Witch Wolf Terror

Like a savage fiend lurking in the shadows, we pounce upon Werewolf Wednesday a day early cuz, meh-- why not-- Tuesday's are beastly boring, so let's give it a little bite, shall we? From the May 1953 issue of Mysteries #1.



















HAUNTED LOVE HARDCOVER VOL. 1
IN STORES FEBRUARY 7th!

HAUNTED HORROR #26 / The Gossips!

HAUNTED HORROR #26 will be in stores on February 1st, and here's a FULL STORY PREVIEW of the nauseating tale that kicks off said issue! To decap--errrr-- recap: this is the second in a series of three "HORRORS OF IT ALL SPECIALS", each story chosen by me, so you know that guarantees it to be stamped with the highest retched gag rating possible! There's another great new illustration of Mr. Karswell as well by Happy Undertaker mastermind, Drazen Kozjan too! A serious, bonifide, DON'T MISS collection of creepers and jeepers for sure! But back to today's post, this is a disturbingly infamous Mortellaro story originally featured in the September 1953 issue of Mister Mystery #13 --it's been featured here at THOIA a few times as well over the years, (remember the archive?) I'll have another sample story for you in our next post too, so stay tombed!

The Case of the Curses / From the Ocean Bottom

We've spent most of the month looking at scary 70's Skywald classics, and yes, I promised we'd finally make our way back to the fright-filled 50's-- and we are! But first, a quick stop into the early 60's. And note: this is merely a temporary detour because I was recently discussing post-code ACG "horror" with Nequam and thought, what the heck, how about an example of how a really good series like Forbidden Worlds seriously got the business from the contemptible comics code, i.e.: water it way down, remove all traces of swords (!!!) etc., --yet still manage to be "too gay" (???), --though ya know what-- also, actually strive (or struggle) to preserve OK art and remain entertaining in a doofy Ripley's Believe it or Screw It kind of way. The second two-page quickie tale feels a bit more at home here, so enjoy 'em or hate 'em, we'll be back in a few with more of the good stuff! From the August 1961 issue of a Forbidden Worlds #97.

The House of Demons!

Let's take a look at one more shivery 70's Skywald tale before we head back into the freaky 50's for the usual / unusual fare around here... today's story also comes from the nerve wracking, November 1973 issue of Psycho #15 (see our previous post too), and where as the last "horror-mood" classic relied primarily upon gruesome gore and shocking violence to achieve its mood, The House of Demons is more about shadowy atmosphere and lurking, gloomy evil. Nice, slick art from Amador Garcia too, full of heavy blacks and wonderful Poe-esque detail.

The 13 Dead Things

More gruesome horror from Skywald's psychotic 70's black and white magazine series, specifically, the November 1973 issue of Psycho #15. This one is extremely brutal-- so hold on to your heads!