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Museum of Terror #3
Museum of Terror, Vol. 3: The Long Hair in the Attic
Museum of Terror volume 3: The Long Hair in the Attic is the third volume in the Museum of Terror series. It was released by Dark Horse Comics in 2006. Unlike the Horror World of Junji Ito series, it presents the stories in chronological order. The works in this volume were originally released from 1987 to 1990.
Collected Works
Bio-House
The Face Burglar
Den of the Sleep Demon
The Devil's Logic
The Long Hair in the Attic
Love as Scripted
Sword of the Reanimator
Heart of a Father
Unbearable Maze
The Village of Sirens
The Bully
A Deserter in the House
Collected Works
Bio-House
The Face Burglar
Den of the Sleep Demon
The Devil's Logic
The Long Hair in the Attic
Love as Scripted
Sword of the Reanimator
Heart of a Father
Unbearable Maze
The Village of Sirens
The Bully
A Deserter in the House
392 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
9 people are currently reading
881 people want to read
About the author
Junji Ito
260 books14.3k followersJunji Itō (Japanese: 伊藤潤二, Ito Junji) is a Japanese cartoonist and illustrator, best known for his horror manga.
Ito was born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan in 1963. He was inspired to make art from a young age by his older sister's drawing and Kazuo Umezu's horror comics. Until the early 1990s he worked as a dental technician, while making comics as a side job. By the time he turned into a full time mangaka, Ito was already an acclaimed horror artists.
His comics are celebrated for their finely depicted body horrors, while also retaining some elements of psychological horror and erotism.
Although he mostly produces short stories, Ito is best known for his longer comic series: Tomie (1987-2000), about a beautiful high school girl who inspires her admirers to commit atrocities; Uzumaki (1998-1999), set in a town cursed with spiral patterns; Gyo (2001-2002), featuring a horde of metal-legged undead fishes. Tomie and Uzumaki in particular have been adapted multiple times in live-action and animation.
Ito was born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan in 1963. He was inspired to make art from a young age by his older sister's drawing and Kazuo Umezu's horror comics. Until the early 1990s he worked as a dental technician, while making comics as a side job. By the time he turned into a full time mangaka, Ito was already an acclaimed horror artists.
His comics are celebrated for their finely depicted body horrors, while also retaining some elements of psychological horror and erotism.
Although he mostly produces short stories, Ito is best known for his longer comic series: Tomie (1987-2000), about a beautiful high school girl who inspires her admirers to commit atrocities; Uzumaki (1998-1999), set in a town cursed with spiral patterns; Gyo (2001-2002), featuring a horde of metal-legged undead fishes. Tomie and Uzumaki in particular have been adapted multiple times in live-action and animation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
May 12, 2017
A nice collection of short stories. I expected a little Lovecraftian but I got something more like Goosebumps. The last three stories were the best: "The Village of Sirens" (Yes, a bit Lovecraftian!), "The Bully" (A bit childish yet it was fun) & "A Deserter in the House" (Not scary at all but I liked the twist).
August 18, 2020
I found none of these short stories actually scary to me but nonetheless the vast majority were very cool and with interesting, albeit sometimes predictable, concepts. A nice bedtime read when a storm is brewing and the wind howls through your dark home.
March 19, 2023
So while the first two volumes of this series is just about Tomie, this one is a true anthology of stories. Some good, others crap. Many are more psychological horror but a few go toward the grotesque a bit. Nothing super scary but enough to possibly give a person uncomfortable tingles. The first story started off in a corny manner. I was literally cracking up at the blood splurtage. I was a bit worried I was about to get into some gore-comedy. After that first one though, the humor dies off and the creepy factors start to set it. Each story is vastly difference and hit on things like mental disorders, mind control, demons, ghosts and more.
November 15, 2020
Tento Ito ma neoslovil. Najviac sa mi páčila nepríjemná Bully a věřte-nevěřte s výborným námetom, Deserter.
August 20, 2013
After oh 700 pages of Tomie cutting up her boyfriends' parts, this third volume in Ito's Terror series (sadly, the last as well) is kind of refreshing in that it focuses on stories where gore & shock isn't the focus. Most of these stories are from the late 80's to 1990. "Den of the Sleep Demon," and "The Long Hair in the Attic" are here because they're expected; typical stories of a characters myopia becoming their demise. The freak-out stories with blood and flesh. "Den" is especially gruesome and the best example of that Louvre of Lust that Ito calls his mind, showcasing a transformation that would make Kafka cringe.
There is also high fantasy in "Sword of the Reanimator" and "The Village of Sirens". The former being a vessel for shonen lovers (maybe the weakest story here) while "Sirens" is great on the build up, but typical in its climax. Still not bad for a monthly Halloween thrill.
Most interesting are the stories where psychological terror is ripe, moist, throbbing, with only the denouement giving in to typical Ito gross-outs (hey, its what you wanted), if at all. "Heart of a Father," as well as the final two stories, "The Bully," and "A Deserter in the House" are the best things here. "Heart" and "Bully" both concern jealousy in its cruelest stage (dude seems to know a lot about that, huh?), and provide the reader with Ito's ability to creep without going anywhere near ero-guro territory. "Deserter" is the obvious winner of the collection, a story concerning deceit and rage, with an ending that refocuses everything that comes before it and even goes as far as being a critique against revenge and anger all together.
An afterword from a filmmaker makes good note that Ito's all about familial love & hatred. With all the love & hate here, it's hard not to feel a part of Ito's psychomindfuck of a family. 3.5 stars.
There is also high fantasy in "Sword of the Reanimator" and "The Village of Sirens". The former being a vessel for shonen lovers (maybe the weakest story here) while "Sirens" is great on the build up, but typical in its climax. Still not bad for a monthly Halloween thrill.
Most interesting are the stories where psychological terror is ripe, moist, throbbing, with only the denouement giving in to typical Ito gross-outs (hey, its what you wanted), if at all. "Heart of a Father," as well as the final two stories, "The Bully," and "A Deserter in the House" are the best things here. "Heart" and "Bully" both concern jealousy in its cruelest stage (dude seems to know a lot about that, huh?), and provide the reader with Ito's ability to creep without going anywhere near ero-guro territory. "Deserter" is the obvious winner of the collection, a story concerning deceit and rage, with an ending that refocuses everything that comes before it and even goes as far as being a critique against revenge and anger all together.
An afterword from a filmmaker makes good note that Ito's all about familial love & hatred. With all the love & hate here, it's hard not to feel a part of Ito's psychomindfuck of a family. 3.5 stars.
July 18, 2016
Pretty good.
This was an anthology of manga horror stories by Junji Ito for various magazines collected here in a book. The artwork is about average, but looks a little old school. All of the stories were at least remotely interesting. Some were amazing, though. "Heart of a Father" was my favorite, but not by a huge margin.
This doesn't need to be read in context of a series because they're all unrelated stories. These stories are pretty creepy and some were a little nasty. Overall it's pretty good, but nothing I would have spent money on.
This was an anthology of manga horror stories by Junji Ito for various magazines collected here in a book. The artwork is about average, but looks a little old school. All of the stories were at least remotely interesting. Some were amazing, though. "Heart of a Father" was my favorite, but not by a huge margin.
This doesn't need to be read in context of a series because they're all unrelated stories. These stories are pretty creepy and some were a little nasty. Overall it's pretty good, but nothing I would have spent money on.
May 21, 2019
A true gem, less repetitive than the other two volumes, and full of great stories, very in the Ito vein. This is why we love this man.
November 14, 2016
La historia del bully, omfg .-.
September 5, 2020
Tomie is a lovecraftian monstrosity trapped in the body of a stunningly beautiful girl. She can seduce nearly any man with nothing but a single glance, driving them mad with lust and envy until eventually pushing them to commit brutal murders. Though strangely enough, the victim of the murders are almost always Tomie herself. Countless men and women have fallen victim to Tomie's supernatural charms and Tomie herself has fallen victim to hundreds of atrocities as a result, but soon the world begins to realize that no matter how many times they kill Tomie, the world will never be free of her cruelty. She keeps coming back.
The story begins with Tomie seducing her teacher and a group of male students. They go insane with rage and lust, brutally dismembering her corpse, scattering her by a river all while fighting amongst each other like a flock of savages. Tomie’s streak of seducing victims with her demonic charm finally comes to an end, until she shows up to school the very next day to continue driving everyone insane. It turns out that chopping up Tomie didn’t kill her, it only allowed her to divide, spread and conquer like an army of humanoid cancer cells.
The book is a series of stand-alone stories revolving around the many replicas of Tomie. Each story gives us a way of seeing different sides of the same monstrous girl. She appears as the daughter of a mourning elderly couple, the narcissistic model for a wannabe millionaire painter, a perverted child seducer, a medical experiment gone wrong, we see many faces of Tomie and we’re never truly certain on which face is the real her. She’s like every mythological seductress all rolled into one. She’s a siren, succubus, lamia, Lilith, medusa and every other deadly seductress you can possibly think of. On top of this there’s Ito’s signature grotesque body horror to go along with each version of the wicked maiden.
Tomie is an enigma. If you slice her open, she heals right back up. If you cut her into a hundred pieces, each piece will regenerate and take on its own form and personality. At first we see her as a victim because of how brutally she's murdered by a teacher and a group of students, but as we come to learn more about her, it's almost as if she wants to be killed over and over. She's intentionally cruel, manipulative and psychotic, playing the damsel in distress one moment and happily destroying the lives of innocent people the next. She intentionally pushes people beyond their limits, taking a sick pleasure in the chaos she creates as the world goes mad with lust over her beauty. And since she keeps coming back, there's no limits or consequences to the amount of chaos she can conjure up. It's a very interesting take on lovecraftian horror, interweaving folklore from mythological creatures scattered throughout history wrapped up in the body of a seemingly innocent beautiful girl.
Tomie is the first manga Junji Ito ever published, so its age does show a bit at times, especially near the beginning of the story. It was also published over a very long period of time, there’s a massive difference between the first few chapters and the later chapters. If you’re not too impressed with the beginning, the art, quality and storytelling improve significantly over time, so it’s still great for a first published work and gives you a taste of the weirdness and brutality Ito is capable of. I would recommend Uzumaki first if you’re new to Ito, but Tomie is still definitely worth checking out.
The story begins with Tomie seducing her teacher and a group of male students. They go insane with rage and lust, brutally dismembering her corpse, scattering her by a river all while fighting amongst each other like a flock of savages. Tomie’s streak of seducing victims with her demonic charm finally comes to an end, until she shows up to school the very next day to continue driving everyone insane. It turns out that chopping up Tomie didn’t kill her, it only allowed her to divide, spread and conquer like an army of humanoid cancer cells.
The book is a series of stand-alone stories revolving around the many replicas of Tomie. Each story gives us a way of seeing different sides of the same monstrous girl. She appears as the daughter of a mourning elderly couple, the narcissistic model for a wannabe millionaire painter, a perverted child seducer, a medical experiment gone wrong, we see many faces of Tomie and we’re never truly certain on which face is the real her. She’s like every mythological seductress all rolled into one. She’s a siren, succubus, lamia, Lilith, medusa and every other deadly seductress you can possibly think of. On top of this there’s Ito’s signature grotesque body horror to go along with each version of the wicked maiden.
Tomie is an enigma. If you slice her open, she heals right back up. If you cut her into a hundred pieces, each piece will regenerate and take on its own form and personality. At first we see her as a victim because of how brutally she's murdered by a teacher and a group of students, but as we come to learn more about her, it's almost as if she wants to be killed over and over. She's intentionally cruel, manipulative and psychotic, playing the damsel in distress one moment and happily destroying the lives of innocent people the next. She intentionally pushes people beyond their limits, taking a sick pleasure in the chaos she creates as the world goes mad with lust over her beauty. And since she keeps coming back, there's no limits or consequences to the amount of chaos she can conjure up. It's a very interesting take on lovecraftian horror, interweaving folklore from mythological creatures scattered throughout history wrapped up in the body of a seemingly innocent beautiful girl.
Tomie is the first manga Junji Ito ever published, so its age does show a bit at times, especially near the beginning of the story. It was also published over a very long period of time, there’s a massive difference between the first few chapters and the later chapters. If you’re not too impressed with the beginning, the art, quality and storytelling improve significantly over time, so it’s still great for a first published work and gives you a taste of the weirdness and brutality Ito is capable of. I would recommend Uzumaki first if you’re new to Ito, but Tomie is still definitely worth checking out.
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September 18, 2024this has been a real fun one to read after a stint of ito's later book length works. not only is the drawing style charmingly simpler, as though (one imagines) the smudges remain on the page, but also the characters are more stock, the endings faster, the situations sillier. i realize this sounds negative, reading it over now, but i feel quite the opposite: this is some of the collection's strength. i remember some maybe apocryphal tale about early chekhov stories, someone read them and said, hey chekhov, your talent's too good for silly tales like this, i can see the genius in them already. feels the same with early ito, so i say this to both of them: what you're seeing is not only glimmer of genius. it is genius itself. genius can be a part of silly things
January 6, 2019
Great standalone stories. Reading them in bulk maybe retracts the individual impact of them. Still very enjoyable. Manga is one of the better mediums for horror definitely. I love Junji Ito and the feelings he is able to create with his work. He creates this certain feeling of unease I haven't experienced outside of his work.
July 22, 2022
My library had a copy of this older collection, so gave it a shot. Unfortunately I've already read them from the more recent published collections. These stories are more psychological horror, less grotesque, and display the wide range of ideas Ito comes up with.
October 27, 2022
Started out good and kinda mysterious and creepy, but towards the end the story and the characters' reactions lost me, the end was kinda rushed and disappointed too.
Great artwork as always but the story needed more.
Great artwork as always but the story needed more.
October 27, 2024
Bio- house 5⭐
The face burglar 5⭐
The den of the sleep demon 5⭐
The devil's logic 4⭐
The long hair in the attic 3⭐
Love as scripted 3.5⭐
Sword of the reanimator 4⭐
Heart of the father 3.5⭐
Unbearable maze 4⭐
The village of sirens 3⭐
The bully 4.5⭐
A deserter in the house 3⭐
The face burglar 5⭐
The den of the sleep demon 5⭐
The devil's logic 4⭐
The long hair in the attic 3⭐
Love as scripted 3.5⭐
Sword of the reanimator 4⭐
Heart of the father 3.5⭐
Unbearable maze 4⭐
The village of sirens 3⭐
The bully 4.5⭐
A deserter in the house 3⭐
April 17, 2018
I wish the ending had been stronger, but damn it if I didn't love this series! Such gory twisted fun!
May 9, 2018
3.5 Stars
May 28, 2018
Where can I buy an affordable copy of this? Prices online are shooting up all over the place.
December 1, 2018
Spooky Japanese weirdness.
May 13, 2019
The writing is nothing spectacular but the stories and artwork are creepy as hell, a very entertaining and unsettling read.
July 6, 2020
Five stars for the chilling portrayal of family dysfunction in "Heart of a Father" and "The Bully." These two stories definitely need to be reprinted in a more readily available edition.
October 8, 2020
Classic J-horror.
December 28, 2020
Another piece of art. :)
May 18, 2021
I didn’t find it scary. But these were weird and kind of whimsical and lil disturbing. A good quick read with good arts.
August 2, 2021
Solid little short-story collection, quick read - the namesake story probably has my favorite panel
November 11, 2021
ummmmmmmmmmm im probably just gonna rate all his stuff 5 stars (except a couple of those Souichi volumes tbh)
July 24, 2022
very relatable, this happens to me all the time
July 13, 2024
An excellent collection of horror stories. Interesting and innovative. Underrated
February 2, 2025
i kinda expected it but when it happened it also disturbed me
May 13, 2025
BULLY IS DISPICABLE
October 18, 2024
WHAT THE FREAK
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews