Horror Collector, Vol. 1: The Faceless Kid

Horror Collector #1

by Midori Sato, Yon (Artist), Jan Cash (Translator)

Urban legends are supposed to be just that, legends. But recently, there has been a rash of unexplainable occurrences, and victims are starting to pile up. Word is that a mysterious boy appears after each incident…

Genres: Horror, Manga, Light Novel, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy, Middle Grade

192 pages, Paperback

Published November 21, 2023

About the author

Romanization of the Japanese author 佐東みどり as written on copyright pages.


Associated Names:
* Midori Sato
* 佐東みどり (Japanese Profile)
* 佐東綠

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a collection of short stories, tied together by the title character, the Horror Collector. A young boy in a red hoodie is going around, following urban legends and collecting them into his notebook, while looking for the "faceless child", it seems to rescue someone taken by it. Though he does try to help those with their own brush with the supernatural, he's not a hero and will only go so far to help someone. A morally grey character maybe?

Some of the stories ended well for those involved with the supernatural, some not so much. I felt bad for them all, even when they did stupid things that basically caused them to become victims of the supernatural evil. No amount of stupidity deserves being hurt. A smack upside the head, don't be an idiot, yes. Killed by supernatural evil in a horrible way? No.

Horror isn't my bag, but if you like Goosebumps, this is something you would probably enjoy. This seems to be appropriate for middle readers, as there is blood and the violence happens off-screen. As always, I will caveat this with adults of the middle reader might want to vet this first before handing to said middle reader.

3, not my thing but this will work for horror readers, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press/JY for an eARC of this book to read and review.

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, fun urban legend style horror for kids that’s reasonably creepy at times

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle grade horror has to tread a fine line, and this book spends its time hopping back and forth across it. When it trusts its readers to handle the content, it's good. When it waters the scares down? Not so much. Still, I like the overarching story and the legends, so I'll give it another volume.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an eARC for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Horror Collector is a series of interconnected short stories based on urban legends and Internet creepypastas for a middle grade audience. It is also a Japanese Light Novel, which is a novella size prose novel with some really cute illustrations interspersed with the text, perfect for younger readers easing novels from primarily graphic novels and manga.

A very fun read! I can perfectly envision the audience for this book (as I have been a part of the exact demographic) and can see it being a perfect gift for more reluctant readers with an interest in Internet culture and video games.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Yen Press and NetGalley, for providing me with an arc of this light novel, in exchange for my honest review.

This was great!! I read it in one go and really enjoyed all these creepy stories.

6 different stories, in 6 different towns but in every story there’s this mysterious hooded boy who sometimes tries to warn or help people but is mostly there to collect urban legends and look for someone very intriguing!

The first story was a bit disappointing if I’m honest, mostly because of the sudden easy ending. But I’m glad I kept reading. The more I read, the harder it was to stop. And I caught myself chatting about the stories with my friends, who urged me to keep reading so I could tell them more!

I’m glad there’s going to be a sequel!

[Wafflepirates · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

This is a collection of interconnected short stories, with each chapter focusing on a different urban legend. What connects them all is a mysterious boy who shows up in each story that seems to be hunting down all the local urban legends sightings. The legends are fairly standard and each chapter tends to end pretty vaguely. While there is definitely an overarching plot, it's not made very clear beyond I think the boy is looking for someone. This is written for a younger audience, so it's not particularly scary, despite the name. It was a quick read, but i'm not sure it was engaging enough for me to want to read more of the series.

[Kokoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con motivo del Día del yurei (un tipo de fantasma vengativo japones) 2025, elegí leer esta LN que llevaba tiempo en The Pila.

Si bien la serie Horror collector no está dirigida para alguien de mi edad sino para niñas y niños entre 4° a 6° de primaria (por ende estilo sencillo, directo y rápido), pero para quienes al igual que a mi gustan del terror/horror/sobrenatural en diferentes facetas, culturas y estilos es una lectura entretenida a la par de leer sobre 6 leyendas urbanas japonesas, he de decir solo conocía la primera sobre Kunekune.

Este 1er volumen, de 26 y contando, contiene 6 capítulos. En todos ellos aparece un misterioso chico vestido de rojo llamado Fushigi, quien se dedica a recolectar los sellos que dejan las energías alrededor de las leyendas urbanas cual si fuese un goshuin, ¿para qué? No se revela en este volumen. Además, Fushigi es un tanto peculiar y no sé que pensar sobre él pues en ocasiones se toma la molesta de advertir, en otras, ayuda mucho y en otras como que no le importa lo que le pueda ocurrir a las personas, esa inconsistencia llama la atención.

Las historias son:

01 – The Wiggler, tres amigas ven al Kunekune entre los arrozales, confundidas creen se trata de una broma pero una de ellas sufre un accidente. ¿Quién será la siguiente? Una de mis favoritas en parte por ya conocer al ente y otra por su resolución.

02 – The truth of the red crayon, una niña y su familia acaban de mudarse, sus nuevas amigas en la escuela le cuentan una historia sobre una casa maldita, ¿Acaso su nueva casa….? Confieso la historia me engañó y me gustó tal cosa.

03 – The bizarre cat, varios testigos son interrogados sobre un curioso gato en los alrededores. No fan, muy meh la verdad y eso que me encantan los gatos.

04 – Love spells, una chica tímida usa un método popular para que el chico que te gusta sea tu novio. Me gusta el mensaje que se da de si desea algo pues por uno mismo desde hacerlo posible sin atajos.

05 – Sugisawa village, padre e hijo hacen oídos sordos de una advertencia arrastrando con ellos a esposa e hija en búsqueda de una villa que no debería existir. Fan del final, y totalmente de acuerdo de como se desarrolló los acontecimientos.

06 – Little Nanoka, tras pasar la tarde tomándose fotos tres amigas se dan cuenta una extraña presencia les asecha. La solución es sencilla, pero ¿serán capaces de lograrlo? Hay que hacer un poco de suspensión de la realidad aquí con los padres, me gustó la idea que ya había visto en algún capitulo de xxxHOLiC por CLAMP.

Comentarios de los autores.

En general me gustó aunque desearía las historias fuesen más largas, tal vez 3 en vez de 6, por aquello de un mejor desarrollo pero supongo la longitud es la adecuada para mantener el interés de los pequeños a quienes van dirigidas.

Las ilustraciones me sorprendieron de lo simples que son, para lo acostumbrada que estoy a otras LN, pero fue curioso no ver ninguna a color al inicio, no sé si esto ocurre en la edición japonesa o es algo que se omitió en la edición digital.

Puede que en algún futuro acompañé nuevamente a Fushigi-kun en su búsqueda y recolección.

Ninguna frase que no fuese spoilers me llamó a atención.

Editado: 2:58 P.M 27/07/2025 Ortografía y agregar palabras.

[Ella Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 stars of 👻 fun, with potential for more.
Target audience in terms of scares: primarily YA (10-15)
A Japanese (mostly; the author does point out one specific similarity to a common US internet legend) based anthology of urban legends. Although the majority of characters are limited to one story a piece, the reader is slowly introduced to one mysterious figure: the boy in the red hood. His motivations are far from clear—at times he seems as sinister as the monsters he studies. One thing is certain however: wherever the boy appears, strange occurrences are sure to follow…

The Good: The illustrations added a nice element to the stories while still managing to leave plenty to the reader’s imagination. I also found the concept of one character linking all the stories to be an interesting premise which could pay off in future installments.
The Meh: While full creature/character illustrations were fine, the inclusion of the large initial set watermark was distracting and difficult to read around at times.
Sometimes the anthology set-up felt too disjointed and at odds with following the red hooded-boy’s story. I think I would’ve preferred longer stories and more interaction with the boy, or just leave him out and focus on fleshing out the creepiness of whichever story is being told in that chapter.

[Emily Sadowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book that can be a quick read. The urban legend horror is a fun topic to play with and I can’t wait to read more in the series. I do love the “Little Nanoka” story because it is a fun result with the doorknob.

[Mystic DreamClouds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Special thanks to the author(s), publisher, Goodreads and/or NetGalley for the review copy. All views and opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Alluding to the title, this is a collection of six interconnected short stories that occur in six different towns. Each story is based on an urban legend and does not always have a “happy” ending. The stories are set in the horror genre, however are pretty tame and go by fast as they are quick.

Each individual story is short, quick and vaguely related to the next. I liked the concise storytelling of each and how they didn’t all end identically. One particular relation between them all is a recurring character who tries their best to help when asked, but it ultimately depends on the recipient. The recurring character is also trying to unravel their own mystery which is explained later in the volume.

The story is heavily mystery oriented yet lacks some scare. I think the disadvantage of having short quick stories is that it removes the buildup required for a horror story to produce a scare. I think these urban legends do have the potential to become somewhat fear inducing, however the lack of setup, characters, and scenery made it falter.

Given we have six different stories the characters don’t really stand out, although majority of the characters were surprisingly girls. The one recurring mystery character is intriguing, however as a reader we don’t know enough about them except that they are knowledgeable about myths and are willing to help when asked. However there are also a lot of unknowns such as, why are they traveling between towns, or what is the purpose of their book.

I enjoyed the artwork scattered throughout. The artwork is similar to the cover art with its soft manga style that almost alludes to a shoujo genre. The artist has done a good job in depicting a variety of different scenes from each chapter with details, expressions and shadowing. The artwork isn’t scary and helps portray some of the scenes more vividly.

Overall, I liked this story and am interested to know about the overall mystery. I think it’s also a great way to explore urban legends and their various interpretations. I would recommend giving it a try if you’re looking to start reading light novels or looking for a not so scary read.

Read more reviews @ Mystic's Review Shelf

[TheyThemree · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were several things about the book that surprised me, some pleasant and some not as much. I’m going to get the negatives out of the way first before following up with the positives, because I do not want to seem too pessimistic. I did enjoy this book overall but ended up feeling like somethings was left to be desired.

I did not know going into this book that it was going to be a middle grade novel; this may have been an error on my part, but I still felt like most of the stories were very juvenile in their execution, plot, and the writing style. Every single story ended in the exact same way, and no, I don’t mean that figuratively: I quite literally mean that every single story had an identical final sentence, with maybe a single word being changed. The illustrations also did not feel like they belong in the in the book as they never seem to serve a purpose beyond looking nice.

On the topic of said illustrations, I cannot deny that they did not look good because they did - the art in this book is phenomenal, but it’s spread so far in between that it takes a lot of energy to actually try to enjoy it. The character of the titular Horror Collector himself was also a welcome addition, as he serves as a nice connection between the stories, even if [spoilers], the cliffhanger related to the story was definitely not needed, and did not feel like anything is ever at stake; mostly, because none of the characters, except for the Collector, ever felt like they needed to interact with each other.

While I wouldn’t recommend this book to any teenagers or adults, I would recommend it to parents who are looking to get their child in either elementary or possibly middle school into the world of horror. This is certainly a enjoyable book for their reading level but unfortunately, the enjoyment doesn’t stay with age, unlike other horror anthologies as Goosebumps or Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

3 stars overall - nothing special but perfectly serviceable.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.


I was delighted when I heard that Yen Press children/MG’s imprint would be adding light novels to the mix! So I just had to have this one + one about a mystery-solving boy and his ex-police dog (review to come in a few hours). And I can tell you, I need more of these books. They are so much fun!

And yes, this was definitely the one I was the most hyped about, Shiba Inu’s are cute and mysteries are fun, but mysteries with urban legends and horror? Sign me up!

In this one we travel through six towns and read about various urban legends! From someone who appears in your photographs (a creature named Little Nanoka) and good luck because she is coming for you. To a town with love spells and what happens when you use more than one (nothing good, yikes). To a red crayon and something strange happening at a house (and that one had me scared good especially when the revelations happened). The only one that I found less fun was the one about the the cat. I guess given the whole Fushigi thing it does fit with the story, but I would have rather had something scary instead of something bizarre. But the other stories? Love them. They weren’t overly scary (yes, I know it is a kid’s book, but I have read many a MG horror novel and know that you can still be terrifyingly scary) but all very fun and some had me look over my shoulder. I really loved meeting all these various characters in the towns and see what happens to them, will they live? Die? Something else?

The stories are all fast-paced and I found myself flying through the book. Which is quite rare for me for light novels. I don’t always read them because the translation can be stiff/unnatural, but while the translation felt a bit bumpy at times, for most it had a good flow, good pacing, and the sentences clicked together and didn’t feel too unnatural.

I am definitely curious about Fushigi Senno and the Faceless Kid (I don’t want to spoil but we get a pretty good hint at the end that had me go OMG). I loved how Fushigi tied all these stories together, how every time we got a new urban legend he was there in town. Sometimes he was too late to help, sometimes he helped out reluctantly, sometimes people didn’t listen, but he was always around. It definitely added a fun element to it. Not just urban legends and scary situations, oh no, there is someone here investigating and searching for someone/something. It just ties it up all together.

The manga art inside was a treat! They were so fun and sometimes made the stories more scary. I really liked the style!

All in all, I will be adding this book to my collection because I need it, plus, I would highly recommend this book to all if you are into scary (but not too scary) stories + urban legends!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[J. d'Merricksson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horror Collector #1 by Midori Sato and Norio Tsuruta is a series of six creepy Japanese-centric urban legend short stories.

I like Fushigi Senno, despite his aloof standoffishness. I found the addition of grainy photos to preface each story an unusual choice given the rest of the art was manga/anime style drawings. It helped emphasize the creep factor, that's for sure. I also get Supernatural vibes, as the boy with the hoodie pretty much goes around “hunting things and saving people.” Well, the latter is less intentional than Sam and Dean. That's not Senno’s motive.

Perfect for horror/urban legends lovers or fans of RL Stine. I enjoyed it so much I bought the whole series! There's going to be a manga version soon, too.

***Many thanks to Netgalley & Yen Press for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because if the cover of this, I thought that it was going to be a manga but it turned out to be a light novel instead. Despite that, I went ahead and read this. I thought most of the stories were pretty good, specifically the Little Nanoka story that is similar to our Slederman story here in the US. Other stories were pretty boring in comparison, the love spell one was particularly slow and there seemed to not be much of a consequence for the main character. Overall, I think that this is a good collection for middle schoolers which is what it's aimed towards, but if you're a big horror fan these stories will probably be a little tame for you.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is based on a digital ARC recieved via Netgalley.

A super fun collection of short stories based on Japanese urban legends, connected by the titular, mysterious horror collector, who shows up in each story as a side character.

I think this collection would be perfect for a middle grade reader who likes anime or manga, books like Goosebumps, and movies like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I probably would have been too scared to read it as a kid myself, especially since the stories are not shy about killing off their protagonists. (Not graphically, of course, but still. Whether or not the main character survives is entirely up to chance.)

[Stacey Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This manga series is a series of interconnected short stories based on urban legends and Internet creepy pasts for a middle grade audience. It is also a Japanese Light Novel, which is a novella size prose novel with some really cute illustrations interspersed with the text, perfect for younger readers easing novels from primarily graphic novels and manga.

I didn’t realize this was a collection of the past previous volumes into one? But luckily I saved this download and read it. The illustrations loved it and the stories was a bit creepy but I am mediocre in creepy things now so it was great for this model age lady.

[Dex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was happy to receive the eARC of Horror Collector vol 1 as it sounded like a fun creepypasta manga. Unfortunately its not technically a manga but a lightly illustrated novel. I still kept reading but found the storytelling to not be particularly creepy (even for the age range) and the stories themselves felt disjointed with a lack of a commitment to the telling.
I also think that the translation could use some edits as many of the sentences were not well structured.
The art was nice and I would have liked to have seen more of it as it was the best part of the book.

[Arrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a middle grade horror novel based on creepypastas. There are six short stories that are all a little connected to one another. My personal favorite was the sixth story about a woman version of Slenderman that shows up in photos. The artwork in this book was eerie, but not enough to give children nightmares, which is perfect for a middle grade book. This is a good book, I'm just not the target audience for it.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was creepy! The stories were all new to me and the book tells several, not seemingly connected stories that, at times, had me spooked. I was so caught up in the different stories that I read in one night; the stories are short but very engaging. I enjoyed learning more about the customs of Japan through these stories and look forward to the next installment.

I received a copy from #NetGalley and #YenPress for an honest review.

[Ingrid Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of scary stories that are truly creepy. The suggested audience is young adult, but use your own knowledge of what your kid can handle. To me the horror is very mild on the fear level but I am over the age specified.

The illustrations are excellent and I look forward to reading more.

Thanks to @netgalley and Yen Press/ JY for Kids for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion

[PlantingReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher, and author for this ARC! This was a short and fast spooky middle-grade/YA with different shorter interconnected stories all together about urban legends. MC is a boy going to all the different towns chasing down the urban legends and trying to warn everyone about them. Artwork was super cute and creepy.

[Adrianna Heaney-velu · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Horror Collector Vol 1 The Faceless Kid,” by Midori Sato, Norio Tsuruta, and Yon

I liked these short YA horror stories. The cover made me think it was manga, it’s not, but that’s okay. They are interesting and give me creepypasta vibes. I think middle schoolers would definitely like this book. It would be a good item to have with my Goosebumps books. 4 out of 5 stars.

[Ije the Devourer of Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining collection of horror stories aimed at a younger audience. Each stand alone story is connected by a central character who is a young boy but we are not told who or what he is. Each story is well drawn and sufficiently creepy to hold the reader’s attention and I enjoyed this. Intriguing and definitely one to follow.

Copy provided via Netgalley.

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sign me up for some MG horror and urban legends! Great illustrations and artwork. These 6 stories connect loosely and it's because of this character that's kinda giving me Sam from Trick'r'Treat vibes.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well-written to suit its target audience. The stories are creepy without being overly scary, and they never get truly violent or gory. Some of the dialog is a little awkward, but that's more a translation thing than any fault of the writer. I would recommend for the 9 to 12 age range.

[Sophy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book full of short stories about urban legends. The main character is a boy who shows up in every story. He seems to be looking for someone as he shows up investigating and trying to warn people about the legends.

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this one fun. Reminds me a bit of Goosebumps with its use of urban legends. I like the premise and the art was great. It was a bit rushed, so some of the plot points didn’t have as much impact. All in all, it was pretty good.

(Thank you to Yen Press and Netgalley for the arc)

[Siu Lum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I scare easily but still enjoyed reading this manga. The illustrations are well done and it was a fun way to learn more about urban legends.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-Arc and I did end up purchase a copy of the ebook.

[Melinda Anders]

If you are into anime for young adults this is a must. The lives of three girls and the horror that happens to them.
I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to publisher JY and to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Silverin · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10⭐ Read this if you like urban legends/creepypasta!