What do you think?
Rate this book
Lafcadio Hearn's "The Faceless Ghost" and Other Macabre Tales from Japan: A Graphic Novel
Over one hundred years ago, the writer and Japanophile Lafcadio Hearn gathered together a selection of kaidan, traditional Japanese ghost, myth, and mystery stories, and published them in English in over a dozen books. The kaidan feature vengeful ghosts and bewitching spirits that mete out karmic justice in eerie and sometimes horrifying ways. Some of the tales were Japanese versions of older Chinese tales of divination; others were influenced by Shinto and Buddhism, including a Buddhist-influenced mystery storytelling game popular in the Edo era (1603–1868). In contemporary culture, these stories have found new expression mostly in movies and manga. In this graphic novel, acclaimed manga creator Sean Michael Wilson and illustrator Michiru Morikawa present six of these classic, supernatural stories.
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 2007
5 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
About the author
Sean Michael Wilson
82 books85 followersSean Michael Wilson is a comic book writer from Scotland. He has had around 30 books published with a variety of US, UK and Japanese publishers, including: a comic book version of A Christmas Carol ('Best of 2008’, Sunday Times), AX:alternative manga ( 'Best ten books of 2010’, Publishers Weekly), Parecomic (with an introduction by Noam Chomsky, his first contribution to a book in graphic form). He is currently writing books for big Japanese publisher Kodansha, being the only British writer to do so. In fact, he is the only pro manga writer from Britain who lives in Japan. He is also the editor of the critically acclaimed collection 'AX:alternative manga' (Publishers Weekly's 'Best ten books of 2010' and nominated for a Harvey award).
Working with various Japanese artists he has written a unique line of Japanese history/martial arts/Samurai books, including The Book of Five Rings, Secrets of the Ninja, The 47 Ronin, and Cold Mountain (winner of China Comic and Animation Competition 2015 ‘Best Overseas Comic’ award). In 2016 his book 'The Faceless Ghost' was nominated for an Eisner Award. In 2017 he became the first British person to receive an International Manga Award from the Japanese Government. In 2019 his book 'The Many Not the Few' was launched by the Labour Party leader in an event in the Houses of Parliament. In 2020 he received the Scottish Samurai Award from an association promoting connections between Japan and Scotland.
He does comic books outside the normal superhero/fantasy brands, going into areas such as history, biography, drama, and social issues, often in collaboration with universities, charities and book publishers. He often gives lectures and talks about comics in schools and colleges, and writes articles for such places as The Japan Times, The London Economic and The Herald Scotland.
Working with various Japanese artists he has written a unique line of Japanese history/martial arts/Samurai books, including The Book of Five Rings, Secrets of the Ninja, The 47 Ronin, and Cold Mountain (winner of China Comic and Animation Competition 2015 ‘Best Overseas Comic’ award). In 2016 his book 'The Faceless Ghost' was nominated for an Eisner Award. In 2017 he became the first British person to receive an International Manga Award from the Japanese Government. In 2019 his book 'The Many Not the Few' was launched by the Labour Party leader in an event in the Houses of Parliament. In 2020 he received the Scottish Samurai Award from an association promoting connections between Japan and Scotland.
He does comic books outside the normal superhero/fantasy brands, going into areas such as history, biography, drama, and social issues, often in collaboration with universities, charities and book publishers. He often gives lectures and talks about comics in schools and colleges, and writes articles for such places as The Japan Times, The London Economic and The Herald Scotland.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
November 21, 2016
Beautiful art with eerie storytelling. I wish this was a series. I would so keep reading these. I still intend to read the original stories, but this was great as a visual format to some great classic horror I hadn't yet got around to reading except for one very scary story by Hearn I read in an anthology. If you like Japanese horror movies, check out the source material.
September 19, 2024
Lafcadio Hearn aka Koizumi Yakumo was a Irish-Greek writer who lived in Japan for several years and collected many local horror folk tales from there. he has published couple of books of those collection. I personally like this manga or graphic format of Lafcadio Hearn's collection of ghost stories better than his short story format book "Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things". The illustration format of this book helps evoke fear and terror like any horror themed book should.
December 12, 2019
These are classic stories that have appeared in movies and have been readapted many times. Nice art and a decent adaptation to the graphic novel format.
October 22, 2015
(Received from Netgalley for review.)
It would be a mistake to go into this expecting spooky ghost stories. That really isn't the intention, though some of these stories are eerie. Luckily, I had already read Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, the source for most of these stories, so I knew what to expect. And I really liked Kwaidan, so I was happy at how much of the original phrasing was preserved. The art is very good, and it suits the stories nicely. Really good as a folklore source, but not really somewhere to look if you want something spooky.
It would be a mistake to go into this expecting spooky ghost stories. That really isn't the intention, though some of these stories are eerie. Luckily, I had already read Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, the source for most of these stories, so I knew what to expect. And I really liked Kwaidan, so I was happy at how much of the original phrasing was preserved. The art is very good, and it suits the stories nicely. Really good as a folklore source, but not really somewhere to look if you want something spooky.
August 28, 2015
ARC for Netgalley
This certainly proves to be an intriguing and charming tale. Saying that a book of the macabre is charming might seem a bit odd, but the visual styling is simply amazing. For me, this work combines both my personal and professional interests. I work for a Japanese foreign mission and over the last few years have become quite passionate about graphic novels. For almost a decade, I’ve also been intrigued by stories of Yokai and Kaidan which I first learned about while teaching in Japan.
This work presents some of Hearn’s (he lived in Japan during the late-19th and early 20th centuries and wrote about/catalogued folk and weird tales) stories in a stunning visual medium. They present a variety of creatures, some of whom are benevolent, others cunning, and some are just plain curious. It illustrates their interactions with the people of Japan from centuries ago which helps create a wonderful mood and atmosphere.
Like many folk tales of other cultures, there is usually a nice moral tale or allegory at play; be it being about honesty, greed, loss, love, or playing with powers one shouldn’t. This wonderful compilation highlights some of these themes beautifully and unlike modern horror which can serve to repulse a reader, leaves them rather with a creepy, unsettling, and eerie feeling.
Although I do have a small background in Japanese history and culture, I’d recommend this to anyone with a passing interest. It certainly serves as an accessible entry point into the spookier side of Japan and the visual representations certainly make these stories come to life. I can only hope that further volumes are produced.
This certainly proves to be an intriguing and charming tale. Saying that a book of the macabre is charming might seem a bit odd, but the visual styling is simply amazing. For me, this work combines both my personal and professional interests. I work for a Japanese foreign mission and over the last few years have become quite passionate about graphic novels. For almost a decade, I’ve also been intrigued by stories of Yokai and Kaidan which I first learned about while teaching in Japan.
This work presents some of Hearn’s (he lived in Japan during the late-19th and early 20th centuries and wrote about/catalogued folk and weird tales) stories in a stunning visual medium. They present a variety of creatures, some of whom are benevolent, others cunning, and some are just plain curious. It illustrates their interactions with the people of Japan from centuries ago which helps create a wonderful mood and atmosphere.
Like many folk tales of other cultures, there is usually a nice moral tale or allegory at play; be it being about honesty, greed, loss, love, or playing with powers one shouldn’t. This wonderful compilation highlights some of these themes beautifully and unlike modern horror which can serve to repulse a reader, leaves them rather with a creepy, unsettling, and eerie feeling.
Although I do have a small background in Japanese history and culture, I’d recommend this to anyone with a passing interest. It certainly serves as an accessible entry point into the spookier side of Japan and the visual representations certainly make these stories come to life. I can only hope that further volumes are produced.
June 7, 2017
The Faceless Ghost is good starting point for those want to read Japanese ghost story. The book includes well know Snow Woman. The drawing is simple and there is some violence in the book to.
May 23, 2020
The story "The Faceless Ghost" is an absolute delight! Every story is pretty enjoyable, but I felt like the artwork and lettering could have been a bit more evocative.
November 27, 2021
The stories in this were boring and predictable. The writing was amateur. The art was very bland. Just bad bad bad.
July 3, 2017
Interesting set of tales of the supernatural -- some have the predictable flow of a modern urban legend, while others take unexpected directions. The black and white art style is appropriate, clearly inspired by manga but with more play on tone and facial expressions that matches the "macabre" tone of most of the stories.
December 13, 2023
Graphic novels are not always an appropriate medium for storytelling. I think in this case, imagination is a far more powerful tool for picturing these stories. Then again, it could be this artist's interpretations.
July 16, 2020
Was really excited about this book (graphic novel? manga?) when I saw it listed on one of my usual bookstores website. Having already read Kwaidan before I wasn't expecting anything other than satisfying my curiosity about how well adapted the tales were in illustrations, on one hand because I love spooky art and in the other because I was considering getting this as a gift for someone and wanted to see if it was good enough for that.
I liked the art style, it wasn't very spooky which actually rang true to the original tales, which are more eerie than downright scary. The text was nicely adapted. I didn't go back and compare it to the original text but it felt very close to the words Hearn used.
Only critique I have is that in some of the tales it felt like some of the panels could have used more text. One that already knows the story manages to connect the dots on their own but I think a new reader may be pushed back a little when asked to fill those blanks.
I would recommend this to teenagers, people that want a quick and easy read, and to those that already are familiar with Hearn's work and want to see someone's take on making them come alive.
I liked the art style, it wasn't very spooky which actually rang true to the original tales, which are more eerie than downright scary. The text was nicely adapted. I didn't go back and compare it to the original text but it felt very close to the words Hearn used.
Only critique I have is that in some of the tales it felt like some of the panels could have used more text. One that already knows the story manages to connect the dots on their own but I think a new reader may be pushed back a little when asked to fill those blanks.
I would recommend this to teenagers, people that want a quick and easy read, and to those that already are familiar with Hearn's work and want to see someone's take on making them come alive.
October 29, 2017
Love the cover, enjoyed the illustrations and felt like this was a good adaptation of the Japanese tales, I haven't read Hearn's works/translations yet but hope to find copies someday. I have however seen Kwaidan, and other classic Japanese ghost tale which I love and became a more recent interest. I went ahead with reading this to add more eerie fun for before Halloween season ends. While the majority of stories were familiar to me a couple weren't and I found those just as interesting. All in all a solid collection and quick read of the macabre. Also give this more of a 3.5.
October 20, 2018
I loved this collection of Japanese folklore and ghost tales. These stories are from the Japanese text known as the Kwaidan. I believe there's even been a movie made featuring some of these tales. This particular volume is graphic novel format and the material works great in this medium. The art fits the stories perfectly. If you enjoy Japanese folklore and/or manga, this is something you will enjoy, especially during the Halloween season!
June 9, 2025
This collection of comics renditions of six Japanese tales from Lafcadio Hearn is decent, but somehow fails to capture the dark sorcerous magic of the originals. My judgment is probably clouded by my admiration for Masaki Kobayashi's 1965 film Kwaidan, which adopted two of the same tales ("The Woman of the Snow" and "Hoichi the Earless") with much greater success.
October 21, 2016
El fantasma sin rostro y otras historias de terror es un manga con leyendas inquietantes dignas del folclore oriental que nos ofrece moralejas al más puro estilo de los cuentos clásicos pero con un toque más oscuro. Un manga para los adeptos del terror y el maravilloso trabajo de Lafcadio Hearn
Reseña: http://laestanteriadecho.blogspot.com...
Reseña: http://laestanteriadecho.blogspot.com...
August 21, 2020
The drama of these legendary Japanese folk tales comes thru in the storytelling and arrangements of the pictures, which is done in classic Japanese art style.
July 5, 2023
Very short, and the stories have been cut down considerably so their effect is weakened I feel.
April 15, 2025
great illustrations and interesting folk tales. not necessarily horror but creepy and weird in a good way.
August 7, 2022
An easy read graphic novel of some of Japans ghosts and folklore. I had hoped it would have a darker atmosphere ( as the title implies) but it's pretty tame . Graphics are simple black and white.
February 25, 2021
Hōichi el desorejado fue mi favorito
October 22, 2017
Art is good and I liked (enjoyed?) some of the stories but it wasn't as good as I expected.
March 16, 2016
Lafcadio Hearn's The Faceless Ghost and Other Macabre Tales from Japan is a collection of six of traditional Japanese ghost stories told in graphic novel format by Sean Michael Wilson. All of them are very well known in Japan, where ghosts and demons are often called yokai, meaning "the mysterious and weird." Today these stories find expression mostly in movies and manga, but they remain rooted in the traditional ghost stories of the Edo era known as kaidan, which means "recited narrative of strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparitions." The book includes an afterword by William Scott Wilson, the esteemed translator and editor of Japanese texts and samurai philosophy, who puts the stories into historical context.
Lafcadio Hearn's The Faceless Ghost and Other Macabre Tales from Japan is a good look at some of the traditional stories from Japan. I love learning about the folklore and legends from different parts of the world, and while two of the stories seemed vaguely familiar to me, the complete stories were new to me. I found it fascinating that despite the fact that these are ancient legends from the other side of the world, some ideas are consistent with the urban legends of my own region. I think it is important for readers to see that despite our differences and distance some parts of human existence is shared without ever having crossed paths. The black and white artwork was very well done and captured the emotion and atmosphere of the stories. The collection was a solid read, and while it did not keep me up at night, it certainly had a creepy vibe that stayed with me for a while.
Lafcadio Hearn's The Faceless Ghost and Other Macabre Tales from Japan is an interesting and entertaining collection of traditional Japanese ghost stories. I would recommend it to young adults and adults that enjoy ghost stories and legends, particularly those from other cultures.
Lafcadio Hearn's The Faceless Ghost and Other Macabre Tales from Japan is a good look at some of the traditional stories from Japan. I love learning about the folklore and legends from different parts of the world, and while two of the stories seemed vaguely familiar to me, the complete stories were new to me. I found it fascinating that despite the fact that these are ancient legends from the other side of the world, some ideas are consistent with the urban legends of my own region. I think it is important for readers to see that despite our differences and distance some parts of human existence is shared without ever having crossed paths. The black and white artwork was very well done and captured the emotion and atmosphere of the stories. The collection was a solid read, and while it did not keep me up at night, it certainly had a creepy vibe that stayed with me for a while.
Lafcadio Hearn's The Faceless Ghost and Other Macabre Tales from Japan is an interesting and entertaining collection of traditional Japanese ghost stories. I would recommend it to young adults and adults that enjoy ghost stories and legends, particularly those from other cultures.
January 13, 2016
Sean Michael Wilson and illustrator Michiru Morikawa’s adaptation of nineteenth/early twentieth century western student of Japanese culture, Lafcadio Hearn, was a very interesting visual interpretation of the haunting folk stories and legends collected by Hearn. While not quite a “young adult” book, Lafcadio Hearn’s folklore and ghost stories gleaned from his travels across Japan are definitely appropriate for teens, and this comic makes good use of that. While a bit gruesome (with a few severed heads, torn off ears, etc.) the stories here are eerie and suspenseful, in particular my favorites “Hoichi the Earless,” “Yuki-onna,” and, of course, “The Faceless Ghost.” Morikawa's manga style art offers a fun introduction to these classic tales. For anyone interested in Japanese culture, these manga style adaptations should be very interesting, and introduce younger readers to Japanese history and society in addition to spooky (spooky, spooky) ghosts and other yokai.
For more young adult graphic novel adaptations of fantasy literature, check out my BookLikes blog, Reading Rainstorm, here.
For more young adult graphic novel adaptations of fantasy literature, check out my BookLikes blog, Reading Rainstorm, here.
November 3, 2015
I'm not a big fan of Lafcadio Hearn, a Victorian Gothic writer who translated Japanese tales of the macabre at the turn of the 20th century. I always doubt whether Hearn was true to his sources as his tales of demons, spirits and yokai are so much more gentle than folktales I've become familiarized with through massive amounts of manga. However, these are slightly strange tales, a little odd, hardly macabre, but pleasant enough reading for a slight shiver. The art is much more satisfying and well done.
Read
September 18, 2015At first I was put off by what seemed to be too much narration vs. dialogue, but then I read at the end that the editor tried to preserve Hearn's own words as much as possible. There are some wonderful stories in here and Wilson has done a nice job arranging them so that they flow together nicely with one another, ending on a high note. The artwork is quite lovely, enough that the black & white illustrations suit the text just fine.
November 3, 2015
This collection is the perfect read for anyone interested in folklore, ghost stories, or Japan (or all of the above)! I finished each story wanting more details and more information, but the mystery is part of what makes them so fascinating. Not knowing the answers keeps the reader thinking about these stories long after the book is closed. The artwork is great too. The cover is gorgeous and part of me wished the entire thing had been in color. Overall, a quick and intriguing read.
February 26, 2008
I managed to snag a free copy from one of the VA Guests, and I really dig it. TI know most of the stories [who doesn't], and Wilson’s adaption of them is very easy to read, and Miyabi’s artwork was very done; it blended with the plot styling and just made for a keeper.
February 4, 2016
The artwork resembles classic Japanese art style, quite fitting for these stories. They very well paced, with just the right amount of story being told with pictures and words. Faceless Ghost and Hoichi were esp. well done.
January 12, 2016
Filled with terrifying tales of Japanese spirits
like all horror stories
this book gives great insight into the psyche of the culture
that spawned them
These tales are of course deeply
Japanese and reflect an aspect of
the soul of that culture
like all horror stories
this book gives great insight into the psyche of the culture
that spawned them
These tales are of course deeply
Japanese and reflect an aspect of
the soul of that culture
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews