Junji Ito’s name sticks out in the horror manga world like a spooky whisper in the shadows. Ito is renowned for his spine-tingling stories and eerie, grotesque visuals. His works, such as Uzumaki, Tomie, Remina, and Gyo, have thrilled people all over the world.
Ito’s ability to evoke deeply ingrained fears is nothing short of genius, but many fans are curious as to where he finds the idea for stories so horrific. It turns out that his career has been greatly influenced by his frightening experiences with the paranormal, especially one particularly creepy encounter in a tunnel that left him curious and frightened.
Junji Ito’s Encounter with the Paranormal as a Child
Junji Ito shared his haunting childhood experience in the Numan Tokyo Interview that somewhat shaped his curiosity for the unknown. As a young kid, Junji Ito and a group of friends decided to explore a tunnel late one night, motivated by curiosity about cosmic particles and local lore. What started as a light-hearted adventure turned into something chilling as they ventured deeper into the tunnel.
According to Ito, they eventually reached a blocked-off area with a concrete wall. In the middle of the wall, there was a door with frosted glass that faintly glowed with light. He recalled an eerie sensation creeping up his spine, as he stated,
We could see light through the frosted glass of the door, and I remember feeling like there was someone in the room with the lights on.
The feeling was so intense that he couldn’t shake it, and the memory stuck with him for years. This sense of an unseen presence sparked his imagination, planting the seeds for what would later become his manga The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel, where a mysterious force lurks within a cursed area known as “Demon Hill”.
What makes Ito’s work so compelling is his ability to turn personal experiences of fear into iconic narratives. The strange occurrences he saw in that tunnel served as a major inspiration for his horror manga: the mysterious surrounding area of a tunnel that summons people in there and causes strange accidents and suicides.
Junji Ito’s Creating Fear From Childhood Memories
One of the defining characteristics of Junji Ito‘s work is his ability to evoke a sense of “nostalgic horror”. Ito has often spoken about his desire to recreate the feelings of fear that people experience as children when the world is full of mysteries and the line between the real and the imagined is blurred.
Many of Ito’s stories tap into everyday events or objects that seem trivial but are twisted into something haunting. One of the best examples of this is his short story The Hanging Balloons, in which giant floating heads with nooses hunt down their human counterparts and force them to hang themselves. The chilling premise came from an innocent childhood memory: seeing ad balloons floating above buildings during his trips to the city.
Similarly, his creation for Uzumaki was inspired by his experience of living in a long-row house as a kid. Additionally, Ito’s fascination with eerie and mysterious phenomena like UFOs and flying saucers influenced his sense of curiosity about the unknown. Growing up in the countryside, these moments of awe were few and far between, making them all the more impactful.
It’s no surprise that Ito’s childhood fears and strange experiences have found their way into his grotesque and unsettling manga, where mundane memories are transformed into disturbing and unforgettable images. By transforming everyday events into the grotesque and the supernatural, Ito taps into a primal fear of the unknown, reminding readers of their own childhood fears.
Junji Ito’s Uzumaki is currently available to watch on Adult Swim.
