Kowabana: 'True' Japanese scary stories from around the internet: Volume Two

Kowabana #2

by Tara A. Devlin

A young man visits his grandparents in the countryside. While relaxing in the front yard he sees a wide-brimmed hat moving behind the hedge. A woman appears, but as she walks away, he realises the hedge is over two metres tall. If he could see her over that, then... When he mentions this strange woman to his grandfather, he finds out that her name is Hasshaku-sama, the eight-foot-tall woman, and she only appears before those she intends to snatch away. Deep in the countryside, a young woman finds a strange-looking box in her back shed. When her friend

Genres: Horror, Japan

350 pages, Paperback

Published January 19, 2018

About the author

Tara A. Devlin studied Japanese at the University of Queensland before moving to Japan in 2005. She lived in Matsue, the birthplace of Japanese ghost stories, for 10 years, where her love for Japanese horror really grew. And with Izumo, the birthplace of Japanese mythology, just a stone’s throw away, she was never too far from the mysterious. You can find her collection of horror and fantasy writings at taraadevlin.com and translations of Japanese horror at kowabana.net.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of creepypasta type stories from Japan. Some of them are pretty eerie.

[Book lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stranger than fiction

The second in the series of strange tales that make you wonder about the darker side of reality. The book is a standalone which can be read without reading the first book in this series. The stories were short and to the point, mainly written as narratives of events in first person. For lovers of thrillers, supernatural and gruesome free horrors. I liked it very much.

[Rebo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I didn’t like this one as much as the first. Maybe bc the story of Kuchisake-onna in the “urban legends” volume was so much better (and the version in the game NG was way spookier), and the kotoriboko I had *just* seen in the anime Occultics;9 (and that was straight out of the original story but with a twist that made it much more unsettling that the original lacks), and those are two of the “better” tales. I did really like the one about the guy’s childhood friend toward the end of the volume, even if it was sad and (most likely not true, but then most of these aren’t and who cares?). Honestly? The “once you understand” ones are probably my favorite section and I wouldn’t mind seeing a whole volume of just those translated. Those are fun and some (even if they’re made up for the twist) still the spookiest/most unsettling of them all.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good selection of urban legends from the Japanese Internet. Essentially the author is translating 2chan and similar anonymous forums. There’s not really a way to identify the primary authors or get their permission, but somehow this keeps rubbing me the wrong way. Do they realize that anyone can and will make money off of their stories? Will they ever find out if it’s ok English? Does the translation process effectively generate a derivative work that is to some degree original? Shouldn’t the original authors be credited by their user IDs, even though these are anonymous/random one-offs? Should forum links be provided? Etc. Well, one day soon someone is going to use ChatGPT to generate “truly” original material like this trained on the sum total of the Internet. I wonder how it will compare and if any of it could be traceable back to random people posting these stories online …

[Angustia⋆Cósmica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great collection of stories!
Short and sweet, but still scary enough for me to try and read most during daytime.

Being a horror-loving scaredy cat is no easy job.

This is my last book! And right before the end of the year too, couldn't be happier!

Thank you all for keeping up with me and my ramblings, let's read lots next year too 🌟

[ericka glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good job

The stories were longer, scarier and more juicy!! I especially liked the ending, once you understand segment. I was telling these stories on an off day in class and soon had a group of 20 people with me! Awesome. Cant wait to read the next installment

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the second volume of this book- so much so I reckon I’m going to buy the rest in the series. Great collection, it’s a decently sized book but a very quick read.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these stories just end up sounding like queer reflections of the resident medium, I kinda wish there was a volume dedicated solely to translations of queer horror stories.

[Serena Priestner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Just love reading this series,the short stories the cliff
hangers,leaving to believe or not. Absolutely love it and starting the next one soon

[Mercy Nurse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still good. Excited I have this whole new series to dive into all year!

[Wyrd Witch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three years ago, I read and reviewed an interesting collection of translated creepypasta, Kowabana Volume 1. The book was fascinating and unique from most of the books I review here. The authors of the story are completely anonymous, and not all of them really follow a three-act structure. Because of the format of occult boards on 2chan (now 5chan), many of them are written like social media posts you might find on Facebook or Twitter. Furthermore, even when they do read like stories, the tales found in the book read like something you’d share with a friend in front of a campfire or during a sleepover. The overall effect creates a nostalgic, comforting feeling even if you go to bed giving your open closet a stink eye.

Now, as I finally review the second volume in the Kowabana series, I’m happy to say Kowabana Volume 2 continues that nostalgic, cozy atmosphere while also presenting some really great stories. It’s an overall clear improvement over the first volume, creating the perfect selection for this year’s creepy mood.

Read the rest of the review here.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories are more entertaining then the previous volume

Although some of the stories are repeated (from the podcast version), all of the stories are very entertaining and good.