Strange Pictures by Uketsu: The Perfect Halloween Reading Recommendation

The spooky season is here, and it's time to delve into some spine-chilling literature.

I'd almost forgotten it was Halloween next week until my brother posed a plastic skeleton in our dining room window and nearly gave a passer-by a heart attack. Oh, it's that time of year again! Darker nights, flickering (fake) candles, and hordes of sugar-induced children harassing old people for even more sugar.

That said, if you're not the trick-or-treat or Frankenstein-themed party-goer type, then maybe it's best to just settle down in a cozy, cob-web covered armchair with a hot cup of tea and read something chilling. Fortunately, this being a writing blog, this is precisely what I'm here to do. Cue Strang Pictures by Uketsu.

What is Strange Pictures?

This mysterious little book is something that I binged earlier in the year, and although nothing jumps out from between its pages, the author doesn't fail to leave us on the edge of our seats, nails bitten to shreds and all. This is an extremely unconventional read in many ways, with the overarching story split into three seemingly separate tales, all of which centre around a single image. A strange picture. Each with a dark secret at its heart. Are you ready to untangle the mystery and learn the shocking – and somewhat disturbing – truth? It may just make your toes tingle this Halloween.

A creeping tone unravels from page to page in this psychological – and very visual – horror. Without a doubt, it will get under your skin from the word go. Sections of the book will read like message board threads, online posts and fragmented conversations, blurring fiction and reality. I love something short that captures our attention easily, and Strange Pictures, short but sweet, wastes no time in quickly haunting us. It'll leave you with many questions after you've put it down – in a good way.

Above all else, Strange Pictures is a lesson in observation, but also in the power and danger or images and how we interpret them. While the book prods at readers to be more curious, you're never too far away from the page for the artwork to entangle you in the dark backstories that lie beneath. What's brilliant about this fascinating book is that the answers to every plot point can be solved just using the pictures alone, but for the untrained eye – and the untrained mind – we have to dig a little deeper, which is what makes the ending so exceptionally shocking in a sort of 'it all falls into place' kind of way.

Who Is Uketsu?

Known for online horror fiction and his unsettling prose that blend realism with the unease of the digital realm (especially rabbit holes of no-return), Uketsu writes in thread or forum-style formats, adding an unusual, authentic edge to his dark stories. He is becoming widely known as an author who plays with "found media", such as texts, images or social media posts. While his work was originally published in Japanese, its now been translated into multiple languages.

His current work heavily evokes urban legends – horror which spreads virally (as in on the internet, not through an infection curable with antibiotics), like a digital curse. However, the most unique – and chilling – element of Uketsu's fame is the fact that his true identity is unknown; he doesn't accept interviews and only reveals himself on social media such as Youtube wearing a white mask... creepy. He's pretty much become the Banksy of the literary world, which – given his rapid success and worldwide popularity – is a deserved comparison.

I'm giving Strange Pictures 10/10 Forum Threads... what about you?

Check out Strange Pictures by Uketsu this Halloween.

Thanks for reading!