Ring (リング, Ringu) is a series of horror novels written by Koji Suzuki. The novels were initially a trilogy, consisting of Ring, Spiral, and Loop. A short story collection called Birthday was released shortly after, introducing extra stories interconnecting the trilogy. Two further books, S and Tide, were published in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The novels revolve around a curse, embodied within a videotape, unleashed by Sadako Yamamura, the ghost of a psychic who was raped and murdered before being thrown into a well. The success of the novels led to the release of numerous film adaptations in Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
Books
Ring (1991)
This story is set in present-day Yokohama. When four teenagers mysteriously die one night at the same time, Kazuyuki Asakawa, a journalist and uncle to one of the teens, takes a particular interest in the case and investigates. This leads him to a holiday resort called South Hakone Pacific Land, where the four teens stayed one week before their death. There he watches a videotape left behind in their room which contains a series of abstract and realistic images. At the end of the sequence of cryptic and disturbing images, a warning appears: "The one who saw these images is destined to die in one week at this time. If you do not wish to die, do as will be said from now on. That is—" but the rest is erased by a TV commercial. This has a strange mental effect on Kazuyuki, who immediately believes that the tape has now placed its mark on him. He enlists the help of his best friend, Ryuji Takayama, a philosophy graduate and an self-described rapist. When Ryuji hears Kazuyuki's story, he watches the tape, and asks Kazuyuki to make him a copy for him to study at home. After Kazuyuki's wife and child also watch the tape, Kazuyuki realises he must find the truth and perform the "charm" to prevent the deaths of both his family and his friend. Their investigations lead them to search for a girl named Sadako Yamamura and lead them to the volcanic island of Oshima. Sadako was the daughter of Shizuko Yamamura, who was known for her exceptional ESP abilities but later branded as a charlatan. In depression, Shizuko jumped into Mount Mihara's crater. Later they learn that Sadako, who lived 30 years ago, was still missing. The evidence leads them back to South Hakone where they find a well. At the bottom lie Sadako's remains; Ryuji and Kazuyuki set her free by retrieving her remains from the well. Thinking they have performed the charm, Ryuji and Kazuyuki are convinced, Ryuji returns home while Kazuyuki goes to Izu-Oshima to return Sadako's remains to her relatives for a proper burial. At Ryuji's deadline, he is working on his academic papers. He dials Mai Takano, his assistant, but only manages to let out a scream as he is killed by the curse by being shown a reflection of himself aged by 100 years in a mirror. When Kazuyuki receives Ryuji's posthumous hint that the cure may have to do with the virus wanting to reproduce and surmises that the charm was to copy the tape and show it to somebody else, he rushes to his family to save them.
Spiral (1995)
The events in the story occur a day after Ryuji's death. By chance, Mitsuo Ando, Ryuji's former university classmate, is assigned to do the autopsy of Ryuji. He and his colleague, Miyashita, found a benign tumor in Ryuji's throat which is believed to be the cause of his death. They are puzzled because the tumor that they find resembles a smallpox tumor that was eradicated 30 years ago. Ando, along with his colleague, Miyashita, find out that an organism called the Ring Virus causes this tumor. The virus is transferred to the body through the tape and begins to grow into a tumor inside the viewer's throat. When the charm is not performed, the tumor grows until it blocks the airway and kills the person. To stop this, the tape must be copied and shown to another person. Inside his stomach they find the word RING and a series of cryptic messages. This further perplexes Ando. In search for the cryptic messages meaning, he comes to meet Ryuji's assistant, Mai Takano. Mai, who seems to know something about the videotape, tells Ando about the curse but is unsure how Ryuji died. As a scientist, Ando laughs at Mai's explanation. He goes to talk to Kazuyuki but finds that he and his family were involved in a car accident. It is discovered that Kazuyuki's wife and child were dead before the crash. Kazuyuki is critically wounded and unable to talk. At the accident site there lies a crushed videotape. When Mai suddenly disappears, Ando is further motivated to investigate. He stumbles upon Ryuji's files which contain the title, THE RING. He is uncertain about the discovery because it contains supernatural explanations and contradicts scientific ones. The virus mutated and uses the report as a medium. After reading the report, Ando has thoughts of Sadako and the well. Through a series of events, he is led to the well in Hakone. Days after Mai's disappearance, he meets a beautiful woman named Masako who introduced herself as Mai's older sister. He falls in love with her. In doing so, they make love one night and Masako ends up pregnant. Later he finds out that Masako and Sadako are the same. One night he receives a letter from Sadako/Masako stating: "Don't ever disobey me because you don't know who you are dealing with". Ando chooses Sadako and is told to publish Ryuji's files and dominate the world.
Loop (1998)
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