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.

Ballad of Hanging Rock

I suppose it's been a bit since we traversed the terror trails of the weird west, so let's settle in now for a real dandy from the May 1986 issue of Elvira's House of Mystery #3. Every panel is locked and loaded with blazin' artwork by Angel Trinidad, Jr. And if you're wonderin' how this story fits into our macabre month of vicious Valentine love ballads from the beyond, well then, how about we just let the 'ol singin' bag of bones belt-out a beauty for ya, --you'll be swingin' along in no time.

Little Miss Gruesome / The Unbeliever

If you remember back in February I posted a couple creepers from the late 50's Pastime Publications issue of Weird Mysteries #1, a black and white one-shot (click HERE.) Now today we have a deuce of doom from a similarly spooky all-star artist mag-- the November 1959 issue of Eerie Tales #1 (also a one-shot and now the publisher name has changed to Hastings Associates.) Featuring illos from golden age greats, Bob Powell and Paul Reinman, plus a nice painted cover from George Tuska, Eerie Tales #1 is a fun, and sometimes very funny collection of horror tales, and at 52 pages long, you were certainly getting your money's worth, as the rest of the issue included terrors from Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, Joe Orlando, Jack Sparling, Angelo Torres, etc...!

HAUNTED HORROR #13 - City of Fearful Night

Big 'n lucky HAUNTED HORROR #13 is in stores today, and here's a FULL story preview (what's with some review sites only posting the first 6 pages??) of Bernard Baily's epically eerie lead-off tale as originally presented in the Jan. '52 issue of Worlds of Fear #2 (also featured here at THOIA way back in Dec 2007.) This is sort of an encore presentation for you longtime followers, so hey, tell us what you think about HH so far, --we've crawled along for 13 issues now and we'd love to hear your opinions. Anyone writing in with thoughts on HH will have their name entered into a drawing to win a copy of the Haunted Horror Vol 2 hardcover collection coming in November!

Journey to Chaos

Time once again to enter into a world of fear (the November 1952 issue of Worlds of Fear #7 to be exact), to ride along on one man’s epic, nightmarish journey into, well--- chaos! Just ignore the mythology flubs and enjoy the fun artwork and fantastical adventure angles, this one actually pays off with a real swell twist too!

NEXT: Lots of Black Magic!

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PS: My bestest comicbook bloggin' buddy sends over a darling image of his dear Mother, callin' out in the withered throes of withdrawl from the shadowy corners of Castle Pappy (mainly for more consistant THOIA postings!) Who can blame her?

"Hang in there Mum... I'm doin' the best I can!"

---Karswell