The Vampire Puppet

After a quick skim through the pertrifyin' possessed puppet archive of THOIA's past posts (there are a lot more puppet stories than I thought!), I'm fairly confident I've never uploaded anything about one that drinks blood. So here we go, The Vampire Puppet fills not one, but two requests that came in this week, one for something puppetty, and one for the weirdest vampire story I've read in awhile. And both requests came from my friend Chris, who also admitted that he's not a fan of puppets or vampire stories. This tale on the other hand, came from the May - June 1952 issue of Witchcraft #2. And despite the nice art from Ed Goldfarb throughout, plus that iconic precode cover by Gene Fawcette, I'm sure Chris will still hate it...

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!

The Witch of Shadow Glen! vs. The Warlock of Manescue Manse!

We have witches and warlocks on Walpurgisnacht, --oh my! Yes, it's a double header of hellacious proportions as we traverse the terrifying hallowed halls of Hades in search for the perfect bday gift for Mr. Karswell, --who turns yet another year older tomorrow! Both tales today are illustrated by Gene Fawcette, with an awesome assist by Vince Alascia on inks, plus two truly gorgeous black and white illustrations by the great, Everett Raymond Kinstler! And as if that's not enough, head on over to AEET HERE for yet another wild tale of creepy cursed witchcraft! Burn the midnight fires this evening, my friends, we'll see you in May for more! 

From the December - January 1953 issue of Witchcraft #5.

The Witch of Shadow Glen!

Stickin' with the witches for another possessed post, and here's a fine example from the December 1952 - January 1953 issue of Witchcraft #5. And how about that incredible Kelly Freas cover painting? FYI I added another work of jaw dropping art for you at the very end of today's post as well-- enjoy!

Devil-Music!

One more devilish tale for you before we move on to other horrific subject matter, this time from the March-April 1952 debut issue of Avon's Witchcraft #1. Some of you already know that I'm all about the Devil-Music, but despite a nice crash crash panel, this one just didn't pack enough heat nor did it cut the spicy hot mustard for inclusion in DEVIL TALES either. Nice inks by Vince Alascia though. And with this post, we complete another full issue presentation here at THOIA-- use the search engine to check the archives [or our new indices-- Nequam], you can get the other story titles from the last scan below which is highlighted by some really cool art from the great Sid Check.

This Ship is Doomed!

Many of you seem to enjoy these Horrors on the High Seas posts, and we've got another one sailing your way now from the March - April 1952 issue of Witchcraft #1 from Avon. No art credit listed at GCD, though I'm fairly certain this is Harry Lazarus...