” Birthday” by Koji Suzuki is a collection of short stories set in the” Ring ” universe.

In order to avoid giving too much away all the short stories will be described in one or two sentences.

Coffin in the sky : Let’s just say not all virgin births are holy.

Lemon Heart : A stage production with a tragic romance.

Happy Birthday : A pregnant mother struggles to find a reason to keep living.

All of these stories are worth reading. They maintain that distinct ” Ring” combination of tragedy and suspense . You will be able to follow along with the stories if you haven’t read the previous entries in the series ( Ring , Spiral , Loop ) but it definitely helps to have read them if no other reason than to avoid spoilers. A quick public service announcement though , if someone offers you a cursed video, politely decline .