‘Hello Kitty’ is one of the most recognizable cartoon characters from around the world. Originated in Japan, the white little cat-like character has become a symbol of cute ‘kawaii’ culture for many years. Through that, it even has an endless line of adorable merchandise and even stars in a range of TV shows, films, and video games.
As a result of its widespread popularity, Screen Rant even labeled Hello Kitty as the second -best -selling media franchise of all time in 2019, behind Pokémon.
But, despite the adorable exterior and near-universal popularity, a disturbing tale surrounding the origins of Hello Kitty exists online and claims that the character is actually the result of a deal with the devil and Hello Kitty’s lack of a mouth.
A tale from Scary for Kids claims that Hello Kitty is the product of a Chinese woman’s pact with Satan. She was trying to save her daughter who was dying from mouth cancer. After worshipping and praying to the devil, the devil then instructs the woman to create the Hello Kitty character in return for saving her daughter’s life.
But of course, the internet being what it is, this tale is little more than a myth and the true origins of Hello Kitty are not that supernatural. For those who do not know, Hello Kitty was actually created by Japanese designer Yuko Shimizu in 1974.
Yuko created the Hello Kitty character for the Sanrio company that specializes in Japanese cute kawaii culture since the early 1960s.
Since then, the Hello Kitty franchise has been Sanrio’s largest asset, earning more than $ 80 billion over its 46 -year lifespan.
Source: HITC, Screen Rant, Scary for Kids