Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

| Original Title | 恐怖王 |
|---|---|
| Author | 江戸川 乱歩 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the shadowy streets of Tokyo, a gilded funeral car circles endlessly, its white-draped coffin concealing a sinister secret. Two men—a gorilla-like chauffeur and an enigmatic artist—orchestrate a macabre heist, swapping coffins to steal the corpse of a banker’s beloved daughter. Their plot unfolds in a decaying mansion, where the artist transforms the lifeless bride into a grotesque spectacle, staging a wedding photo to taunt her grieving fiancé. Haunted by visions of his deceased child alive, the desperate father is lured into a ransom scheme, only to discover a nightmare: her corpse entangled in a staged lovers’ suicide, branded with cryptic symbols. As authorities scramble to unravel the crime, an audacious criminal collective emerges, flaunting their cruelty through chilling clues. Meanwhile, a detective novelist and his aristocratic lover stumble upon a cryptic package—five rice grains etched with microscopic text—hinting at deeper horrors. Whispers of the “King of Terror” linger, promising a labyrinth of dread where the dead wield uncanny power over the living. |