5 Horror Manga You Might Have Missed

These titles are so good, it’s scary

Uzumaki, Junji Ito – Whenever we recommend this comic to friends, the reaction is always the same one we had when we first heard about it. A horror premise based on a town plagued by spirals doesn’t sound like it has much potential to be terrifying so much as oddball. And while strange and often ridiculous, Uzumaki also packs a deliciously gory wallop that is certainly frightening at times. Let’s just say the number of ways one can get killed via spiral is higher than you’d think – and always incredibly inventive. 

The Drifting Classroom, Kazuo Umezu – This award-winning manga about a school that is suddenly time warped into a desert wasteland via an earthquake is part Twilight Zone, part Lord of the Flies-style terror. Some of the students and teachers go absolutely bonkers in this new setting, and some just struggle to battle the monsters, plague and myriad of challenges posed by a post-apocalyptic environment. This amazing read was turned into one of the weirdest movies ever by Nobuhiko Obayashi, which isn’t scary but is probably equally as fun, though it’s hard to track down. 

Enigma of Amigara Fault, Junji Ito – This creepy, quick read follows two teenagers who decide to hike up a mountain, have a wonderful time and nothing bad happens! Until they discover that locals have been disappearing into the human shaped holes that line the mountain, and to find your own hole means sealing a very upsetting fate. What do you think happens when you just stick yourself inside that human body shaped hole that’s your perfect size? NOTHING GOOD is the answer. 

The Long Dream, Junii Ito – Yet another Junji Ito book to give you nightmare fuel, this manga is more existentially creepy than gory. It’s about a patient in a hospital that has dreams that feel longer each night. The longer and more horrifying they get, the more his daytime life is sucked from him. Meanwhile, Doc believes that the long dreams his patient is having are the secret to an immortal soul. Now if only he could solve the issue of your body getting all gross and turning to dust, he’d be solid. 

Bongcheon-Dong Ghost, Horang – Okay, okay. This isn’t technically a manga, but it needed to be shared. This Korean comic is based on the real (and real tragic) event of a woman who lost her baby and committed suicide, and the ensuing, very classic ghost lore. For a comic that can be read in under five minutes, it’s a whole lot of jumpy fun.

What’s your favorite horror manga? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!

Forward to a Buddy Invite a Buddy