"Don't Wear That Suit"

We hope by now that everyone has figured out what they're dressing up as for Halloween. If not, you better get hustlin', cuz the big night is quickly creepin' upon us! We at THOIA also have a few shivery do's 'n do nots of our own, starting with this rather non-casual, fashionable affair, concurrently taking place in a cemetery coffin near you, via the February 1953 issue of Chilling Tales #14. Does anyone think the final panel here is a flipped swipe of the closing panel from the Atlas horror classic, The Man Who Steals Gravestones (Jan. '53?) Published a mere month apart, so it seems pretty unlikely, --but man, that's some kind of chilly coincidence if not! Okay, see ya'll soon on Hallo-scream!

The Smell of Death

Halloween is so close now you can almost smell it! And oooo doggy, can someone crack open a window or something, because seriously now, wow-- WTF is this?! From the February 1953 issue of Chilling Tales #14 comes a story so magically messed-up and downright disturbing, that I almost can't blame Wertham for trying. Maybe some of you thanatophiles can relate, --and ohhh, I'm not forgetting the olfactory obsessors out there as well! So hold on to your hairy scary nostrils, cuz this one might just reek up your week something fierce! Boy, I do believe I just ruined Halloween, hahaha...

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Fear*

*But were afraid to ask! And indeed, for many years now, we at THOIA have asked, answered, and even argued over what actually constitutes as "fear." Everyone has their own defining ideas on this subject matter of course, and no one is entirely wrong either. And this is exactly what makes us such a freaky little, tight-nit-wit family. But today, let's crack open the April 1972 issue of The Unexpected #134 and see what a very different kind of family has to say about all of this...

The Witch's Wound

One of the better posts you'll be reading here at THOIA this month is this superbly written tale of unleashed supernatural fury from the October 1951 issue of Weird Adventures #3. John Guinta does a damned fine job with the artwork as well, --I mean, just take a look at that demonically dazzling center panel on page four! I had originally planned on posting this a bit closer to Halloween, but after reading it again last night I just couldn't wait to get it uploaded. GCD believes the masterful cover design could be courtesy of Mike Esposito.

Witches Never Die!

We be inchin' closer and closer to the night of witches, --so time say we now be unleashing a double feature full of 'em! Stuart Taylor and company travel back in history to sinister Salem, --nearly making a macabre mess of their masquerade party plans! From the January 1944 issue of Jumbo Comics #59, and highlighted by some eerie fine early Iger Shop artwork. But first, let's dig back into the April 1953 issue of Mysterious Adventures #13 for a brutal lesson in just how evil the bloody, beating heart of a wicked witch can be! THOIA pays a terrifyin' tribute to the witchier ways of ominous October, with many more cantankerous old crones a'creepin' up and a'conjurin' on the way, --stay a'tombed!

The Unholy Satanists

I mentioned earlier this month that we'd see 'Ol Scratch and his minions of evil again-- and here they come now, via the November 1971 issue of Psycho #5. (Oh my, how gorgeous is that Boris cover painting by the way?!) I suppose it's not really much of a spoiler to notify you all right now, --the closer we get to Halloween, the more wicked things will certainly get around here! You have been warned...