Japanese Gothic

by Izumi, Kyōka, Kylie Lee Baker · 2026

Japanese Gothic is a lyrical, wildly inventive folk‑horror novel that weaves Japanese mythology with modern terror. The story follows two protagonists separated by more than a century: Lee Turner, a 2026 college student fleeing New York after a murderous blackout, and Sen, a teenage samurai in 1877 exile. Both become entangled with a haunted house hidden by sword ferns, encountering ghosts, a mysterious sword‑wielding woman, and a terrifying secret beneath the home. The dual‑timeline narrative explores themes of family duty, trauma, and the fluidity of time, delivering a gory, atmospheric haunted‑house tale that has been highlighted as a USA TODAY bestseller and a New York Times most‑anticipated book of 2026.