As suggested by the novel’s title, Baker draws from two prominent traditions of horror, the Western Gothic tradition and Japanese horror. To better understand the tropes that lend to the events that transpire in this novel, as well as how they reflect the novel’s themes, it is important to approach the text with a general understanding of both traditions.

Gothic horror is a literary horror subgenre that began in 18th-century Britain with Horace Walpole’s novel The Castle of Otranto (1764), which later adopted A Gothic Story as a subtitle in later editions. This novel would establish many of the staples that characterized the gothic novel, including its antiquated setting, its mood of terror, often catalyzed by the presence of ghosts and other uncanny, dreamlike presences, and its depiction of horrifying events, like murders and the revelation of scandals. After continuing through the Romantic and Victorian eras of literature, during which the Gothic tradition produced key works such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), the Gothic tradition survived into the 20th century, where it adapted the characteristics developed in Walpole’s novel into settings like haunted houses and hotels, allowing writers such as Shirley Jackson and Stephen King to become titans of the genre in its modern form through their novels, The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and The Shining (1977), respectively. These haunted settings feature labyrinthine architectures that exacerbate the characters’ psychological states, making them feel trapped in their anxieties and fears.

Meanwhile, Japanese horror (or J-horror) finds its origins in Shinto folklore, drawing from the traditions established during the Edo and Meiji periods, beginning in the 17th century and extending to the start of the 20th century. During these eras, the kaidan (literally the “strange story” in Japanese) heavily featured human encounters with ghosts and supernatural phenomena referred to as yōkai. As the form of the kaidan evolved, a recurring theme surrounding the yōkai was the supernatural quest for revenge, especially as humanity encroached upon the shrines designated as residences for the local spirits and gods. These became the building blocks for the modern incarnation of Japanese horror, in which the spirits of people would seek revenge for transgressions committed against them years before. In some cases the spirits possess the people inhabiting the space to exact their revenge or curse the people associated with the space in various ways. Koji Suzuki’s seminal novel, Ring (1991), is a clear example of this as it centers around a cursed videotape that is created as an act of revenge by a psychic young girl who is wrongfully murdered. Unlike the film on which Ring is based, the novel kept the manner in which the cursed videotape would kill its victims ambiguous, increasing the dread and intrigue around the nature of the curse. Other Japanese horror writers explore similar ideas, such as Junji Ito in his manga series, Uzumaki (2000), about a supernatural curse centered around the visual of spirals, and Edogawa Ranpo, who transposed the claustrophobia and dread of horror into mystery stories like “The Human Chair.” The overlap with mystery and thriller stories underscores the idea that Japanese horror capitalizes heavily on psychological dread to unsettle the reader.

Baker’s novel incorporates elements from both of these genres to represent the horrors that the two protagonists experience. Lee, an American who escapes to Japan after committing a horrific act of murder, finds himself in a haunted old house that manifests uncanny visions of a samurai from the past. When Sen, a young female samurai, travels to Lee’s time, she thinks of herself as a ghost, cementing the novel’s inspiration by Gothic tropes. The novel also draws from Japanese folklore, most prominently featuring the folktale of Urashima Tarō, an eighth-century tale whose structure provides the form for Baker’s novel. As Lee and Sen learn the truth about their connection, they come into contact with a spiritual being of Otohime, who has altered time to prevent the protagonists from experiencing tragic fates. Once Lee learns the truth about his repressed traumatic memories, his story becomes a tale of revenge against his father, fulfilling the expectations of the modern Japanese horror form.