Japanese Horror Novels for Halloween 2021

By Tom Wilkinson-Gamble 

Horror has long has a strong presence in Japanese literature. The kaidan, literally 'strange narratives' originate from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, with other specific legends, such as yuki-onna, going back even further. To celebrate this, the spookiest time of the year, I've put together a suggested reading list to enjoy the very best of modern Japanese horror. 

The Crimson Labyrinth (Yusuke Kishi, 1999)

A  sort of survival horror mixed with battle royal, The Crimson Labyrinth stars with a group of nine strangers wakening up in an unknown desert landscape with no knowledge as to how they got there. Though at first believing they are on Mars, the group eventually discover they have been drugged and taken to the Australian outback where they where they must complete a series of tasks before fighting each other to death for the amusement of their captors. 

Parasite Eve (Hideaki Sena, 1995)

As the only true sci-fi horror on this list, Parasite Eve follows a scientist, Toshiaki, who's wife, Kiyomi, is killed in a car crash. What he does not know, however, that Kiyomi's cells have been infected with a conscious life-form, known as Eve, that is composed of mitochondria. Eve attempts to manipulate Toshiaki so that she can take over the world.  Interestingly, the author, Hideaki Sena, had a background a pharmacologist and so had considerable knowledge of biology that allowed him to write such a scientifically accurate book. The novel has been adapted quite extensively as a series of three video games, two manga series and a film. 

The Graveyard Apartment (Mariko Koike, 1986)

The token haunted house style horror of the list, The Graveyard Apartment is a horror/suspense novel about a young family who move into a new apartment building that was built next to a graveyard. Their new life seems to going well until strange noises start coming from the basement and the other tenants start moving out. Before long, only the family are left in the entire apartment building, left alone with whatever lurks in the basement. 

The Ring Series (Koji Suzuki, 1991-2013)

It is interesting to speculate if Suzuki could have predicted that his original 1991 novel Ring would become the genesis of one of Japan's most famous franchises, a franchise that spawns countless novels, movies, spin-offs, sequels and prequels and even international adaptations. The novel series contains an original trilogy that was followed by a collection of in-universe short stories as well as two sequels written in the 2010s. The novels shares the same general premise as the films; after watching a curse video tape containing the spirit of a vengeful ghost, Sadako Yamamura, a person receives a phone call telling them they will die in seven days. Unlike the films, however, the novel series goes deeper into the lore of Sadako's past and the exact nature of her curse. 

Out (Natsuo Kirino, 1997)

If you're interested in how women are depicted in horror, then this is the novel for you. Though perhaps more of a crime than a true horror, Out follows four women, all factory workers, and their attempt to cover up a murder after one of the group, Yayoi, strangles her abusive husband to death after suspecting him of having an affair with a hostess at a bar in which he regularly gambles. The novel has been adapted into a 2002 film of the same name. 

Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales (Yōko Ogawa, 1998)

Revenge is the only anthology book on the list and contains a collection of eleven different short stories. The stories are generally distinct from each other but some have over lapping setting or motifs. For example, kiwi fruits are mentioned in a couple of stories. The book is noted for being quite gruesome at times and contains stories from genres ranging from crime, the supernatural and body horror. 

Goth (Otsuichi, 2002)

Goth follows two death-obsessed high school students who discover in a café the diary of a local serial killer who mutilates his victims bodies by removing their hands. The novel is split into six short stories, each of which follows a different case linked to the serial killer. Goth has been adapted into a film and a manga series, both of the same name.

Audition (Ryū Murakami, 1997)

Audition is a novel that places women in the centre of the horror. The story follows a forty-two year old widower who, under the guise of auditioning for a non-existent film, attempts to find a new wife. Aoyama, a young aspiring actress, catches his eye and he instantly falls in love her. What he doesn't know, however, is that Aoyama is hiding a dark and unstable past. The novel was adapted into a 1999 film of the same name. 

Dark Water (Koji Suzuki, 1996)

Known in Japanese as From the Depths of Dark Waters, Dark Water is a short story anthology collection. As well as the titular Dark Water, of which the 2002 film of the same name was adapted from, the book contains six other stories, all in which water appears as a motif. Interestingly, the anthology contains some historical value as every story is set in the 1990s and so contains references to the asset bubble crisis and how ordinary people dealt with the economic instability that was sweeping Japan at the time. A manga adaptation of the collection was released in 2004. 

The Another Series (Yukito Ayatsuji, 2009-2020)

A mixture of horror and mystery, Another takes place in 1998, Kouichi Sakakibara and the class pariah Mei Misaki in their attempt to rid their school of a terrible curse known as 'The Calamity'. The curse presented in the novel is quite complicated. In 1972, a student died tragically in a house fire. To remember him, the rest of his class and teacher pretended that he was still alive; talking to his empty desk, pretending to walk home with him, and left a space where he would have stood in their graduation picture. Next year's class find that they are short desk, and there seems to be one extra student in the class then there should be. That extra student, yet no one can tell who it is is, is the 'extra' a dead soul who doesn't know they're dead. For as long as the extra remains unknown, the curse will kill members of the class and people around them indiscriminately. The series consists of the original novel, a spin-off novel 'Another: Episode S/0' and a sequel 'Another 2001'.

The Summer of Ubume (Natsuhiko Kyogoku, 1994)

The Summer of the Ubume is both  a mixture of mystery and horror as well as the first novel in Natsuhiko Kyogoku's series about the amateur investigator Akihiko Chuzenji. Chuzenji is tasked with investigating the mysterious case of a woman who has been pregnant for twenty weeks and still hasn't given birth. This seemingly impossible case is believed to be connected to the Ubume, a creature in Japanese folklore that is created by the spirit of a woman that had died in childbirth. It was adapted into a 2005 film of the same name. 

In the Miso Soup (Ryū Murakami, 1997)

The only the book on this list to properly involve people from outside of Japan, In the Miso Soup is an interesting look at how foreigners, specifically Americans, are perceived in Japan. The book follows Kenji, a tour guide working in Tokyo's red-light district of Kabukichō during the midst of a serial killer spree. One day, he is contacted by a suspicious American tourist, Frank, to show him around the underbelly of Tokyo's nightlife. Kenji begins to wonder if Frank has any connection to the on-going killings.

Confessions (Kanae Minato, 2008)

After the traffic death of her daughter, the life Yuko Moriguchi, a mother and middle school teacher, begins to fall apart. She breaks of her engagement to her husband and becomes obsessed with tracking downing and getting revenge on the group of students in her class that contributed to her daughter's death, The book was adapted into a film 2010 with the same name. 

Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse (Otsuichi, 1996)

Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse is, technically, an anthology collection and contains two stories. The first story is similar to the Western novel 'The Lovely Bones'. It's set in the POV of a dead girl who's killer are attempting to hide her body. The second story is about a young girl loses an eye in an accident, but receives a transplant. In this new eye, however, she can see experience the memories of its previous owner. This story is possibly the basis for the 2002 Hong Kong horror film 'The Eye' and it's many sequels and remakes. 

Battle Royale (Koushun Takami, 1999)

As the progenitor of the entire battle royal genre, Battle Royale might be one of the most important books in, not just within the horror horror, but in the whole of Japanese literature in the last 25 years, especially when considering the impact that the genre has had on world-wide media since its release. Interestingly, though published in 1999, Takami actually finished writing the book in 1996, but delayed publication due to the novel's rejection from a horror fiction contest due to its graphic subject matter. The book follows a middle school class who are sent to a deserted island and ordered to fight each other to the death until only one student remains. This creates a scenario where middle school issues that may seem trivial to adults, such as teenage relationships, friendship groups and bullying, are resolved extremely violently as student take revenge on each other during the game.

The Classic Literature Club Series (Honobu Yonezawa, 2001-2017)

Though less of a true horror and more of a mystery, the Classic Literature Club Series, also known as the Hyouka Series, follows the members of a high school literature club and their amateur detective work. The club has tackled a wide range of mysteries ranging from their schools troubled past during student protest movement of the late 1960s as well as more supernatural incidents like the case of a supposed ghost haunting a rural hot spring. The series has been reproduced as both an anime and a manga and contains six main books and one collection of short stories. Yonezawa has confirmed on social media that a seventh novel is currently being worked on.