The Red Book - Reviews

The Red Book is, in essence, a collection of really short ghost stories. Nothing much really happens, just a bunch of creepy looking ghosts coming into contact with some ordinary people. Honestly, it was pretty average - I got more entertainment out of the comments at the end. They are hilarious though...

The art was pretty nice. The ghosts were genuinely pretty creepy.

If you're looking for a quick scare, one without too much depth, and haven't really read too much horror before, then you'd probably really enjoy this. If you've read a bit more horror, I can't imagine you'd be too scared of it, but you'd probably enjoy making fun of it afterwards. If you're after quality horror, though, I suggest you look elsewhere.

these are very short horror stories. you can just finish it in 30 mins or so. each horror story ends at a cliffhanger,

The artwork is very bad. It uses computer-generated, pasted backgrounds. Some of the color choices clash and look bad. The human characters are generic (which I guess is fine, since they're supposed to be everyday people), but they are also drawn simplistically and at times misproportioned. I noticed some instances of images literally being copied and pasted between panels with only minor adjustments. It's lazy artwork that is just trying to rely on the creepy, ghost-y stuff to get reactions from readers. I also didn't care for the way the emotions were drawn. The ghost people often have long hair, large bloodshot eyes, and elongated limbs or body parts. There are bodily contortions and some inhuman movements and ugliness, to help add to the creep factor.

Each installment is super short and portrays a moment right before (presumably) a person is slaughtered by a ghost. I think the basic idea behind this type of horror is sorta akin to jump-scares, though only a portion of the stories involve abrupt surprises (while the others ease into the visually impactful moments a bit more). Each installment climaxes into a creepy, out-of-place image that is meant to inspire dread (or at least discomfort) in the reader. Several of them involve us seeing something which the focal character does not see (or seeing it before the characters). This can sometimes result in slightly funny moments of irony (albeit, with dark humor), though it generally just evokes a sense of unease at the impending doom of the focal character. Some of the installments include a twist, where things will be different than we first assume. A lot of scenes involve walking at night, texting, apartment complexes, being followed, seeing things others can't, doubting what was seen peripherally.

There's no violence or gore shown. Just the implication that such things could (and perhaps will) occur. And in that sense, I can appreciate what this series is doing. It's not indulging in the cheap and easier entertainment value of blood and guts and is instead trying to distill the creeping sensation just before a slaughter. The mounting unease. Personally, I got tired of the repetition and lack of narrative substance. It's just trying to evoke a feeling. Again and again and again. Trying to evoke the same feeling, using the same methods. Yes, there are a few installments which switch things up or include some twists--and that did help keep things a bit fresher--but it was still largely monotonous.

A short horror stories where humans meet ghosts.

I read it when it was first coming out and it scared the sht out of me. Back then I was really a newbie to this whole webcomic thing so it was a pleasant experience. The art and story itself is ,maybe as some say, a bit crude and simple but it's not about appreciating the art, it's about appreciating the horror, the expectation of something is gonna pop out from somewhere or even death. I think it's a good base experience for newcomers to expand their scope of reading horror comics.