Ghost Hunt, Volume Seven by Shiho Inada and Fuyumi Ono

Two women have disappeared in the old mansion, and some of the investigators have fled. But SPR remains on the case to find out if the two missing women are still alive. Lin, now revealed to have Taoist sorcery on his side, tries to seek the spirits of the missing women in death. One of them is still alive, but the second is dead.

He tries to ask her who killed her, but she doesn't know, nor does she know how she was killed. Unfortunately, he cannot ask too many questions of her spirit, and she soon dissipates. But who, or what, could be hidden in the mansion and still rising to kill these young woman after having been abandoned for 80 years?

Mai's dreams don't reveal the cause, just more horror. But when Masako herself disappears after an argument with Mai, Mai feels they must find her, and the others agree. But can they unravel the house's secrets and find the hidden places where the evil that snatches and kills these young women lies waiting for more victims? And is there any way to cleanse the house of the psychic stain of evil and violence that has been so strongly stamped on the character of the house? Who is Urado, and can he be defeated?

Joined by Naru's mentor Mori, can they unravel the secrets of the mansion in time to save her and the other missing girl? And can Mai's dreams be used to find Masako and give her a bit of hope? What sort of powers does Mai have, anyway?

And excellent ending to the story, which gets spookier and scarier by the page. Truths are revealed, as well as deceptions, and only the SPR team comes out smelling like roses. We finally get to see a hint of Lin's powers when he speaks to the spirits of the murdered girl, but his powers are nowhere near those possessed by others, just different.

One of the things I like about this series is the way each tradition deals with ghosts and spirits, and there are some things that can only be dealt with through destruction, like Urado. And just like Erzebet Bathory, Urado revealed is menacing and somehow pitiful at the same time. You feel no empathy, just cold pity for him, tinged with the horror of what he has done to extend his life.

This is a great series, and every volume gets more and more intense. It's hard to see where they can go from here, but I can't wait to read it, even so. I cannot recommend this series enough, although some of the images here may cause bad dreams in sensitive readers.