There’s a tale that fisherman tell about something odd in the sea. Apparently there exists a siren that drives those that hear the calls toward madness. Is this yet another seafaring legend? Unfortunately, regardless if the tale is true or not, fisherman need to make a living. Koji—a newbie—alongside his peers are struggling to capture fish in a bad season and must enter the deadly seas regardless but what they find may not be a prize catch but the answers to if the siren is real or not…

No horror oneshot manga list would be complete without a work from mangaka Ito Junji. Responsible for some of the best horror manga stories ever, it’s easy to see why even a oneshot from Ito Junji would be incredible. Masei is a quick read but thanks to some creepy and outlandish art—only Ito Junji can be responsible for—it’s a manga that will creep out any reader. If you are in love with horror oneshot manga, then we can’t recommend any higher the beauty of Masei. Though seriously, we may have a phobia of sirens in the sea now…

A young girl with spiritual powers gets a hold of a strange manga. As she begins to read the tale, she see a claim stating those that read to a certain point will die on the same day. Now scared and feeling as if she’s cursed, the young girl is desperate to remove it by any means. This causes her to meet an odd spirit who wants to marry her? How do these events lead up to shattering her curse?

Obake Life, in one word, is weird. However, horror and weird go together quite well in the grand scheme of things. This is also helped out by mangaka Takahashi Ichirou who does a great job of spinning a short but interesting story that truly takes a few twists and turns as it goes along. We also really loved the art which at times is deceptive in looking normal then creepy. Obake Life definitely earns a spot on our Top 10 Horror Oneshot Manga list and you just need to read it to understand why.

You’ve heard of stories like The Frog Prince and Rapunzel but you haven’t heard these twisted versions. Done by several authors, Sekaiichi Zankoku de Utsukushii Grimm Douwa aims to deliver darker versions of the legendary Grimm stories. Contained in three volumes are several stories that will alter your childhood memories of these beloved tales. Sekaiichi Zankoku de Utsukushii might be short versions of the stories you loved and remembered but the lasting impact of these altered tales may stick with you for much longer. If you’re confident then enter the pages of Sekaiichi Zankoku de Utsukushii.

Growing up as kids, most of us here at Honey’s Anime have been told the legendary classic stories from the Grimm Brothers. However, as many readers age—like us obviously—they learn that the Grimm tales are actually altered heavily to be more child friendly. Well, Sekaiichi Zankoku de Utsukushii from several different authors really tell even darker versions of the narratives we were told as kids. Some of our personal favorites are stories like Covered in Cinders by mangaka Aya Kotokawa and Rapunzel by mangaka Mimei Sakamoto. That isn’t to say the rest of the tales within aren’t amazing because honestly, we were impressed by every story despite the different mangaka working on them so we know you’ll love Sekaiichi Zankoku de Utsukushii just as much as we did once you dive in.

Rio happens to be a young magician training at a magical academy. Alongside his friends, Rio is aiming to gain control of legendary powers including the ability to use his own shadow as a tool. However, one day, Rio’s teacher begins to act very odd and locks himself in a room for some time. Rio’s begins to question why his teacher suddenly shifted towards a dark mindset. Though once the barrier is released, Rio will learn a dark truth all too suddenly which will in turn shatter his peaceful days with his friends forever.

Ruler of the Dark Region seems at first like a typical magical fantasy narrative. The art isn’t overly horrific and there are no signs of a dark plot initially. However, mangaka Motoki Yuki truly fooled the readers by having the story shift very quickly towards a horrific revelation that truly threw us for a loop. With awesome art and a quick but clever tale, Ruler of the Dark Region is simply awesome. One chapter is all Motoki Yuki needed to create a horror story that truly was a fulfilling and worthwhile read.

Sometimes promises come with high demands. That is especially true if you happen to make a promise with Kiriko. This little girl will make a promise with you but her cost is one finger from the one who made the promise. Eventually those who continue to promise Kiriko things will lose all their fingers. However, you don’t want to break a promise to this little girl unless you want horrible things to befall you…

We’ve all made promises to various people in our lives. Sometimes the cost of these promises can be a bit high but usually a promise is only as deep as the connection between the two who initiated it. Mangaka Yumeka Sumomo however took the idea of making a promise ten steps further in this horror oneshot manga called Yubikiri Hime. With brutal imagery and a dark premise Yubikiri Hime may only be 8 pages long but the fear factor is extremely high. Maybe next time you make a promise with a stranger you may consider the cost first before anything else.

There’s a story that in the old school room about a strange item hidden in a stairwell. The item hidden is a mirror that apparently leads to another world where one can get any wish granted. When a young man named Ryuu uses the mirror and doesn’t return, three of his close friends travel through the mirror to find him. However, these poor souls are about to enter a world that they weren’t prepared for. What horrors await them In the Mirror of Death?

Mangaka Fujiwara Hiro crafted a very dark and interesting horror oneshot manga in the form of Kyoukai no Shinigami or In the Mirror of Death. We here at Honey’s Anime loved the dark art style and really horrific tones that are contained in this work. Unlike most oneshot manga, this isn’t overly short—around 60 pages—which means the story crafted by Fujiwara Hiro gets ample time to get fleshed out. Kyoukai no Shinigami really impressed and we loved it enough to put it in the fifth spot on our Top 10 Horror Oneshot Manga. Now then if you’ll excuse us we’re going to cover our mirrors…

Mr. Nomura day was like any other. On his way home, he ends up witnessing a fight and gets thrown into it unwillingly. Upon waking up, Nomura feels normal enough but notices something horrifying around him. Every person he sees has no eyes. While at first Nomura seems to enjoy this new world despite the odd eyeless souls, soon Nomura will notice this world may not be so great after all.

First let us say that seeing people drawn with no eyes is nightmarish. Mangaka Iwaaki Hitoshi really created a realistic looking manga with some creepy tones giving a true sense of immersion. Nomura’s tale seems so abnormal at first you almost wonder why he’s complacent with his surroundings that in turn readers will feel as if the world Nomura is in isn’t so bad. However, when you begin to see Iwaaki’s twists as the tale goes on, you’ll realize the horror that Me wo Mite Hanase truly is. While you may be able to finish Me wo Mite Hanase in less than ten minutes this oneshot will stick with you after the story ends thanks to a creepy and odd ending.

Based on the work of the dark poet Edgar Allen Poe comes mangaka Itou Yukari’s take on The Black Cat. This story follows an alcoholic who his finding his life falling apart. Abusive and cruel, his actions eventually lead to the tragic murder of two innocent souls. Feeling remorseful, the alcoholic finds that he constantly is hearing one of the souls cry out for their murders to be avenged. Is this truly a doppelganger meant to ruin the man or is it something even more sinister?

Edgar Allen Poe is known to all those who love horrific tales that ebb on the side of the macabre. That’s why we loved The Black Cat oneshot manga rendition from Itou Yukari. With incredibly dark art and an impressive use of both original ideas and source material, Itou Yukari did a wonderful job that we’d know would impress Edgar Allen Poe. This dark story is labeled on various sites as not for the faint of heart and we do agree. Take heed reader, The Black Cat is a truly creepy and horrific tale worth being on our horror oneshot list.

As children, we grew up hearing plenty of nursery rhymes. These cute tales always were interesting but sometimes had darker tones to them hidden behind the cute songs. Here’s a question for you reader. What would you do if those beloved nursery rhymes were real? Better yet what would you do if these rhymes were seeking your death?

Nursery rhymes, while usually sung in school yards, seem cute but there’s always an odd air to them. A lot of the lyrics can be considered creepy or sometimes overly dark when put towards interpretation. That’s why Kitan Jojishi Mother Goose is so incredible to us here at Honey’s Anime. This action and fantasy story melds perfectly with the horror theme by taking children’s rhymes and making them dark and horrific. Mangaka Andou Ushio really wowed us with some strong art and some cool themes that despite being a short horror oneshot really felt like it could have been a long running series. If you want some other themes then straight horror and want to have yet another horror oneshot manga ruin your childhood then read Kitan Jojishi Mother Goose.

Passing by a random furniture store a young woman enters and meets an interesting young man. This man is actually the creator of the sofas and chairs in the store. As the woman claims she can use a chair, the chair creator tells her the story of an interesting chair they have in their possession. This odd sofa was linked to a woman named Yoshiko and the creator is all too eager to explain her story. What makes this chair so special? Find out in Ningen Isu.

Once more we enter the twisted tales of Ito Junji but this time his work isn’t just his own story. From the world renowned author Edogawa Ranpo’s work titled Ningen Isu, Ito crafted a oneshot work that in his usual art style and storytelling. As always with Ito’s work be prepared for horrific images and outlandish ideas that truly impress and delight fans and newcomers to his works. We loved Ningen Isu by Edogawa Ranpo and feel Ito Junji really did his work an honor by crafting this version of it. It’s why we felt Ningen Isu was definitely worth the number one spot on our list.