Escape to a world much like our own, brimming with mysteries and overrun by the worst of all monsters: humans.

The long awaited SMASHED by Junji Ito hits stores with 13 blood-chilling short stories, spanning over 400 pages. This hard cover tome is an elegant addition to your ongoing library of horror, or a delightfully creepy coffee table book. Like any work of Ito's, the tales are as spine-tingling as they are funny, as grotesque as they are elegant.

Of all the stories, I highly recommend you start with "The Mystery of the Haunted House" and begin the saga of Soichi. It starts as a traditional tale of young boys daring each other to see a traveling haunted house.

Haunted houses are a common trope in manga and anime, where the chills help you cool down from a hot and humid summer. The normal haunts like dismembered heads and ghosts come with a dreadful surprise! 

The haunted house's proprietor Soichi has used his magic to chain his family into indefinite servitude as the scary cast of ghouls and ghosts leading to the best jump scare yet, Soichi’s demonic son. But it doesn’t end there, the next two stories "The Mystery of the Haunted House – Soichi’s Story" and "Soichi’s Beloved Pet," center around Soichi's past. Is he not the terrible child we were thought to believe?

Nah. He's still pretty bad. Look at what he did to the family cat.

Disclaimer: Junji Ito is a self-professed cat-lover and no cats have been harmed in the making of this manga.

Those are just three of the thirteen stories included in this beautifully bound book. Preview another story, "Bloodsucking Darkness" here.

Want more Junji Ito?

If you're in Canada next month, Junji Ito will be making his North American debut this May 11 and 12 at the Toronto Comics and Arts Festival (TCAF). TCAF showcases Canada's most incredible comics talent on a world stage by promoting top-tier creators and publishers, and inviting the attention of the global cartooning community. Make sure to seek out the exclusive Junji Ito-illustrated TCAF poster. Quantities are extremely limited so get one while they last.

Find out more about Junji Ito's TCAF visit here.