The Stone of the Dying Druid / Maid in the Morgue

Sprinkled among the macabre mix of assorted monsters, horrors, and mind numbing murder posts all this month, we've also been occasionally visiting the ominous, occult "Manhunt" case file adventures of Kirk of Scotland Yard, and this time it's a tale concerning a centuries spanning cursed object that could possibly spell doom for our 'ol crime bustin', pipe chompin' chap! From the March 1948 issue of Manhunt #6, and yesss, I am forced to post yet another great Ogden Whitney cover illustration too, one that ties in with the terrific text story inside the front and back cover-- and just like our last post is also written by Gardner Fox. And hey, after today's post, head over to AEET HERE for yet ANOTHER great tale from the pages of Manhunt! You won't be sorry...

The Avenging Axe

It's been ten years since I've posted a comic book text only story, and while some of you will probably feel cheated or scream bloody murder about it, let's first take a look at who the actual accomplished author of it is, as well as how it accompanies that rather spectacular cover illustration by Ogden Whitney. That's right, the cover art from the October 1947 issue of Manhunt! #1 follows the Gardner Fox TEXT STORY of this issue, --and not one of the illustrated tales! It's actually a pretty good yarn to boot, not to mention it's also a Kirk of Scotland Yard adventure which I promised more of this month (and any excuse to post that great cover is of course actually no excuse at all.) But FYI another illustrated Kirk tale will be up shortly for those of you still feeling cheated and / or still screaming bloody axe murder...

The Old and the New!

I very rarely, if ever, upload post-code ACG stories to this blog because... well... typically they're not that great. But today's story from the November 1957 issue of Forbidden Worlds #60, is actually a bit spooky at times thanks to Ogden Whitney's chilling winter touches, plus some nice writing that propels this somewhat predictable premonition story along in the same fun manner as an old Twilight Zone or Tales of Tomorrow tv episode. And the added bonus-- a New Years Eve setting!



















Here's hoping that everyone has a wonderful evening, stay safe, and we'll see you all on the other side, as we kick off the new Roaring 20's with lots, lots more!

Happy New Year! 

Terror from the Tomb!

If you couldn't tell, I'm a big fan of these 1940's / 50's detective stories featuring sexy, supernatural overtones, and this oddly written sock 'em shock 'em --also from the same April 1948 issue of Manhunt #7 as our last post HERE --is certainly no exception! Here we find juicy Jim Fallon of the FBI on the case (I say "juicy" because dig the babe checkin' out Jim at the top of page 3!); we also have a potential va-va-va-voom vampire girl on the prowl, brutal thugs turnin' up the horrific heat, and THOIA fan fave artist, Ogden Whitney, signing his freakin' name right in the middle of the harrowing climax! Fun, off-beat stuff that should've been made into a spooky movie or TV show back in the day, and starring Vikki Dougan as the female lead, please...















Va-Va-Va-Vikki Dougan!

The Unexpected! / Pain!

Two killer Atlas tales from the September 1954 issue of Mystic #33-- ominous art on the first story by Ogden Whitney, while the second yarn features the distinctive work of Tony DiPreta. And hurry back this weekend-- our next post will feature details on a long awaited THOIA contest!

The Buried Brain

In case you missed the memo, we're in the middle of a "Brain Fest" here at THOIA... and here's a cool 'n creepy entry from ACG fan fave Ogden Whitney, from the Jan. '52 issue of Adventures into the Unknown #27 (actually this tale is totally brainless, but still fun.)

The Crawling Horror vs. The Thing Behind the Wall

In this corner weighing in at 2 tons: The Crawling Horror from the May 1952 issue of Mystery Tales #2. And in the other corner weighing in at 68 pounds: The Thing Behind the Wall from the May 1952 issue of Spellbound #3.

This wraps up our look at the great Ogden Whitney, hope you enjoyed it.

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This weekend--- more Dark Mysteries!