This story was one of my first encounters with a Gold Key comic that truly frightened me. I mean, I was just a dopey little kid, but that evil Jack Sparling spirit with those claws and teeth --that nobody but the victim could see-- really did me good for a few sleepless nights. It also kind of reminded me of the Haunting record fiend in the old ads. From the December 1970 issue of Ripley's Believe it or Not #23.
Thirsty Thursdays are here again, with a couple of sex-crazed supernatural thingies out lookin' for some flingies. I believe most people view these Ripley's stories as being a bit G-rated and tame, but how often do you see a comic book tale from Gold Key where a helpless lady in a nightgown is grabbed by her hair, and flung onto a bed where a half-human creature can then "follow his bestial instincts?!" "The Monster of Croglin Grange" is from the June 1969 issue of RBION #14, followed by a screaming second sizzler, "Prey of the Banshee!" from the October 1971 issue of RBION #29, --this one's highlighted with a beautiful John Celardo illustrated lead female looking like she stepped right out of John Buscema's pretty girl playbook.
Brian's rockin' birthday salute in our previous post temporarily interrupted my planned Ripley-O-Rama, so here's the next installment for "Brujday Tuesday the 13th", comin' atcha from the October 1970 issue of Ripley's Believe it or Not #22. Featuring some cool transformation panels from Golden Age great, John Celardo, plus: burning at the stake, holy water in the face, a disintegrating body, tragic madness, and more! Yep, this story has a little bit of everything, including another gaspingly gruesome George Wilson cover painting to totally knock your fuzzy slippers off! A few more choice "believe it or whatevs" on the way too, so stay bruj'd...
After her husband is distracted away in the night, a naive new homeowner gets two-fingered by a pair of rock hard spirits. This is a nice, spooky little tale from the October 1975 issue of Ripley's Believe it or Not #58, and yeah, it's not really about what you think it's about after reading my intro sentence.
"Believe it, or not..."
According to the Romans, June is the most popular month to get married (named after Juno, protector of women, goddess of love, childbearing, etc), --annnnd now you understand why I'll be posting macabre marriage stories occasionally all throughout the month. So let's slide right into one now, a spooky little tale from the August 1972 issue of Grimm's Ghost Stories #5... yes, marriage can definitely be scary!
If that scary skeleton cover on the March 1978 issue of Grimm's Ghost Story #43 didn't clue you in, it actually has not one, but two boney tales within! Todays post, to me, is the better of the two, and features art by Golden Age great, Joe Certa. I think we'll save Sam's bones for another day though...
I don't really post a whole lot of Gold Key stuff here at THOIA. I mean, aside from some gorgeously painted cover art, the interior content might also look nice 'n clean, but alas, the storytelling is usually a bit on the weak side. Trial by Water is no different, it's questionably paced, and our two heroes just keep bumbling around lookin' for fun despite the multiple supernatural attempts on their dim-witted lives. But this story also contains an interesting plot element that I'm not sure I've ever seen in another horror comic tale, the art of gravestone rubbing, (which is why I've included it here this month, as this fascinating hobby seems to me to be particularly Octoberish.) And for those of you that like to take a single panel out of context, might I suggest panel one on page four, as you wander out to the cemetery with your girl to get some good rubbings, haha... from the Aug '75 issue of Grimm's Ghost Stories #25.
