In the Dead of Night

"...this is probably one of the worst offsets I've seen in a while." said Brian Barnes in the comments section of our previous story post. "I'll take that as a challenge." replied Mr. Karswell, who then proceeded to dig out a tale from the November 1951 issue of Suspense #11, one that he has wanted to post a million times before but always thought the overly primary bright, shabby blob coloring, and off register red just ruined what is clearly one of the better Atlas vampire tales of the precode era. "Maybe there are copies out there that look better?" he often pondered. But no. All the pondering and back issue bin digging in the world would unfortunately never unearth a better looking copy. And thus, THOIA ends out the month of August 2020 and sadly presents:













PS: I actually spent a small amount of time and cleaned up a lot of this, thusly 2, so it doesn't look quite as bad as it originally did. Enjoy! --Mr. K

Who Called?

THOIA has turned into Vampire Central here in the final stretches of August 2020, and our star artist of the month, Al Eadeh (who we featured in a few great posts last week), comes fluttering back once more from beyond the veil of darkness with another strange terror tale to drain your souls dry! From the December 1953 issue of Uncanny Tales #15, and please pardon the slightly off register coloring which somehow only seems to add to the overall weirdness factor!

And if you're looking for more toothy, blood suckin' weirdness, I recommend the new vampire horror film, Blood Vessel. Set at the end of WW2, a small group of Allied Force members find themselves unfortunately trapped on a nazi freighter at sea with a family of vampires. Fun stuff, especially if you're a fan of Weird War Tales comics --and films with bite!



CLICK HERE for the trailer!

The Vampire's Bride

Everyone seems to love those vivacious vampire girls, so let's see how many more lovelies I can dig up --literally!-- before the month screeches to a halt, as they say. It's a funny little Dick Ayers quickie written by Stan Lee, and from the super shiver-inducin' September 1952 issue of Spellbound #7.







FYI: Fans of anthology horror will be happy to know that NBC.com has added all 7 episodes from the spooky fun, early 80's Darkroom TV series to their free online streaming service. Hosted by James Coburn and featuring tales of vampires, voodoo, killer toys, and the supernatural, this was an unfortunately short-lived series that many of us fondly remember watching as kids. Highlights include stories and scripts by the likes of Robert Bloch, Brian Clemens, Cornell Woolrich, and more! Check it out by CLICKING HERE!

As Halloween Season Approaches...

A reminder from THOIA: I have a rapidly dwindling back stock of various Haunted Horror and Haunted Love back issues, signed copies of select Chilling Archives hardcovers and Classic Monsters softcovers, (sorry, Mummies is SOLD OUT), plus a few Haunted Horror Coloring Books and even Weird Love back issues. Fill up those gaps in your collections by dropping me a line at karswell@hotmail.com and I'll fill you in on prices and the HH / HL / WL back issue numbers that are still available. Many of these are out of print, so get 'em now before they're gone forever --or be doomed to pay ridiculous prices later! Spook up your Halloween season NOW!

(FYI: Discounts applied to all longtime THOIA followers!)

The Couple Next Door!

I get at least a couple of emails a month asking for more vampire stories --more than any other type of tale I post here, in fact-- and after feeling like I kind of gipped you guys with that fake vampire story earlier this month, I hit the vault and not only found a worthy entry from the April 1954 issue of  Mystic #29, but one by Vince Colleta that is as va-va-va-voom voluptuous as it is vicious! Seriously, there are so many attractive panels in this one it's insane --page 3 for example is simply a great collection of Sexy Girl on a Bed poses! I could elaborate more on the Sexy Girl in a Coffin panels, or the low-angle leg art on page 4, but let's get this superbly spicy sucker started already, shall we?

Horror Story

We've screamed along to a lot of great Atlas tales over the last few months (and years) around here, and as you've likely figured out along the way, when you really need one to knock your socks off, you can always rely on bloodcurdlin' Bill Everett to deliver the spookiest of sock knockers! A terrifically eerie entry (and cover!) from my all-time favorite artist, and from the April 1952 issue of Spellbound #2.

The Final Payment!

One more lurid look into the whacked-out world of Al Eadeh, and if this tale concerning a landlord's lousy practice methods doesn't make you lose your mind-- nothing will! From the July 1953 issue of Marvel Tales #116.

Only a Beast

Everyone seemed to enjoy the Al Eadeh story in our last post so much, maybe we'll take a look at more of his terrifyingly toothed, Ghastly-esque work for a few more posts. And here's a hug-filled heart warmer from the May 1954 issue of Menace #11 to really whet your worn out little whistles!

Robot That Hated / Robert the Robot!

The recent storms here in the macabre midwest knocked out the power in my lab for a few days, but we're back up and running, and comin' atcha hard 'n heavy with a rock 'em sock 'em Robot Double Feature! One is good, and one is eeeevil, but they're actually both love stories (!!!) and if you're scratching your scientific heads about that-- then read on! Al Eadeh spooks yer screws loose with a haywire classic from the February 1954 issue of Adventures into Weird Worlds #26, while joltin' Joe Maneely brings up the rear with a rip roarin' round of robo hilarity from the July 1954 issue of Crazy #7.

The Vampire's Victim

Don't snark at that goofy lookin' vampire bat in the splash too quickly now, as Mannie Banks unleashes a blood sucker unlike anything else we've ever seen here at THOIA over the many past, monstery moons! From the maliciously macabre, May 1954 issue of Marvel Tales #123.









And happy birthday to another funny fellow wise guy, THOIA chum, and Youtube's Mondopiece Theatre's very own horror host, Brian Barnes, as he turns another century older today.