Death from the Sea

Another Toby tale shambles forth from the ominous ocean, via the January 1953 issue of Tales of Horror #4. Pro team pals, Ben Brown and David Gantz amp up the atmospherics, with supernatural scare settings on SUPER SOAKER, as a cute blonde reporter on vacation finds herself in the middle of some rather sinister, seaside shenanigans! Also of interest: this tale was reworked for Road to Disaster (1982), one of the many wild Gredown horror reprint one-shot mags from Australia, and retitled, "The Slimy Haunt." As much as I'd love to see that, I'm actually much more curious about the cover story, "Supper in the Graveyard" (aka, "Michael's Last Supper"), you must see the last scan below-- I love that crazy cover!

 

Demons Below Us!

I think we'll stick with these golden age Toby stories for a few more posts, and this time it's another one from good 'ol Myron Fass again, and from the June 1952 debut issue of Tales of Horror #1. This entry also contains an unnamed, high-collared horror host (resembling Ditko's "Mysterious Traveler" just a bit) who is possibly making his debut here at THOIA, --does anyone know for sure? So okay, with rats inheriting the Earth in our previous post (HERE!), it's now time to find out what happens when demons blow us! Wait, that's not right... 

"Who Shall Inherit the Earth?"

When dirty rats rise to power, it's time to fight the dirty rats with everything you have. Don't let the dirty rats win! From the January 1953 issue of Tales of Horror #4, and reprinted a couple times in the Eerie Pubs, as well as Haunted Horror #6. Make the dirty rats pay. Are you hearing me? Do you fully understand what I mean? Fight a dirty rat-- today!

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!"

Love from a Plant

THOIA follower, Otto, emailed me looking for some answers to a comic cover he remembered seeing at a grocery store over half a century ago, and I believe this Ross Andru / Mike Esposito pair-up from Mystery Tales #16 (1964) fits the bill. Now if you clicked the GCD link in the previous sentence, you undoubtably noticed that the story itself actually originated in the Sept '52 issue of Tales of Horror #2, that's because Mystery Tales #16 is simply a complete reprint of that entire issue, just with brand spankin' new cover art. This story also found its way into Haunted Horror #4 in 2013.

The Man Who Imagined a Monster!

Though clearly from the golden age of 1950's creepy creatures, this story feels very much like the stuff we'd see regularly a few decades later during the silver age. It's a terrifically tentacled monsterama from the January 1953 issue of Tales of Horror #4, --we liked it so much we put it in Haunted Horror #28 too! Interesting, Ditko-esque art by Ernest Schroeder.

The Treacherous Genie

Have I ever posted a story about an evil genie here? I was asked if I had from someone looking for a particular tale, so I quickly went through my archive to check, and low and behold it's hard to believe that with over 1,900 posts I somehow haven't at this point-- I mean, it really does appear that this subject matter has indeed eluded the haunted halls of Mr. Karswell's domain-- but if someone knows otherwise, please let us know in the comments! In the meantime, here's a good one from the August 1953 issue of Tales of Horror #6, art by Rocco Masterserio... and I'll see what other gruesome genies I have bottled up in my collection for future posts too! ::POOF!::