I Read Two Books by Masked Architect of Madness Uketsu (and Lived to Tell the Tale)

One of our resident readers Shannon shares her experience of reading the works of Japanese author Uketsu.

I recently spent some quality time with a masked Japanese horror author named Uketsu, and honestly? I’m now suspicious of my own walls. Twice. First with Strange Pictures, then with its architectural cousin, Strange Houses. Here’s how it went down.

Let’s start with the debut. Imagine receiving nine seemingly innocent, childlike drawings that are riddled with sinister undertones. That’s Strange Pictures. Before long, you’re pulled into a web of interconnected stories where each doodle is a breadcrumb leading to some deeper, darker truth. It’s part manga, part mystery, part “did that kid actually draw that?” existential dread.

The book’s strength lies in its interactive pull. You’re not just reading, you’re detangling. It forces you to be clever or at least fake it convincingly.

My take? It’s the kind of unnerving read that makes you swear off revisiting your own childhood drawings, or worse, reading between the lines.

Now, onto the sequel-sounding architectural thriller, Strange Houses. Here, Uketsu ditches the child’s crayon for blueprint-style dread. Our narrator—who treats the macabre like a weekend hobby—gets dragged into examining unsettling floor plans. Dead spaces. Trap doors. Windowless rooms. All the joys of architecture, only sinister.

The result? A layered mystery that turns everyday domesticity into a conspiracy of walls. It was so unsettling I’ll probably never sleep with my back to the door again.

That said, I had to finish the puzzle. The need to know was all-consuming.

In other words: expect leaps of logic that feel less like “detective work” and more like an “architectural acid trip.”

Conclusions from Yours Truly

• Reading Strange Pictures felt like being handed a cryptic, murderous puzzle by a masked stranger - both unnerving and oddly compelling.

• Strange Houses was like a haunted open house: everywhere you turned, there was a door you absolutely did not want to open, but you kind of had to.

• Uketsu’s brand of horror? Equal parts visual clues and psychological dread. Think “puzzle box” meets “I’m not sure I can trust my own floorplan.”

• If you’ve ever wondered whether your house skews toward architectural abnormality, this will make you quiz that kitchen layout like it’s a suspect in a crime.

  
  

So, did I survive Uketsu’s masked maze of puzzles and paranoia? Technically, yes. But if my walls start whispering or my childhood sketches suddenly look… wrong, I’ll know exactly who to blame.

Strange Pictures earns a polite nod of approval, eyebrow raised. Strange Houses gets a wary shake of the head, followed by me backing out of the room slowly.

Final verdict? A solid 10/10 recommend for both. Just… maybe don’t read them alone at night. 

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Both Strange Pictures and Strange Houses by Uketsu are available now wherever books are sold.