There’s something strangely satisfying about being scared; something so perversely pleasurable about fear. Fans of horror and related genres could point to any number of reasons why this phenomenon exists, but the one indisputable fact that remains is that we love the gross and the disturbing. Stumbling around any of the vast corridors of the internet will lead you to all sorts of twisted content that is inexplicably addictive and attractive. There’s no shortage of horror media out there in the box office or on the web, but the wealth of horror manga out there remains largely undiscovered to most fans.

Here, I offer a sample platter of six horror manga to make you question your existence. Whether you prefer comedy horror, psychedelic horror, or just plain gore, there’s something for every fan on this list. I’m excluding dark fantasy manga such as Berserk, Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul because those deserve a list of their own. 

Eiji Ōtsuka’s ‘The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service’

Eiji Ōtsuka’s The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is more comedy than horror, centered on a ragtag gang of Buddhist graduates who start their own business fulfilling the wishes of the recently deceased. Don’t be mistaken though, they’re not in it for just the karmic paychecks — they wouldn’t mind a few pounds of gold or a bucket of yen for their “not-totally-charitable” work either.

I debated whether or not to include this manga on the list, but this solid series deserves far more attention than it’s received during its 14-year run. Although not really scary by the standards of most fans of the genre, The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service still delivers a solid and diverse selection of stories that cater to everything from the absurd (read: aliens that are trapped in mummified astronaut monkeys) to the profound (read: immigrant refugees that are being exploited by the black organ market) to the plain disturbed (read: a father obsessed with his pop star/idol daughter).

The overarching mystery surrounding the main character Karatsu and his otherworldly protector Yachi also separates this horror manga from the pack and gives the series momentum as it continues.

Junji Ito’s ‘Gyo’

Any horror manga list would be remiss not to include at least one Junji Ito tale (the bibliography of Junji Ito could easily fill up its own list with the plethora of spine-tingling works authored by the undisputed king of horror manga).

Think of Gyo as the Sharknado before Sharknado was even a passing thought in the minds of Levin and Ferrante. Published in 2001, Gyo centers around couple Tadashi and Kaori as they struggle to survive in what can only be described as a mutant marine-robot apocalypse. If this sounds a little ridiculous, it’s because it is. Filled to the brim with Great White sharks and giant fish on robotic legs that storm Okinawa and then the rest of the Japan, Gyo is a B-movie horror manga done right that tickles both the imagination and the funny bone.

Kengo Hanazawa’s ‘I am a Hero’

I am a Hero is an award-winning apocalypse manga that focuses on former struggling mangaka Hideo Suzuki as he journeys through zombie-infested Japan armed only with a sports shotgun and his goal of seeing the next sunrise.

In true Walking Dead fashion, a central theme of the manga revolves on what it means to be human in an increasingly inhumane world. Although I am a Hero is fairly standard stuff in terms of horror, the real beauty propelling this series onto this list is the metamorphosis Hideo undergoes as he begins to think of himself as the main character in his own life. I am a Hero is a must for fans of both the apocalypse genre and horror manga.

Haruto Ryou’s ‘Ibitsu’

What would you say if, in the dead of the night, a girl asks you, “Do you need a sister?” Choose carefully, or else you might just find yourself a new little sister.

That’s the situation protagonist Kazuki in Haruto Ryou’s Ibitsu finds himself in one lonely night when he comes across a lolita sitting by his trash. From here on out, the rest of this twisted manga plays out like a creepypasta come to life, complete with the telltale twist at the end.

Ibitsu is a /nosleep or creepypasta lover’s dream come true — a violently disturbing manga centered on an urban legend of a lolita obsessed with becoming the perfect little sister, other family members be damned. Ibitsu is a quick and delightful bedtime treat for horror fans of the internet variety.

Kazuo Umezu’s ‘Drifting Classroom’

Drifting Classroom is something of a legend among horror manga addicts — a sort of holy text that any newcomer to the genre must pilgrimage to in order to truly appreciate the genre. Junji Ito himself said that Umezu was a huge source of inspiration for him and the evolution of his artistic style. Even a cursory comparison between Drifting Classroom and any of Junji Ito’s titles will reveal how Umezu influenced the most prolific horror mangaka in Japan.

In Drifting Classroom, an entire school is transported to the future, causing a time warp that triggers a world-wide environmental catastrophe. In this new desolate and depopulated wasteland, the surviving children must battle hunger, fatigue, disease and ferocious monsters of both the human and beast variety. Most of all, they must try to stave off the madness that creeps up on them all. Drifting Classroom remains a classic horror manga that all fans should read at least once in their lifetime.

Fujiwara Kaoru’s ‘Fetish’

Fans of psychological horror should find great pleasure in Fujiwara Kaoru’s Fetish. This single volume series is a collection of twisted short stories, each with an unnervingly human aspect to them.

Among the five issues, Love Letter, All of Sully/Lily, and Fetish stand out as the most alarming and unsettling. Fetish explores obsession, identity, voyeurism, incest, abuse and perversion with a dash of magical realism peppered throughout. The beautiful artwork connects the stories by imparting a dreamlike and melancholic quality throughout. Fetish is a fantastic short read for those who enjoy the perverse and perverted without the gore and guts that typically accompany a horror story.