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Phantom Tales of the Night #3
Phantom Tales of The Night, Vol. 3
"I will take your most revolting secrets with open arms."
The troubled masses, human or otherwise, are always welcome at Murakumo Inn. Payment is accepted in only one form-your darkest secrets. The main dish for this evening is...Spider's past?! Enjoy the hospitality of the mysterious inn as you feast upon tonight's banquet of otherworldly tales...
The troubled masses, human or otherwise, are always welcome at Murakumo Inn. Payment is accepted in only one form-your darkest secrets. The main dish for this evening is...Spider's past?! Enjoy the hospitality of the mysterious inn as you feast upon tonight's banquet of otherworldly tales...
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 2017
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159 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 26, 2025
Volume 3 finally gives us Spider’s back story. I’ve come to really like him and am sad to know that he won’t be alive for too much longer… though how long that actually is when compared to seemingly immortal beings such as Owner and Butterfly, I have no idea. It could mean a few more decades or a few more centuries.
The twelfth enigma concerning the rooms of the inn was a little hard to understand. Not the stuff about the nature of the rooms themselves but all the things that concerned Butterfly. His character is such an enigma. I’m not sure if he is subconsciously repressing his memories or if he truly is incapable of having them. He is composed of the collected souls of people who have died, so perhaps having memories is too painful. In that scene in which those souls seemed to be taking form on his face, he was inundated with what seemed like hundreds of confused questions and comments all at once. It looked as if he was about to break, though he said he didn’t feel any pain. When he is whole and not thinking about anything serious, he seems to carry this sadness with him that’s related to this strong desire to understand the point of living and being a human. It's something that I’ve noticed in all three books. I want to know more about him.
Enigma 13, entitled Even a Chance Meeting Can Lead to a Deep Bond, was actually pretty scary. I was reading it late at night and the drawings looked so creepy and unsettling. The look on the man’s face as he was falling to his death… yeah, that’s not something I want to look at right before bed, lol. The lesson in that enigma is pretty clear. You don’t know how something as simple as a cruel look can affect someone, especially if they are already unstable and feeling overwhelmed. The fact that three very normal everyday people are being punished for the suicide of a man they had very little interaction with seemed unfair but their callous reactions to having been told how their actions contributed to his death made me feel less sorry for them. The thing is we’ve all been like that at some point…so caught up in all the stresses of our own lives that we forget that there are people out there who are not be coping with stuff as well as we are. We look at people struggling and say they need to get their shit together because this is just how life is without really understanding how hard it is for them. Owner really freaked me the hell out in that chapter and it was the first time that I’ve seen him really angry.
This volume wasn’t as deep as the previous two, but it still contained food for thought, especially the enigma concerning water and how it connects all of us. I was going to force myself to read three volumes before I decided whether I wanted to continue, and I’ve decided that I really do. These stories are a nice break from the drama I read about in the stories I usually read. They’re relaxing and in some cases very thought provoking. I rate this volume 3.75 stars.
The twelfth enigma concerning the rooms of the inn was a little hard to understand. Not the stuff about the nature of the rooms themselves but all the things that concerned Butterfly. His character is such an enigma. I’m not sure if he is subconsciously repressing his memories or if he truly is incapable of having them. He is composed of the collected souls of people who have died, so perhaps having memories is too painful. In that scene in which those souls seemed to be taking form on his face, he was inundated with what seemed like hundreds of confused questions and comments all at once. It looked as if he was about to break, though he said he didn’t feel any pain. When he is whole and not thinking about anything serious, he seems to carry this sadness with him that’s related to this strong desire to understand the point of living and being a human. It's something that I’ve noticed in all three books. I want to know more about him.
Enigma 13, entitled Even a Chance Meeting Can Lead to a Deep Bond, was actually pretty scary. I was reading it late at night and the drawings looked so creepy and unsettling. The look on the man’s face as he was falling to his death… yeah, that’s not something I want to look at right before bed, lol. The lesson in that enigma is pretty clear. You don’t know how something as simple as a cruel look can affect someone, especially if they are already unstable and feeling overwhelmed. The fact that three very normal everyday people are being punished for the suicide of a man they had very little interaction with seemed unfair but their callous reactions to having been told how their actions contributed to his death made me feel less sorry for them. The thing is we’ve all been like that at some point…so caught up in all the stresses of our own lives that we forget that there are people out there who are not be coping with stuff as well as we are. We look at people struggling and say they need to get their shit together because this is just how life is without really understanding how hard it is for them. Owner really freaked me the hell out in that chapter and it was the first time that I’ve seen him really angry.
This volume wasn’t as deep as the previous two, but it still contained food for thought, especially the enigma concerning water and how it connects all of us. I was going to force myself to read three volumes before I decided whether I wanted to continue, and I’ve decided that I really do. These stories are a nice break from the drama I read about in the stories I usually read. They’re relaxing and in some cases very thought provoking. I rate this volume 3.75 stars.
February 25, 2021
This is a series that has really come into its own. Appearing at first to be barely-connected short stories, it turns out to be a single longer narrative told in interrelated pieces- not quite short stories, but more snapshots out of time. The folkloric horror genre really lends itself to this, and Matsuri gets better and better at it with each volume.
August 4, 2020
I LOVE THAT WE GOT MORE ABOUT THE HELPERS IN THIS VOLUME!!! These volumes continue to border on what I can handle, as I am a bit skiddish. But I continue to enjoy each volume! And more stories about The Spider please!
June 7, 2020
Phantom Tales of the Night Story & Art By Matsuri
Official Synopsis:
"I will take your most revolting secrets with open arms." The troubled masses, human or otherwise, are always welcome at Murakumo Inn. Payment is accepted in only one form-your darkest secrets. The main dish for this evening is...Spider's past?! Enjoy the hospitality of the mysterious inn as you feast upon tonight's banquet of otherworldly tales...
Genres: Horror, Japanese Folklore, Dark Fantasy, Psychological Horror, & Supernatural/Paranormal
Book Style: Manga (Japanese Comics - Read Right to Left)
I decided to read Phantom Tales of the Night Story & Art By Matsuri Vol.3 because I wanted to read something creepy and I've already read volume 1 & 2. Once I started reading I was creeped out but intrigued to keep reading then I fell in love once I finished it! This story follows a guy named Sasaki Tokihito who is running away from "something" then winds up in the mysterious Murakumo Inn where supernatural & human beings stay if they are troubled. The three people running the Inn are Owner, Butterfly & Spider who welcome Sasaki in to help him and try to gain his deepest secrets. But it turns out that the Owner reviled that Sasaki been dead all this time living an illusion and now has to figure out things as a youkai spirit in limbo and also keeping his newfound secret as a youkai. This volume mostly focuses on other characters to set up the story before we really get to know Sasaki more later on in this volume. My favorite parts of the story are when we find out more about Spider's past and why he has to protect Kyouko which is an ancestor from a women he wrongly judged in his living past that also has the power to see peoples deaths before they happen. Also when we see Slayer and Sasaki team up at his College to find out any other supernatural things are happening by the Owner's doing. I love how you can feel the eeriness while reading this and it just gives you the chills! The artwork is beautiful and frightening also very clear to see which helps with the creepiness factor. I can't wait to read Phantom Tales of the Night By Matsuri Vol.4 because I want to find out what is going to happen between Sasaki Tokihito, Slayer and Murakumo Inn! I'll recommend this book to people who like Japanese Folklore or Horror and want a scary read!
Official Synopsis:
"I will take your most revolting secrets with open arms." The troubled masses, human or otherwise, are always welcome at Murakumo Inn. Payment is accepted in only one form-your darkest secrets. The main dish for this evening is...Spider's past?! Enjoy the hospitality of the mysterious inn as you feast upon tonight's banquet of otherworldly tales...
Genres: Horror, Japanese Folklore, Dark Fantasy, Psychological Horror, & Supernatural/Paranormal
Book Style: Manga (Japanese Comics - Read Right to Left)
I decided to read Phantom Tales of the Night Story & Art By Matsuri Vol.3 because I wanted to read something creepy and I've already read volume 1 & 2. Once I started reading I was creeped out but intrigued to keep reading then I fell in love once I finished it! This story follows a guy named Sasaki Tokihito who is running away from "something" then winds up in the mysterious Murakumo Inn where supernatural & human beings stay if they are troubled. The three people running the Inn are Owner, Butterfly & Spider who welcome Sasaki in to help him and try to gain his deepest secrets. But it turns out that the Owner reviled that Sasaki been dead all this time living an illusion and now has to figure out things as a youkai spirit in limbo and also keeping his newfound secret as a youkai. This volume mostly focuses on other characters to set up the story before we really get to know Sasaki more later on in this volume. My favorite parts of the story are when we find out more about Spider's past and why he has to protect Kyouko which is an ancestor from a women he wrongly judged in his living past that also has the power to see peoples deaths before they happen. Also when we see Slayer and Sasaki team up at his College to find out any other supernatural things are happening by the Owner's doing. I love how you can feel the eeriness while reading this and it just gives you the chills! The artwork is beautiful and frightening also very clear to see which helps with the creepiness factor. I can't wait to read Phantom Tales of the Night By Matsuri Vol.4 because I want to find out what is going to happen between Sasaki Tokihito, Slayer and Murakumo Inn! I'll recommend this book to people who like Japanese Folklore or Horror and want a scary read!
September 10, 2024
2.5 stars. not the most interesting one.
read time: 57 minutes
read time: 57 minutes
August 6, 2020
Solid 4.5 stars. Overall this manga’s going steady and when I sit down to read a volume I get entirely enthralled. I love seeing Owner’s duality and how manipulative they can really be, how they just sit back and watch things fall into place. I also loved learning more about Butterfly and Spider, both of which are characters that are growing on me. There is still some mystery surrounding them, but I like that we are leaning more about them as the volumes go on. Also seeing the way everything is intertwined, the philosophies of what Owner teaches every one of their guests, how they make every one of those people see the darkest parts of themselves. How they can bring out the worst in every individual and even trick ones who did things that were, in reality, inconsequential. There’s very interesting lessons to be learned and they’re taught in very creative ways.
Okay, random thing, but we talk about the height difference, Owner is so much shorter than Butterfly and Spider I-
Ooh Spider has a day off? Word, what does that mean?
Owner’s cute smile I-
Spider is dying? :( I really like his character. We see that Spider was tainted by the woman’s touch. That led him to be cursed. He was pushed off a cliff and left to die.
Not Owner being a badass then innocently saying:
“Every time I take my eyes off you for even a minute, I immediately want to save you.”
I don’t know if I should be touched or worried.
Owner explained to Spider, when he first found him at the bottom of the cliff, that all they were really doing by throwing people to their deaths was creating a cycle of grudges that would never end. Spider was complicit in it for having thrown the woman that tainted him, even if he didn’t kill her and wanted her to live. He wanted to protect among people who had no mercy. He teaches Spider that the real villains weren’t the monsters, that it was people and their mercilessness and cruel natures. Because he saved her life she would only live a life of suffering.
Oof Owner telling Spider that at first they only wanted his secret but that they came to cherish and adore him... soft
So Butterfly runs into this man named Kaibara, a man who’s there as he stated “for his own reasons” he tells Butterfly he already gave all his secrets. OH! He’s the friend of the guy who researched Youkai’s. He went missing but he was just at the Inn. He’s the guy who said that he was afraid of his friend, so that’s where he’s been.
When Kaibara asked Butterfly if he ever wanted to go home and Butterfly (looking sorta bummed) said, “like where?” My heart
Kaibara talks to Butterfly about how people aren’t conscious of the things that are inside of them, we don’t until we process that it’s “ugly” or unacceptable. Because Kaibara says this, Butterfly is aware now of what he is. He is starting to wonder who’s in him. Because the butterflies that make up his body are the souls of people that have passed, he wonders who they were. What they did. How they died.
*gasp* Butterfly felt fear, he felt a human emotion :’)
When those three people thought Owner was a kid, my friends, this is the most formidable being to exist, but go off, I guess.
He literally had to call for Spider and Butterfly, I KNEW the height difference would come into play lol.
Omg, wait, Owner really do be smol. What he looking so innocent and harmless for?
I can’t get over how *tiny* Owner looks with his innocent smiles 🥺🥺
With these three people, Owner explains how a single nasty look at a person you bump into can be the final drop in an already full cup. The man they all bumped into and spoke ill about and saw with disapproval, is what sent him over the edge to unfortunately, take his own life. Owner is angry because this man had asked Owner to kill him, but he refused because there was no fun doing something so simple. Owner wants these people to have a burden, a secret worth taking from them.
The man is doomed to live like Owner, Butterfly, and Spider.
Ah, we see Slayer and Sasaki again. Slayer’s going by Saejima. Omg, wingman Saejima, he wastes NO time.
I love how Saejima’s like “I WILL find him” but Owner is already watching them, just chilling in a sunhat living his best life. Jokes on you, he’s already watching.
Okay, random thing, but we talk about the height difference, Owner is so much shorter than Butterfly and Spider I-
Ooh Spider has a day off? Word, what does that mean?
Owner’s cute smile I-
Spider is dying? :( I really like his character. We see that Spider was tainted by the woman’s touch. That led him to be cursed. He was pushed off a cliff and left to die.
Not Owner being a badass then innocently saying:
“Every time I take my eyes off you for even a minute, I immediately want to save you.”
I don’t know if I should be touched or worried.
Owner explained to Spider, when he first found him at the bottom of the cliff, that all they were really doing by throwing people to their deaths was creating a cycle of grudges that would never end. Spider was complicit in it for having thrown the woman that tainted him, even if he didn’t kill her and wanted her to live. He wanted to protect among people who had no mercy. He teaches Spider that the real villains weren’t the monsters, that it was people and their mercilessness and cruel natures. Because he saved her life she would only live a life of suffering.
Oof Owner telling Spider that at first they only wanted his secret but that they came to cherish and adore him... soft
So Butterfly runs into this man named Kaibara, a man who’s there as he stated “for his own reasons” he tells Butterfly he already gave all his secrets. OH! He’s the friend of the guy who researched Youkai’s. He went missing but he was just at the Inn. He’s the guy who said that he was afraid of his friend, so that’s where he’s been.
When Kaibara asked Butterfly if he ever wanted to go home and Butterfly (looking sorta bummed) said, “like where?” My heart
Kaibara talks to Butterfly about how people aren’t conscious of the things that are inside of them, we don’t until we process that it’s “ugly” or unacceptable. Because Kaibara says this, Butterfly is aware now of what he is. He is starting to wonder who’s in him. Because the butterflies that make up his body are the souls of people that have passed, he wonders who they were. What they did. How they died.
*gasp* Butterfly felt fear, he felt a human emotion :’)
When those three people thought Owner was a kid, my friends, this is the most formidable being to exist, but go off, I guess.
He literally had to call for Spider and Butterfly, I KNEW the height difference would come into play lol.
Omg, wait, Owner really do be smol. What he looking so innocent and harmless for?
I can’t get over how *tiny* Owner looks with his innocent smiles 🥺🥺
With these three people, Owner explains how a single nasty look at a person you bump into can be the final drop in an already full cup. The man they all bumped into and spoke ill about and saw with disapproval, is what sent him over the edge to unfortunately, take his own life. Owner is angry because this man had asked Owner to kill him, but he refused because there was no fun doing something so simple. Owner wants these people to have a burden, a secret worth taking from them.
The man is doomed to live like Owner, Butterfly, and Spider.
Ah, we see Slayer and Sasaki again. Slayer’s going by Saejima. Omg, wingman Saejima, he wastes NO time.
I love how Saejima’s like “I WILL find him” but Owner is already watching them, just chilling in a sunhat living his best life. Jokes on you, he’s already watching.
March 11, 2020
The book Phantom Tales of the Night tells many tales of the history of a mysterious innkeeper. Though many of the stories are not connected, some do provide foreshadowing which helps to connect it in some way. Foreshadowing is the literary device used to project hints of what is to come in the plotline later in the story. Many times this is used to help the reader figure out the mystery of what will happen but sometimes is embedded into the story and will only make the reader realize it was there at the climax or plot twist. Within the tale are foreshadows of events such as character’s past lives and what the future will bring to the innkeeper.
In the book series, there are often times where a tale from one book continues in another. Since each story is separated by chapter, it is hard to see what is connected to the main storyline and what can be detailed. An example of this is how in book one there is a story of a boy who’s lungs get replaced with flowers because of his deal with the innkeeper. It is not until two side stories later that we continue this tale and a detective who is hunting the innkeeper questions the boy and goes to hunt the innkeeper down with his help. With this separation though are details we do not realize are important until later on.
This series may have you look back at previous books to catch up on what is happening because of things like a small detail such as a certain quote or item which may later have a large impact on the plotline. An example of this is how the boy with no lungs needs to return to the inn and must find a way to get make the inn appear. Foreshadowing how he wanted to return with an explanation in the first chapter, the boy now has the detective to give him information on the innkeeper. Another example is how the detective relied on information about the keeper from his grandparents. The innkeeper later reveals that many generations of his ancestry have tried to kill him but none have succeeded and instead died because of him.
In the book series, there are often times where a tale from one book continues in another. Since each story is separated by chapter, it is hard to see what is connected to the main storyline and what can be detailed. An example of this is how in book one there is a story of a boy who’s lungs get replaced with flowers because of his deal with the innkeeper. It is not until two side stories later that we continue this tale and a detective who is hunting the innkeeper questions the boy and goes to hunt the innkeeper down with his help. With this separation though are details we do not realize are important until later on.
This series may have you look back at previous books to catch up on what is happening because of things like a small detail such as a certain quote or item which may later have a large impact on the plotline. An example of this is how the boy with no lungs needs to return to the inn and must find a way to get make the inn appear. Foreshadowing how he wanted to return with an explanation in the first chapter, the boy now has the detective to give him information on the innkeeper. Another example is how the detective relied on information about the keeper from his grandparents. The innkeeper later reveals that many generations of his ancestry have tried to kill him but none have succeeded and instead died because of him.
February 7, 2024
The thing that makes me nerd out the most about manga and stories from other cultures is how unpredictable they can be to an American reader like myself. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, but there’s something so interesting about a story built completely from the ground up in mythologies, legends and customs that I know very little about. It makes things surprising and unexpected in a whole new way and because of that it’s a genre I’ll keep returning to time and again because I will never know what's coming next no matter how much of it I read.
Read the full review at Well, Are They? A Queer Review Blog
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2022...
Read the full review at Well, Are They? A Queer Review Blog
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2022...
June 29, 2020
Now it really starts to turn into a serial thing. It seems most of the major players have been introduced in the first two volumes and now the story goes on. This is really intriguing now. It's a shame I only have one volume left before I have to wait for the new releases.
I like the plot and setting and all the mythological inspirations.
The main cast of characters could've gotten a bit more personality though. Don't get me wrong, they do have personalities that are clearly distinguished, I just don't feel a connection yet. As a mainly character-based reader, I do think this is important for the quality of a story. As are storytelling and plot.
A solid three stars.
I like the plot and setting and all the mythological inspirations.
The main cast of characters could've gotten a bit more personality though. Don't get me wrong, they do have personalities that are clearly distinguished, I just don't feel a connection yet. As a mainly character-based reader, I do think this is important for the quality of a story. As are storytelling and plot.
A solid three stars.
January 2, 2023
I never complain about the art, perfect score there. This one feels like a filler volume, though I got Spider's background story now. It was a bit surprising in how it was intertwined with a completely random background character that was introduced in the same chapter, but was then nicely interjected in later chapters as a reoccurring side character. Speaking of reoccurring characters: the hunter character trying to kill Owner & the living dead boy from volume 1 were quiet randomly stuffed into the last chapter like the mangaka needed to rush into reintroducing them to setup the next volume. I wonder if it so, looking forward to finding out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2023
Absolutely falling in love with the 3 main characters, especially Owner ( ꈍᴗꈍ) he is so sweet but is revealing slowly his manipulation of humans, especially the boy he fed her father too, and the 3 strangers he linked together to blame him for the loss of an inn guest, filled with secrets, and screams they "ruined his fun" in his black eyed snarl we almost never see.
He is evil yet kind, and wishes to keep people only to "feed on" their secrets but smiled in childish joy.
No one knows anything about owner, what he is, where he came from,
I'm h o o k e d
He is evil yet kind, and wishes to keep people only to "feed on" their secrets but smiled in childish joy.
No one knows anything about owner, what he is, where he came from,
I'm h o o k e d
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2025
In Band 3 bekommen wir mehr Hintergrund zu Spinne erzählt, die extrem interessant und spannend war.
Geschichte 2 über einen Selbstmörder fand ich persönlich sehr doof, da ich keinerlei Empathie für die Art und Weise habe, wie hier die Schuld fremden zugeschoben wird, nur weil diese negativ auf den Selbstmörder reagiert haben. Ich bin auf der Seite der Fremden, daher fand ich die Geschichte ziemlich lame.
Und am Ende taucht wieder jemand auf, über den ich mir sehrrrr freue :333 einer der Anti-Patron-Leute, nyhehe. Ich hoffe, dass der in Band 4 mehr vorkommt.
Geschichte 2 über einen Selbstmörder fand ich persönlich sehr doof, da ich keinerlei Empathie für die Art und Weise habe, wie hier die Schuld fremden zugeschoben wird, nur weil diese negativ auf den Selbstmörder reagiert haben. Ich bin auf der Seite der Fremden, daher fand ich die Geschichte ziemlich lame.
Und am Ende taucht wieder jemand auf, über den ich mir sehrrrr freue :333 einer der Anti-Patron-Leute, nyhehe. Ich hoffe, dass der in Band 4 mehr vorkommt.
June 19, 2023
I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I currently am. Aside from the disturbingly alluring art, there’s also some great views on life and what it is to be human (the beauty and horrors that come with it). My favourite chapter would have to be chapter 13. It goes to show us how self-involved people can be in this day and age, even when it’s obvious that a fellow person is struggling, and how they are deemed a trouble; one to simply ignore.
December 17, 2023
Another great installment for Phantom Tales of the Night. I forget, until they bring it back around, that there are hunters after Owner and that there are some outstanding secret-keepers whose stories are unfinished. We learn a bit more about Spider in this one, including his background which is a nice addition to this one.
June 4, 2021
It can be a little hard to follow at times with how the story likes to bounce around between B plots, but I'm really enjoying it overall. The air of mystery keeps drawing me back, and I want to know more
January 6, 2024
This series is improving with every volume. I really liked the new insights into each of the characters, Chapter 14 was my particular favorite. I love the concepts this manga is exploring and I like how much the separate storylines twist around each other.
March 11, 2025
3 stars
not bad at all, this volume isn't as engaging as the previuos two and wastes the potential of beautiful horror art in some panels but it's still a solid horror stories. This time we learn more about some characters' back story, but enigma 13 was the best thing in this volume
not bad at all, this volume isn't as engaging as the previuos two and wastes the potential of beautiful horror art in some panels but it's still a solid horror stories. This time we learn more about some characters' back story, but enigma 13 was the best thing in this volume
March 6, 2020
Not as creepy or weirdly touching as the first two volumes. Hopefully volume 4 gets back on track. Love the cover of this one though.
March 14, 2020
Best one so far. I’m loving the glimpses into Butterfly and Spider’s secrets. Owner is as perplexing as ever.
December 20, 2020
4.5. I can't get over this art work!!! IT'S PERFECT!! I really enjoyed this volume. It's cool to see all these different stories intertwine into one volume. I wish this series was more popular!
January 25, 2021
Not as dark as the first two volumes but it's going places and I can't wait to buy the next volume.
July 12, 2021
This series continues to amaze me!
August 26, 2021
beautiful in art and in story, as always :)
November 6, 2021
I just freakin love this manga ok? I'd love to binge all the volumes that have been released but I'm trying to practice some self restraint so I can enjoy this longer.
July 19, 2022
Spider's backstory 😭
August 17, 2022
love love loved spiders back story!!!
October 18, 2022
it’s becoming a pretty solid series now :) im glad we got to know more abt spider and butterfly (esp spider!!).
January 27, 2023
This was the darkest book in the series yet. The stories were truly heartbreaking to read. It was sad to see the tragic past and endings of the characters.
February 2, 2023
Really interesting and creepy. The author really has a great imagination. I'm absolutely enthralled by the stories. I'll definitely be reading more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews