Books like Saat der Angst

\ "Let's play!"\ This book has no business being as creepy as it is.Seeds of Anxiety is a series littered with ominous trans-dimensional shadows and ghosts that watch you through the paper they have seeped into. There are subtly disturbing creatures coming out of its (metaphorical) ears.Maybe they are sinister. Maybe they are just curious. Or worse, maybe they have grown attached. Letting you know their intentions is not an otherworlder's strong point. Either way, what's left is a creeping paranoia that knows no logic nor reasoning. Don't look over your shoulder too fast, or you might catch a glimpse of it.The series uses little-to-no gore, and the art style is even kind of cute. It doesn't seem like it should be disturbing at all, but relies on the sinking, increasing distress of feeling watched by something you can't see, nor can you understand what it wants. Seeds of Anxiety is a great concept, though I don't feel Nakayama gives some of his more intriguing stories enough time to gestate. The stories in this are very short, most are 8 or fewer pages. They feature ordinary people going about their business, usually alone. Some are walking home from school, some are doing office work, just a boring day... but then something from out of the blue arrives. Some unknown creature from the abyss wants to make a friend, some shadow in the character's peripheral vision comes out into the open... Big, soulless black eyes start to watch from out of the corner of the room...Two that stood out most to me are the ones that have a more tangible basis in reality - the one about the ear-cutter who sneaks up on the unsuspecting and somehow is never seen, and the one about the man who's being stalked by someone who sends him candy with a horse on the package, and after enough rebuttals, the horse on the box turns up... looking a bit different.Seeds of Anxiety is paranoia fuel drenched in the mystery of the creepiest urban legends, the watchers from afar who look human from a distance until you get closer and realize they can't possibly be. Unfortunately, this series can't spread its curse too far, as there is still no official English release of this series. The Japanese edition is easy to find, and it's probably in scanlation online if you're curious. As a whole, the series does not have a lot of dialogue, so would be good for someone practicing Japanese.That is, if you find it important to have an unhealthy dose of death and nightmares in your education.+--This review, more books and more horror on my blog.--+