.
However, the post took an unexpected turn when other Japanese users started recommending that they break this habit immediately.
Japanese Netizens Share Creepy Stories About Calling Out in an Empty House
The original post quickly turned into a collection of ghost stories, with several users sharing their personal experiences and warning about the dangers of calling out to someone in an empty home.
“When I lived alone, I’d come home, walk inside, and say ‘Tadaima!’ (I’m home!). Then, from the empty room where nobody was supposed to be, I’d hear ‘Okaeri!’ (Welcome home!) in response. So I stopped saying it.”
One user explained that shouting things like “Hey!” or “Is anyone there?” could attract the attention of something that might interpret the call as an invitation.
Others got even more specific, recommending that people avoid doing this near water or mirrors, especially in bathrooms and washrooms. According to these stories, those are places where things that shouldn’t exist might show up.
And some of the stories shared were particularly disturbing!
A Female Voice Started Responding Every Day
Perhaps the most unsettling story came from a user who said they lived alone and had a habit of announcing their arrival out loud whenever they got home.
Everything seemed normal until, about a week before posting their comment, they started hearing a female voice responding, “Welcome home!”
The user also mentioned that ever since then, they’d been suffering from headaches and persistent nosebleeds.
But the creepiest part came at the end: they claimed to be happy that someone was finally waiting for them at home and that they would be going out together with this person the following day.
The comment ends on an especially sinister note, leaving everyone wondering what was actually happening to this person.
A Child Called for Her Mom and Came Running Out of the Bathroom in Fear
Another user shared an experience involving their young daughter. At the time, their wife had left the house, and the child started crying and calling for her mother.
Suddenly, the little girl stopped crying and asked, “Mommy?”
She then walked toward the dark bathroom area, as if she’d heard someone answering her call.
A short while later, the child came running back, screaming, terrified, and trembling. She couldn’t explain what had happened.
The father said that although the house wasn’t known to be haunted, that experience was enough to convince him it was time to move out.
How about some more creepy stories?
One woman shared:
“Whenever I take a long bath, I always leave a drink next to the bathroom door. My husband was hospitalized, so I was home alone. One day, I forgot to bring my drink into the bathroom. Just like I always do, I shouted, ‘Heeey!’ Then I remembered nobody else was home and gave up on asking for help.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door suddenly creaked open. (It’s a door that opens at an angle like this: Λ.) I was absolutely terrified that day. The window was closed, and the ventilation fan wasn’t even running. What on earth was that…?”
Another person commented:
“Once, when my mom was out, I was taking a bath and realized we’d run out of shampoo. So I called out from the bathroom, ‘Sorry, Mom! Could you bring me some shampoo?’
Suddenly, without hearing a single word in response, a refill pouch of shampoo was dropped right in front of the bathroom door.
I’ve always wondered…
WHO was that?”
Japanese Superstitions Turn an Everyday Habit Into a Ghost Story
In Japan, ghost stories and urban legends are part of a long-standing cultural tradition. Figures such as yūrei (Japanese ghosts), along with stories involving strange appearances in mirrors, bathrooms, and empty rooms, frequently show up in Japanese folklore and entertainment.
Of course, the stories posted on X don’t prove that supernatural entities exist, but they show how a simple superstition can fuel the imagination of thousands of people.
Personally, whenever I’ve lived alone, I’d keep all the lights in the house turned on at night, even if it meant paying a higher electricity bill. Well, except for my bedroom, where I’d turn the lights off. But I’d leave my PC running with some livestream playing. And yes, it HAD to be a livestream, not a prerecorded video. I needed to see someone who was actually LIVE to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep alone.