A bit unorthodox but any novel recommendations?

Question

Tired of just manga and wanna try some novels. Already have the ring and was hoping to see if there were some others that weren’t hard to find (letter to parasite eve on that 🫠)

mandemango · Accepted Answer

Audition and In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami

ShadowMessiah333 · Answer

Hey, I have a few decent suggestions for ya. Are manga or light novels off the table? If you are fine with manga, Ibitsu was pretty intense and creepy. All the Junjo Ito compilations have at least one or two stand-out spooky tales. Doubt/ Rabbit Doubt and all the other series in that category (Judge, Dead Company, etc) are fun reads too. As for light novels, definitely always recommend the Boogiepop series. Had a lot of fun reading all of those throughout the years. But as for what you really came here for, just looking at my bookshelf alone I have a few quick suggestions. I will be intentionally vague on the summaries, but you'll note there are many different types of horror in Japan haha.

In another comment I see you have looked at Audition and In The Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. Please feel free to add Piercing to that list. Another tense thriller from the guy that while it isn't as scary, still has some tense psychological moments.

Summer, Fireworks and My Corpse by Otsuichi actually contains 3 stories in one book, and I will say that the first one absolutely stood out as a unique and thrilling tale. Finished it all in one sitting actually.

Strangers by Taichi Yamada was a fun and unique ghost story. Actually had some decent twists.

Ju-On by Kei Ohishi. What can I say? I'm a rabid collector of all things The Grudge. The novel here has some interesting additions but roughly tells the tale you should already be familiar with in this sub. Also has two manga volumes, both of which seemed to be adapted by different creators, but cover the tale of Ju-On 1 and 2 respectively.

Dark Water by Koji Suzuki. I mean, you could put the Ring novels here too (same author), and I do in fact have the manga for The Ring, but Dark Water is another collection of multiple stories, all revolving around water. Only a couple of them stand out, but still some creepy vibes.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw. Haven't fully read this one. Is more American, like an American remake of Japanese horror if that makes sense. Spooky for sure though.

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. Okay, now THIS is a weird one. Like. It just gets dark and gets darker I feel like. Sensitive subject matter in here though.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. I have never considered Battle Royale horror but I mean I can see why some people do. You should be familiar with this one as well. The novel feels even more detailed and dramatic than the movie.

Lastly I will recommend an entire author. Tara A Devlin. She has a fun little YouTube channel where she covers all sorts of spooky Japan goodness and a ton of books compiling such things. I personally only own Kowabana and Toshiden vols 1. Kowabana compiles "true" Japanese scary stories from all across the internet, and Toshiden compiles Japanese urban legends with a thorough deep dive on each one.