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Bakemono
“Hello there! Hellfiredante here, back with another video…”
Dante Anderson has spent a decade building his successful “let’s play” video channel by playing horror games and never running away from what scares him. His bravery – or stupidity – has attracted nearly thirty-two million subscribers to his channel. Ever the opportunist, he’s always on the lookout for new opportunities to branch out. Afterall, for content creators, the best way to stay relevant is to keep the audience engaged with new material. While playing video games with his friends, Dante sees potential in going from ghost hunting online to ghost hunting in real life for entertainment.
When Dante and his friends head to the mountains of Japan in search of the kuchisake onna, the legendary slit-mouthed woman, they get more than expected. Not only do they learn more about the story behind the slit-mouthed woman, but they also receive an extensive lesson in yokai, spirit monsters from Japanese folklore. If Dante comes face-to-face with actual ghosts, will he finally learn to run away?
Dante Anderson has spent a decade building his successful “let’s play” video channel by playing horror games and never running away from what scares him. His bravery – or stupidity – has attracted nearly thirty-two million subscribers to his channel. Ever the opportunist, he’s always on the lookout for new opportunities to branch out. Afterall, for content creators, the best way to stay relevant is to keep the audience engaged with new material. While playing video games with his friends, Dante sees potential in going from ghost hunting online to ghost hunting in real life for entertainment.
When Dante and his friends head to the mountains of Japan in search of the kuchisake onna, the legendary slit-mouthed woman, they get more than expected. Not only do they learn more about the story behind the slit-mouthed woman, but they also receive an extensive lesson in yokai, spirit monsters from Japanese folklore. If Dante comes face-to-face with actual ghosts, will he finally learn to run away?
- GenresHorror
Unknown Binding
2 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Emma Bowers
1 book1 followerEmma Bowers is a first-time author leading a double life as a single mother and recent psychology doctoral graduate. She studied and worked in Japan in the early 2000s, where she developed a love for Japanese language, history, arts, culture, and food. Currently she resides in the beautiful mountains of Northern New Mexico with her teenage son. When she’s not writing or busy being a mom, she enjoys reading tarot, meditating, collecting crystals, and connecting with nature.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2025
Super spooky. For a short read I appreciated the suspense that was packed in there. Japanese ghost stories are some of the best ones to read as they’re just so interesting.
I wanted more depth of character. Perhaps if there were less characters that go on this trip there could have been more focus on the buildup and character development, while also keeping it at novella length. As it is right now, it has good bones, but it felt rushed.
A bit slow in the beginning but it became a real page turner for the last 40 pages or so.
Keep up the good work author!
I wanted more depth of character. Perhaps if there were less characters that go on this trip there could have been more focus on the buildup and character development, while also keeping it at novella length. As it is right now, it has good bones, but it felt rushed.
A bit slow in the beginning but it became a real page turner for the last 40 pages or so.
Keep up the good work author!
May 25, 2025
Bakemono by Emma Bowers is about friends and streamers who decide to take ghost hunting from video games into the real world. When the group travels to Japan to investigate the legend of the slit-mouth woman, everything goes wrong.
The first thing I want to talk about is the cover. This is well thought out. I had to look twice to see the details at the top, so kudos for the cover design.
This book is a short read by an independent author. I appreciate the exploration of the world of streaming and YouTube videos that this book and found-footage movies have used as a setting for a horror story. This book has rich descriptions of video game play, which is not simple. Given the length of the book, the action scenes later in the story are fast-paced.
An incosistent piece of dialog to point out is when Dante, the main character, dismisses locations to investigate because they are "overdone." Keep in mind that they have just investigated the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley Hotel is classically "overdone".
There is only one female character, Jen, that was really a missed opportunity for a character with any depth. There is a conversation where she is whining about going shopping. This creates a shallow character that feels like she was created by a male writer.
Overall, I did like the action and pace of this story, but found there were a few areas of character development that were needed.
The first thing I want to talk about is the cover. This is well thought out. I had to look twice to see the details at the top, so kudos for the cover design.
This book is a short read by an independent author. I appreciate the exploration of the world of streaming and YouTube videos that this book and found-footage movies have used as a setting for a horror story. This book has rich descriptions of video game play, which is not simple. Given the length of the book, the action scenes later in the story are fast-paced.
An incosistent piece of dialog to point out is when Dante, the main character, dismisses locations to investigate because they are "overdone." Keep in mind that they have just investigated the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley Hotel is classically "overdone".
There is only one female character, Jen, that was really a missed opportunity for a character with any depth. There is a conversation where she is whining about going shopping. This creates a shallow character that feels like she was created by a male writer.
Overall, I did like the action and pace of this story, but found there were a few areas of character development that were needed.
December 25, 2025
If you like multiplayer horror games, this may be a fun short book for you.
Bakemono is about a few streamers/content creators that decide that playing video games together just doesn't cut it anymore, and that they need to explore IRL horror. They fly a little too close to the sun, and we all know that generally doesn't end too well.
I loved the similarities between the in-game chapter and their real-life... "adventure". The characters are fun, but because the story is so short, I really couldn't care for them. And I think that's the main problem I have with this story.
It's missing at least a hundred pages. The main cast needed more personality and development, and so did the yokai. Because I didn't spend much time with them, I didn't care about what would happen to them. Because only a few yokai get described, it immediately becomes clear they are the only ones that will show up. Most chapters are only a couple of pages long, and there is so much that could have been added to make this into a more fulfilling experience.
Definitely not bad, and a fun read if you want a quick read, but suffers from the pacing and telling instead of showing.
Bakemono is about a few streamers/content creators that decide that playing video games together just doesn't cut it anymore, and that they need to explore IRL horror. They fly a little too close to the sun, and we all know that generally doesn't end too well.
I loved the similarities between the in-game chapter and their real-life... "adventure". The characters are fun, but because the story is so short, I really couldn't care for them. And I think that's the main problem I have with this story.
It's missing at least a hundred pages. The main cast needed more personality and development, and so did the yokai. Because I didn't spend much time with them, I didn't care about what would happen to them. Because only a few yokai get described, it immediately becomes clear they are the only ones that will show up. Most chapters are only a couple of pages long, and there is so much that could have been added to make this into a more fulfilling experience.
Definitely not bad, and a fun read if you want a quick read, but suffers from the pacing and telling instead of showing.
July 5, 2025
I really wanted to like this one, and to be fair it isn't terrible. It feels a bit like this was the author's first draft and it just didn't get edited or revised. The writing is overly expository and the author really wants to show off how much she knows about Japanese culture, which isn't a problem on its own, however it isn't done in a way that feels natural. The concept of "show, don't tell" is entirely missing from the book. I didn't really connect with any of the characters enough to care about them, so their deaths didn't resonate with me and none of the actual horror felt scary. If polished a bit more, this could have been really interesting, but it just feels unfinished and a bit nonsensical towards the end as is.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews