Friday, May 4, 2018
The Tunnel of Horror
I'm always surprised that there aren't more precode horror stories about haunted dark rides or tunnels of love type spook house terror attractions. There are a few, of course, but still the subject matter alone seems like the perfect no-brainer setting for many a comic book tale or movie. Anyway, here's a somewhat short but sinisterly sweet one from the Summer 1952 debut issue of Nightmare #1.
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9 comments:
'Tis pity Robert Bloch's story "Tunnel of Love" (1948) was never (to the best of my knowledge) adapted into a comic. It would have made a fine one (come to think of it, many Bloch stories had the punchy set-ups of horror comics, with a final sentence/paragraph that lent itself admirably to being the finale panel/splash).
Yeah I love that story... Actually just re read it only a few months ago
The cover of this issue is great! If you post another tale from this issue you should slap up the cover.
Unknown artist did an interesting job. It's scratchy and seems like a pretty quick job but the inkiness works for the story. Now the story, it's a weird one. Sure, our hero is a murder and deserves his fate, but he also had a crime (obviously not as bad) committed against him, and no comeuppance for that bad guy. There's basically not a likable character in this story, and, again, I think it works.
Happy Birthday, belatedly.
These people should have returned that ring to the authorities. I can't believe god didn't smite the whole damned town for this moral lapse.
You're sure right about dark rides in comics. I mean, as many carnivals and wax museums pop up in precode stories--and tunnels of love in movies and cartoons made contemporaneously--you'd think there would be a lot more of this type of thing. A dark ride is just a wax museum with a slow-moving rail car, for land sakes.
I like the art fine, but Barlow didn't look like he was being played by the same guy in any two panels you choose.
Tunnel of love/tunnel of horror stories are not just few and far between in horror comics but in horror movies as well. Funhouse 1981 is the only one that I can think of off hand. tunnel of love/fear or frightening Funhouse are sub-genres of horror that have been overlooked through the years and decades. What could be more frightening than something meant to create mirth causing fear instead?
Funhouse is one of my all time favorites. There was a movie called Dark Ride from about 10 years ago as well but it was kind of meh. And actually the end of Child’s Play 3 has an incredible dark ride sequence too!
I know they aren't full-on horror movies about tunnels of love, but this conversation probably needs to include mention of the best scene in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train where Robert Walker stalks Laura Elliott through one, and the gloriously eye-popping funhouse finale of Orson Welles' Lady from Shanghai.
Excellent comments and discussion, thanks everyone!
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