An appropriately themed Halloween party in a haunted house tale from the May 1953 issue of House of Mystery #14, with classic art by Leonard Starr and Bruno Premiani. And yes, maybe you're one of the odd ducks just now discovering THOIA, (really?!) --so as the eerie invite below states: "You Are Invited To Enter And Join In Our Fun!" Have a great holiday everyone, burn the midnight fires this evening, and we'll see you all next month for lots rots more!
I wish I could retire from being a millionaire, too, so I could throw parties where people could be scared by a mist and a spindly Fu Manchu figure.
ReplyDeleteAnd he would have got away with it too, but for that meddling stone.
So were those who tried to buy it actually just interested in returning it to the temple?
"The mystery monkey man sure has the girls all agog!" Again, why didn't somebody tell me it was that easy -- for only $2.95!
ReplyDeleteI like this one, it's another scooby-doo-ish ending but I enjoy the setup. Not only is this guy going to put on a party but he is (1) putting it on during Halloween (2) in a super spooky mansion on a hill next door (3) that had a grisly death in it (4) while wearing a cursed gem.
He's really asking for it!
Happy Halloween, pals!
I don't have a problem with it, but this must be the only story ever written with the phrase "FAMED GHOST MAKER" in a headline.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a Scooby-Doo vibe at the end there. Fun comic.
ReplyDelete🎃👻🦇 Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🦇
This story has a VERY familiar "trick ending" that was overused repeatedly in DC Comics' supernatural-themed pre-code comics:
ReplyDeleteThe monster or ghost in the story turns out to be an ordinary human being in disguise.
DC used this plot so often that it became predictable in their tales.
So…. The Butler really did it then… And I see from the ad that Minstrel faces were all the rage in 1953….😬
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why this ghost-maker would stop doing business just because he was killed off. Obviously that makes him just the man for the job; his competitors might as well just give it up. And I see that retired party billionaires tend to agree: The first thing Hawley does, once he has a fatality of his own, is call up the ghostly ghost-maker's secretary. Not the cops, not the EMTs, but some kinda broker. One presumes knowing just how to monetize a dead butler is how these people got rich to begin with.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY belated HALLOWEEN, everybody!