There are several reasons why people are drawn to horror. It might be the adrenaline rush certain horror series provide. They might also provide a specific sort of escapism, one where the viewer can feel safe knowing all the terrifying things they're watching aren't actually real. Perhaps it's the tendency for these works to explore dark and taboo themes that other genres tend to stay away from.

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A lot of horror manga tend to be aimed at the seinen demographic, probably because going for an adult audience allows creators the freedom to guide their works in any direction they want. The following works are some of the finest in the genre, whether they're deep explorations into the human psyche or brutal gore-fests.

10 Terra Formars

MyAnimeList Score: 7.23

• Release Date: July 2011
• Creator: Yu Sasuga (writer), Kenichi Tachibana (artist)
• No. of Volumes: 22

People who are deathly terrified of cockroaches may either want to stay away from this series or dive in and face their fear. Terra Formars is a horror sci-fi series set on Mars. A group of scientists in the 21st century was tasked with terraforming the planet so that humans could live on its surface.

Unfortunately, their plan to use cockroaches to spread a special algae across the planet went horribly wrong. Five hundred years later, the crew aboard the first manned ship to Mars discover that the cockroaches have mutated into humanoid abominations. With beautifully detailed artwork, Terra Formarstaps into a deep-seated, primal human fear.

9 Elfen Lied

MyAnimeList Score: 7.82

• Release Date: June 2002
• Creator: Lynn Okamoto
• No. of Volumes: 12

It's the series people go to when they want to convince non-fans that anime and manga aren't just for kids. Elfen Lied is about a race of special humans called 'Diclonii', who have horns and telekinetic powers. Lucy, one such Diclonius, is selected to be the subject of a human experiment on Diclonii.

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Lucy, after escaping the research facility, is met with a head injury that splits her personality into her regular, violent self and one with the mental and verbal abilities of a child. She is found and taken in by a boy named Kouta and his cousin Yuka. It's highly recommended that anime-only fans check out the manga, as the show only covered some of the source material.

8 I Am A Hero

MyAnimeList Score: 7.67

• Release Date: November 2009
• Creator: Kengo Hanazawa
• No. of Volumes: 22

Often called the greatest zombie manga of all time, I Am A Hero follows a 35-year-old mangaka assistant named Hideo Suzuki. Hideo, crippled with low self-esteem and relationship problems, finds himself in the middle of a horrific situation, beyond what nightmares could come up with.

A disease named ZQN has been running rampant, turning people into zombies. Hideo, armed with only a shotgun, tries to flee the city, all while trying desperately to stay alive. I Am A Hero is a dive into the psychological horror genre, questioning if humans are the real monsters.

7 Gantz

MyAnimeList Score: 8.10

• Release Date: August 1997
• Creator: Hiroya Oku
• No. of Volumes: 37

For horror fans who are more into graphic gore and nudity, look no further than Hiroya Oku's Gantz. The story is about a room with a strange black sphere called Gantz. Cynical high-school student Kei Kurono and his classmate Masaru Kato, while trying to save a drunk homeless man, get hit by a train and end up in the room with the Gantz sphere.

Gantz equips the two with power suits and futuristic weapons and sends them on a mission to hunt and kill alien targets living on Earth. Kei and Masaru aren't the only ones participating in this deadly game though - they're joined by various individuals who all died at different points in time.

6 Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror

MyAnimeList Score: 8.17

• Release Date: August 1998
• Creator: Junji Ito
• No. of Volumes: 3

What would a horror manga list be without the beloved Junji Ito? Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror is perhaps the horror legend's most famous work. It's about a high-schooler named Kirie Goshima who lives in a quiet town called Kurouzu-cho. One day, she discovers that her boyfriend's father's strange obsession with spirals, a fascination that turns out to be contagious.

Kirie and her boyfriend, Shuuichi, explore the bizarre and terrifying ways this spiral obsession manifests within the townsfolk, all portrayed with Ito's signature surreal, detailed art style.

5 Blame!

MyAnimeList Score: 8.30

• Release Date: September 1997
• Creator: Tsutomu Nihei
• No. of Volumes: 10

Fans who are into the more psychological and atmospheric side of horror will get a lot out of this classic manga series. Blame! is set in a sparsely populated, post-apocalyptic city. Killy, the silent protagonist, possesses an incredibly powerful weapon known as the Gravitational Beam Emitter.

Killy is on a mission to explore the city, fight off threats, and find a human with 'Net Terminal Genes', which allows them to access the city's control network and unravel the world's secrets.

4 Tokyo Ghoul

MyAnimeList: 8.53

• Release Date: July 2011
• Creator: Sui Ishida
• No. of Volumes: 14

Tokyo Ghoul is one of the more character-driven series in the genre, with a lot of body horror as well. The story is set in Tokyo, where flesh-eating monsters known as ghouls exist alongside humans. The protagonist, the introverted Ken Kaneki, goes on a date with a girl named Rize Kamishiro, who turns out to be a ghoul.

After being attacked and receiving an organ transplant from the ghoul during surgery, Kaneki becomes a half-ghoul, who still has his humanity intact despite a hunger for human flesh. He finds himself in the middle of a human-ghoul conflict and struggles with various moral dilemmas that come with his half-ghoul nature.

3 Hellsing

MyAnimeList Score: 8.30

• Release Date: May 1997
• Creator: Kouta Hirano
• No. of Volumes: 10

Perhaps one of the most violent vampire manga out there, Hellsing follows a powerful vampire named Alucard, who runs the Hellsing Organization. Led by Sir Integra Hellsing, the organization combats supernatural threats that threaten England's queen.

Alucard, along with Integra Hellsing and former police officer turned vampire Seras Victoria, battles various factions, including Nazi vampires and other undead creatures, as he tries to protect England and uncover the mysteries behind these vampire attacks.

2 Dorohedoro

MyAnimeList Score: 8.69

• Release Date: November 2000
• Creator: Q Hayashida
• No. of Volumes: 23

Dorohedoro caters to horror fans who also have a dark sense of humor. It's set in a gritty, post-apocalyptic world divided into three realms - a decrepit, polluted city called Hole, an otherworldly realm called the Sorcerers' world, and Hell, an afterlife ruled by demons.

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The main character Caiman, a human with a reptilian head, has no memories of his past and is on the hunt for the sorcerer who cursed him. Teaming up with his friend Nikaido, he navigates the streets of Hole while battling adversaries along the way.

1 Berserk

MyAnimeList Score: 9.47

• Release Date: August 1989
• Creator: Kentaro Miura
• No. of Volumes: 42 (Ongoing)

Kentarou Miura's dark fantasy series Berserk is one of the most beloved manga series of all time, with several anime and video game adaptations. The story follows Guts, a mercenary with a tragic past who seeks only one thing. He was betrayed by a former ally named Griffith, and now he's out for blood.

Berserk is one of the best-selling manga series of all time, with a 25-episode anime adaptation in 1997, an anime film series covering the Golden Age arc in 2012, and a second anime series in 2017.

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