Book Review: Tombs by Junji Ito

Tombs by Junji Ito

This manga horror anthology is by the author who had an anime series of his stories adapted by Netflix (see my review here). He has a very macabre and imaginative style.

Here's a story-by-story review:

1. Tombs--A brother and sister go to visit the sister's friend in a remote town. On the drive, they accidentally hit a girl on a mountain road. She's still alive, barely, so they put her in the back seat, hoping to get to a hospital. The girl dies and they put her body in the trunk. They arrive at the town to discover a lot of small stone pillars in the road. They are tombstones from people who have died and mark the spot where they died. The friend has a bit of trouble convincing them that it's a normal situation (because it isn't) but the narrative shifts when she realizes her sister is missing. The sister had been hiking up in the mountains. The awful doubt about the hidden dead girl twists together with the macabre town to make an unsettling and tragic story. This is the basis for one of the best episodes from the anime.

2. Clubhouse--A trio of high school girls visit a haunted house in their neighborhood. One stays outside, the other two investigate. They find a stairway that's partially blocked, only one of them goes upstairs while the other goes out the front door. Waiting for their friend to return from the second floor, the two girls are caught off guard when she comes around the corner of the house, having used the back stairs. Things don't return to normal for them as the two who went in the house become antagonistic to each other. The story is nicely creepy and ends with a rather horrible dilemma for the third friend.

3. Slug Girl--A school girl develops a speech impediment that gets bad enough that she no longer goes to school. Her classmate goes to her house only to discover the horrible truth--the girl's tongue has turned into a slug! Her parents try all the usual methods of getting rid of slugs to help their child, with some very horrific results. This is a disturbing take on body-horror. Yikes and yuk!

4. The Window Next Door--A family moves into a small, very affordable house. One neighbor is a nice family. The other never answers the door and has only one window up on the second floor. The son has the upper room and at night, the middle-aged woman from across the way tries to talk to him and wants to come over or have him visit her. He's creeped out but his parents think it was a bad dream since there's no evidence. The mildly disturbing story has an interesting, very weird ending.

5. Washed Ashore--A giant, weird sea monster washes up on the beach. People flock to see it, even people repulsed by the sea and fish. As the scientists examine the creature, a very horrible discovery is made. This tale is short and just an odd horror concept, like a quick painting or poem. It doesn't read like it was fully developed.

6. The Strange Tale of the Tunnel--A young man returns to his home town, walking towards an old, abandoned train tunnel. As a child, his mom died when she was hit by a train in the tunnel. A lot of the local people are drawn to the tunnel without knowing why. The mountain had old, old legends of being evil, though no one really believes that today. Everybody also avoids the mountain, so maybe they just say they don't believe. The mystery slowly unpacks, getting weirder and more frightening as it goes.

7. Bronze Statue--A vain, ugly old woman wants to be remembered as a young beauty. She is not a nice person as readers can tell from the beginning of the story when she buries her husband (the town mayor!) in a small swamp in their house. She goes on tormenting other people, including the sculptor who makes statues for her. The tale is more sinister than horrifying.

8. Floaters--Mysterious floating hairballs start showing up. When they are stimulated, they speak in the voices of certain people. They tell honest, though often hidden, thoughts. At first, it's a diversion for kids at school but it swiftly turns into a nation-wide problem, especially as embarrassing secrets come out. This story is more like a weird episode of The Twilight Zone than a straight-up horror story. The idea is interesting but the execution is a bit predictable.

9. The Bloody Story of Shirosuna--A young doctor heads to the small, isolated town of Shirosuna. He meets the mayor at the end of the road and they hike to the village. The mayor is pale and emaciated, inspiring a bit of concern. Once at the village, everyone is pale and emaciated. The doctor starts treating people, becoming concerned about the ubiquitous unhealthy condition and the strange throbbing sound he hears all over the town. The story gets stranger and more tragic as it moves along to its sad ending.

The collection make an interesting set of weird fiction done in manga-style. The stories are interesting but do not have the typically cathartic resolutions that classic horror stories usually have. They lean into bleakness and pessimism (in addition to the body-horror elements), so though I enjoyed what I read, I don't think I will revisit this volume.

Mildly recommended--you need to be a modern horror fan to get the most enjoyment out of this.