The Clutch of the Devil Fish!

Had ourselves a tough turkey decision to make this Thanksgiving, so now we're heading out for some seafood instead! Yep, things from the darkest depths make for a most delectable dish, but what if that thing from the deep wants to eat you back?!! A.C. Hollingsworth is in way over his head with this high seas horror hottie who's ringin' up the dinner bell on some modern day Ahabs that are literally beggin' for their just deserts and holiday desserts. From the October 1954 issue of Dark Mysteries #20. One more November helping up next...

Where Zombies Walk!

The December 1952 - January 1953 issue of Witchcraft #5 is a wild collection of stories, and sports one of the greatest precode horror covers of all time, masterfully created by King Kelly Freas. And with this final A.C. Hollingsworth zombie tale post (boy, did someone seriously drop the ball with that splash page title treatment-- PU!), I do believe we have now posted the entire issue here at THOIA. A lovely Everett Raymond Kinstler illustration on the inside front cover is the icing on the cake! Check the archive for "The Witch of Shadow Glen", "The Warlock of Manescue Manse", and "The Witch of Death!" for more!

Some Die Twice

If you've been paying attention, the last three story posts have all been from the June 1954 issue of Dark Mysteries #18, and todays A.C. Hollingsworth illustrated tale is no different. In fact, it's been a while since we've had a full issue presentation around here, so let's finish up this 4 course banquet of cut-up corpses, vampire creeps, and (now) cannibalistic brutality! We even have a great Hy Fleishman cover! Hope everyone had a terrific time with this one, maybe we'll do another in Dec! 

The Bloodless Killer

We ended March with some macabre madness from the May 1953 issue of Fight Against Crime #13, so let's kick off the new month with another story from the same old rotten rag! And like the other tale, this one also includes an "axe-citing" climax of creeptacular choppery! Some fun art by A.C. Hollingsworth too, he's usually real hit / miss with me, but he honestly delivers some pretty good visuals this time around, even if most of them feel like swipes from other comics.

The Ripper's Return

One more from the Sept '52 issue of Tales of Horror #2 (see previous post for another), and it's a short, but oddly entertaining mix of Jack the Ripper and muddled, mad science. And despite the usual kooky perspective issues, the Hollingsworth art is actually pretty solid here for once too.









"All hear my warning, never turn your back on--
THE RIPPER!"

Kill No More!

Got another goofball gorilla tale for you today, this time from the July 1953 issue of Beware #16. I suppose the surrealness of this silly story is the real highpoint here, because the A.C. Hollingsworth artwork feels just as exceptionally uninspired and phoned-in as the slap-dash, crap coloring.

Anatomical Monster

Another one from the April 1953 issue of Eerie #11 (see our last story post as well.) It's a tale that's just as fun as it is wildly frustrating, mostly due to some writing problems that are somehow even more flimsy than the wonderfully whack Hollingsworth art. See what you guys think as we finally get rolling with some stories here in July 2019 --lots more on the way too!















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Princess of the Subway

A. C. Hollingsworth had not one, but two stories featured in the Oct / Nov 1952 issue of Eerie #9 (see our previous post if you missed it somehow), and yes, it's another bit of artistically uneven fun, but this time spiced-up with a little more sexiness-- and a whole lot more weirdness!