BNP At Home Recommends: Shiver by Junji Ito

I’ve been thinking a lot about horror this week, and as such I’ve also been thinking about the last time I felt shivers down my spine and felt my full body shudder after reading something. The author that evoked such a visceral reaction in recent memory was none other than Junji Ito, a mangaka that was recommended to me by one of my friends. They had been talking nonstop about the sheer creepiness of his stories. When I asked where should I should start, I was recommended Shiver and I will pass on that recommendation to you. A lot of American horror is predicated on (questionably) defining morality and punishment: you have done something wrong (or perceived wrong) and you will pay a price for it. You didn’t listen to directions, you got greedy with your goals, you did something that some institution did not like, and the consequence is this horrible thing. Junji Ito’s takes on horror in Shiver lack such predilections, instead the stories in the collection are surreal nightmares, bizarre imaginings of terrifying things that manifest from the subconscious and urban legends. At the end of each short, Ito provides commentary that explains his inspiration, and he talks about things like the holes that insects have on their abdomens, a model in a magazine that radiates an odd aura, a dream he had when he was a kid. Benign things, small things that he manages to twist and wrap into something truly terrifying.

There is such an artistry to the twisted body horror he is able to displa…