One of the things Asia is astir known for is horror. In fact, Japan and South Korea person produced galore fearfulness films passim the years. Who hasn’t been terrified by The Ring oregon Sadako? Or those films featuring scary Japanese dolls? How astir the zombies successful Train to Busan?
The Asian continent besides has plentifulness of fearfulness movies and TV bid based connected its culturally divers municipality legends. Unfortunately, there’s conscionable acold and fewer betwixt erstwhile it comes to books. Luckily, I was capable to excavation up immoderate gems that are written by Asians themselves.
In this list, you’ll find fearfulness stories based connected municipality legends: a achromatic woman who is said to beryllium haunting a street, scary assemblage tales successful India, a miss killed and thrown into a well, babies tossed successful coin lockers, and municipality fable ghosts successful Southeast Asia. But earlier we get to them, conscionable a note: I was lone capable to see books successful English, specifically, ones from bulk English-speaking countries specified arsenic India, Singapore, and the Philippines. I’m definite that determination are much of these retired determination but that they aren’t disposable successful English.
Find beneath are 8 urban-legend fearfulness books by Asian authors. Get acceptable to beryllium frightened by a antithetic benignant of fearfulness this scare season!
Young Blood: Ten Terrifying College Tales by Chandrima Das
This is simply a postulation of 10 fearfulness abbreviated stories based connected municipality legends successful Indian universities. “These stories were not each amusive and games. They had a intelligence purpose. Batch aft batch of students had passed down the aforesaid myths that touched upon their peers’ deepest fears,” writes the writer successful the introduction. In here, there’s a communicative astir idiosyncratic who died but their assemblage is incapable to beryllium recovered by their friends. Another is simply a communicative astir students who privation to scope retired to a shade that’s been haunting a university. A antithetic communicative features a haunted schoolhouse successful which the students privation to telephone bluff.
This terrifying premix of municipality fable stories is definite to delight fearfulness seekers.
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Trese: Book of Murders by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo
Trese is simply a suburban fearfulness phantasy graphic caller bid astir a heroine named Alexandra Trese arsenic she investigates mysterious crimes committed by supernatural beings. The monsters present are inspired by Philippine mythology, which is mostly unexplored successful Western media.
This compilation is replete with municipality fable creatures specified nuno sa punso (dwarf), tikbalang (half-human, half-horse), and the achromatic woman that haunts the Balete Drive. The communicative goes that this woman was murdered and her assemblage was thrown adjacent the premises, and truthful she haunts the spot now.
You mightiness beryllium acquainted with this 1 already, too, arsenic a Netflix TV bid adaptation of Trese came retired past year.
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
Though it’s not truly a fearfulness book, it features fearfulness stories and 1 based connected an municipality legend.
“Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez?” follows a miss with the aforesaid sanction who was a pupil astatine St. Brebeuf’s, determination successful the Philippines. Anamaria was near unsocial astatine schoolhouse erstwhile a gardener killed her and adjacent hid her body. No 1 knows what happened to Anamaria until the gardener died and a tempest felled a histrion wherever her remains were hidden.
“If you look astatine the roots of the histrion astatine nighttime you mightiness spot Anamaria’s face…If you basal successful the Black Garden and enactment perfectly soundless you volition perceive her crying and calling for help,” the writer writes. And if idiosyncratic goes adjacent her, she kills them.
The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
This young big caller is inspired by The Ring, a classical Japanese fearfulness movie based connected the municipality fable of Okiku, who died of punishment by a samurai. Okiku was past thrown into a well.
The Girl From the Well adds a small spot of twist. The publication follows Okiku, besides thrown down the well, arsenic she kills criminals specified arsenic murderers and rapists. Everything changes erstwhile Okiku meets a lad who has attracted a almighty spirit.
Mimi’s Ghost Stories by Junji Ito
Junji Ito is 1 of the astir fashionable Japanese manga artists. This publication is simply a postulation of abbreviated stories based connected existing municipality legends and is centered astir a miss named Mimi. According to the book’s promotional copy, the writer did not constitute the stories successful their entirety. Rather, they were primitively fashionable municipality legends that helium collected and edited.
The publication is divided into six abbreviated stories, and each features a unsocial fearfulness element. Just this year, a complete edition of the publication was released.
Stillborn: The Legend of Pontianak and Other Supernatural Ghost Stories by Elmi Zulkarnain Osman
This is simply a postulation of abbreviated stories from a Singaporean writer. And though astir of the stories are not truly based connected municipality legends, determination are 2 successful present that acceptable the criteria: “Stillborn — The Legend of Pontianak” and “Night of the Living Pocong.”
Pontianak is simply a known municipality fable shade successful 3 Southeast Asian countries: Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It’s somewhat akin to a achromatic lady, but it’s 1 who died portion large oregon giving birth. Meanwhile, pocong is different municipality fable shade that is communal successful Indonesia. It’s a carnal covered successful white cloth, its look puffed with powder.
Waking the Dead and Other Stories by Yvette Tan
First published successful 2009, this postulation contains 11 fearfulness abbreviated stories that diagnostic Philippine municipality fable creatures specified arsenic tikbalang, kapre (a gangly antheral that holds tobacco), and diwata (a fairy-like woman). As a child, these municipality fable creatures ne'er failed to support maine up astatine night; determination are conscionable simply excessively galore tales astir them that get passed astir my neighborhood.
Coin Locker Babies by Ryū Murakami
Part fearfulness and portion thriller, this publication is based connected a Japanese municipality legend. The communicative goes similar this: A pistillate was excessively young to rise her baby, truthful she hid it successful a coin locker successful a bid station. For years, she avoided going adjacent the locker. One day, she needed to walk by it arsenic she had immoderate concern adjacent the area. When she saw a tiny lad crying successful beforehand of the locker, she realized that helium was her child.
The publication borrows from this fashionable municipality legend: Two boys are near astatine a autobus presumption coin locker. However, they turn up to beryllium orphans, harboring resentment against the women who abandoned them. The publication is afloat of gore — a antithetic level of horror.
Want much fearfulness books from Asia? Here are 7 Eerie Books By Asian Authors That You Must Read This Halloween, 6 of the Best Filipino Horror Books, and 8 of the Best Japanese Horror Reads.