Shiki ("Corpse Demon" or "Death Spirit") is a Japanese horror novel written by Fuyumi Ono. It was originally published in two parts by Shinchosha in 1998. The story takes place during a particularly hot summer in 1994, in a small quiet Japanese village called Sotoba. A series of mysterious deaths begin to spread in the village, at the same time when a strange family moves into the long-abandoned Kanemasa mansion on top of a hill. Megumi Shimizu, a young girl who wanted to leave the village and move to the city, pays them a visit never to return. She is later found lying in the forest and tragically dies. Doctor Toshio Ozaki, director of Sotoba's only hospital, initially suspects an epidemic; however, as investigations continue and the deaths begin to pile up, he learns—and becomes convinced—that they are the work of the "shiki", vampire-like creatures, plaguing the village. A young teenager named Natsuno Yuuki, who hates living in the village, begins to be pursued and becomes surrounded by death.
