Sep 29, 2024
Can you create a creepy story only based around a map?
Turns out, proven by Volume 1 of "The Strange House", you can.
Upon getting my hands on this manga (thanks, German Manga Day) and turning the first pages, you are greeted by the core element of this book, which is already teased to you on the cover: A Floor Plan. A floor plan of a 2 story-house the protagonist girl and her husband want to move in, a house where the previous family suddenly moved out, without any explanation.
You, the reader, are then invited to look at the plan. Is there something… weird? An
...
unusual detail coming into your eye?
If your eye is as unschooled (or maybe naive) as mine, you will not glimpse anything too suspicious. At least there is nothing to write home about.
Or is it?
What then unfolds over the ~172 pages is a suspenseful mix of a detective story and a conspiracy theory rabbit hole the two main characters descent into further and further. The theories built around what could have happened in the house become more and more disturbing - all while the whole theory construct stays (largely) plausible.
There is a probability that you will end up feeling really uncomfortable whenever you look at that floor plan, imagining the fked-up things the main characters continue to theorize over the book's length.*
And all this without any action! No ghosts or criminals appear at the girl's home at night in an artificial attempt to scare the reader. The vast majority of the plot really only origins from the two main character analyzing that creepy floor plan. Remarkable writing. (To be fair though, I have to admit that my experience with this genre is extremely limited.)
Unfortunately, the mystery will not be solved by the end of the first volume… so the suspense will keep you in its claws and you will have to hope for the next volumes to find out the truth. Personally, I immediately preordered the next part upon finishing - something I rarely do - and pray that the following chapters are as good as volume 1 was.
*Note: There is no need to keep turning the pages back to the plan and back, as the story will provide re-prints of important plan pieces whenever necessary.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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