The Opener of the Crypt!

It's Lurid Lit 101 time again, and after our last post which weaved a rather wicked spin on a Shakespeare classic HERE, let's fulfill a recent request for not only mo' Edgar Allan Poe, but also for some Frank Brunner art! Now this is how you really weave together some legends-- and a fine addition to our recent look at illustrators who know their way around a scary skeleton drawing too! This is based on the John Jakes sequel to Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", and originally appeared in the May 1973 issue of Chamber of Chills #4.

Garden of Horror

Sometimes the scariest place on your entire eerie estate can be that gosh-dang 'ol garden out back! Don't believe me? Check out this overgrown creeper from the April 1952 issue of Chamber of Chills #7. And if you need further proof, CLICK HERE for even more ghastly gardens of hellacious horror!

The Pale Light of... Death!

Valentine's Day is finally upon us, but we're far from the bitter end of our doomed love stories fest for the morbid month of February. And it doesn't get much more doomy than a whirlwind romance that suddenly turns murderous and suicidal in the simple span of 5 comic book pages, but here ya go none the less. From the December 1951 issue of Chamber of Chills #4, PLUS! a real gem from the Karswell Kard Kollection-- aka the saddest sunken lunk Valentine of all time! And if you're still hangin' around after that, an appropriate, though not very Valentiney, one-page bonus "True Tale of the Supernatural" from the Sept. 1950 issue of Challenge of the Unknown #6.

The Horror from the Shade

The weatherman says we're in for some cooler midwestern temps here starting tomorrow, and though we've spent the last two posts trapped in an incinerating chamber of CHILLS, it's now time to let 'ol Rudy Palais fling one last fistful of sweaty shade our way --and no, not that kind of shade! This is a really weird one from the August 1952 issue of Chamber of Chills #11, and good lord, please read the story carefully to avoid embarrassing yourself with comments like "is the last page missing?" or "ending feels too abrupt!" or whatever... the ending is rather brilliant if you ask me. And so is the smokin' hot Lee Elias cover illustration too.

Grave's End

Time for something a little more serious now from the same grave issue as our last Chamber of Chills #24 post. And for a brief 5-pager, Bob Powell fills every panel to the brim with outstanding funeral mood and atmosphere. If that ain't enough, check out that bone-chilling Lee Elias cover classic!

I, Vampire

August arrives with eye fangs planted firmly in cheeks, as Howard Nostrand goes straight for the jugular in this amazingly illustrated, but seriously silly blood sucker satire via the July 1954 issue of Chamber of Chills #24. (Some of you might remember this one from our Howard Nostrand Nightmares collection from 2016.) Plus! More Howie hits with a couple of great CCM sing-a-long song parody one-pagers to round out your chills with even more kookball chuckles.

Haircut!

Got myself a terrifying trim the other day, which reminded me of this hair-raising little story from the July 1953 issue of Chamber of Chills #18. Super duper, Jack Davis-esque art by Howard Nostrand as usual, and a truly creepy cover by lurid 'ol Lee Elias... yep, you've definitely come to the right place this eerie evening for a grave and a scare-cut!

The House!

If the penthouse a few posts ago wasn't haunted enough for ya, then try this place on for shiverin' size! I'm sure you'll definitely find it to be much more in the spirit of things from the great, ghostly beyond! And from the July 1953 issue of Chamber of Chills #18, with an atmospherically attractive art team-up by John Giunta and Manny Stallman too!