By Macy Logan
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| Image of The Lavendar Town |
If you are a video game lover and or Pokémon lover you have more than likely heard about the horrors of Pokémon's Lavender Town.
The eerie folk legend began in 1996 in Japan when Pokémon released a new game which was named Pokémon Red and Green. The game took place in lavender town which was an old abandoned ghost town. Inside of this already creepy town, there is what's called the Pokemon Tower. The Pokémon tower acted as a graveyard for "resting" Pokémon. The whole purpose of Lavender Town was to be a place for Pokémon to go and to be buried - so you can already imagine the creepy feel associated with this town. And to top it all off, as you are playing the game and seeing the dark, abandoned town you hear the lavender town song which would send a shutter down your spine.
The folk legend began after the mass suicides of children that took place in Japan which was directly after the release of the Pokémon Red and Green game. It was said that the game is what led the children to take their own life. As people were trying to figure out how a video game could cause such hysteria, it was said that the "high-pitched frequencies" caused neurological damage and influenced many different harmful, both physical and mental behaviors such as insomnia, headaches, stress and many different issues. The conspiracy theory/ folk legend was strengthened as more evidence was compiled when looking into why it only had an effect on children specifically aged 7-12 years old. It was never proven, but it was said that children were more suspectable to the said high frequencies in the game song because the child’s brain was underdeveloped and more vulnerable. Which is why the song would not have had an effect on adults.
As years went on, the myth has always remained just a folk legend because there was never proven, valid evidence that such frequencies could exist- but rather the legend was created as a way to try to give some sort of understanding and explanation as to why the young and seemingly innocent children could be led to these suicidal behaviors and other out of the ordinary profound behavior.
In conclusion, although this folk legend remains just a myth, it leaves you with the thought-provoking question of “what if” a Pokémon game could actually cause such severe devastation in children.
Works Cited and Links for Further Research:
Austin, DR. “Lavender Town.” Fan Theories Wiki, FANDOM TV Community, 19 June 2014, https://fantheories.fandom.com/wiki/Lavender_Town. This article gives backgrounf information on what Lavender Town was.
Hernandez, Patricia. “Pokémon Creepy Lavender Town Myth, Explained.” Kotaku, G/O Media Inc., 31 Oct. 2016, https://kotaku.com/pokemons-creepy-lavender-town-myth-explained-1651851621. This article gives background information and explains the myth.
May, Madison. “Everything You Need to Know about Pokémon's Creepy Lavender Town Myth.” Retroware, 2 Mar. 2021, https://retroware.com/20 21/02/26/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pokemons-creepy-lavender-town-myth/. This article provided additional information on what the myth was and additional opinions.
New Age Retro Hippie image, Image of Lavender Town, 2010
Pokemonmusicmaster, video of the Lavender Town song, 2008
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