The Raven Sisters

Today we lead off with another wild ACG tale, where (damn it!) typical blonde headed goodness once again triumphs over sexy, raven haired witchery. I can’t wait for the day when I finally get to see things resolved the other way around... f’realz.

From the June-July 1952 issue of Out of the Night #3

*Excerpt from COME BACK by the MISFITS

(listen)

Somewhere Waits the Vampire

From the May 1954 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #27 comes a horrifically romantic, atmospheric vampire tale with a twist, from the great Paul Reinman.

TOMORROW: A "3-for-1" Fake Dracula Fest?!

The Vampires Strike

And so begins THOIA’s Halloween 2008 Vampire & Witch Assault (if you missed the memo please check yesterday’s post for the details.) And we kick off the final week of October with a blood suckin’ George Wilhelm classic from the July 1952 issue of Forbidden Worlds #7 (the print job here rather sucks too, but messy spills of red somehow strangely improve a horror story, especially one about vampires!)

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Two somewhat underrated 70’s horror films find their way to DVD tomorrow in spiffy new “SPECIAL EDITION” versions from Synapse Films. I actually like THIRST quite a bit, PATRICK I need to see again but I remember it being pretty decent too.

(Click images below for more info!)

They Called Her a Witch!

It's my opinion that Atlas was definitely The Kings of the short and sweet “filler” terror tale. Need proof? Here’s the first one of the week, and plenty more to come… but it can hardly be called “filler” (or sweet) with such great Russ Heath art and an ending like this!

From the July 1952 issue of Mystic #10

TOMORROW: More wampires and vitches!

Devilish Dolls of Death

Today we finish up our week-long look at ACE Comics with one last Deadly Killer Dolls tale from the November 1952 issue of Hand of Fate #14. I hope everyone enjoyed the horrors this week, and tomorrow marks the start of the OFFICIAL THOIA HALLOWEEN 2008 ASSAULT. (More details after today’s story.)

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Authentic Zuni Fetish Doll

Long before Chucky was just a gleam in the Devil’s jeans, there was Trilogy of Terror '75, starring Karen Black vs. a vicious, razor-fanged zuni fetish doll bent on her destruction. Now immortalized, presumably for your own destruction, this 13-inch, faithful replication is just like the one in the movie and available to own!

Click HERE for more info and to order / die now...

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THOIA HALLOWEEN 2008 ASSAULT

Those of you that were with me last year through the final week of October / Halloween '07 might remember the gaggle o'great All Hallow’s Eve inspired pre-code stories I posted (check the back archives if you missed it.) But having seriously blown my orange and black themed wad with everything I had in my collection at the time, the big question was what to do this year to top it? And realizing I couldn’t possibly just "top it", I came to the conclusion to just "out do it" with quantity, and that means MORE stories PER day. So for the next five days, every single day this week (up to Halloween night), you’ll get TWO stories. Yep. EVERY DAY, Mon - Fri.

The other thing I asked myself was this: what defines Halloween to me? It was a tough question, and after much thought and process of extermination, I came up with--- Vampires and Witches! So for the next five days, every day, THOIA will play host to the greatest collection of vampire and witch stories you ever did see. You guys like vampires and witches right? Who doesn’t… plus! the usual assortment of other bonus goodies and horror stuffin’s you’ve come to expect. Don’t miss a single day... because the REAL Halloween Countdown has just begun!

They Strangle By Night

The ACE Fest continues into the evil hours of the weekend, and now with a theme--- DEADLY KILLER DOLLS! They’re cute, they’re tiny, THEY MURDER! For the next few days you’ll be peeking at your dolls (and action figures) out of the corners of your eyes--- guaranteed! Today’s tale in particular has one of my favorite final panels of all time, striking that fine balance between chilling and chuckle. "AAAARGH!"
From the January 1954 issue of Baffling Mysteries #19

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Another fabulous THOIA shirt photo rises from the eerie realm of the blogosphere, this time from noted author Michael Price, the man behind the Forgotten Horrors book series, as well as Human Monsters, Mantan the Funnyman, and more! It’s an honor to include Michael here at THOIA… and if you own a shirt and have not yet sent in your photo then don’t delay! Show the world how "Pre-Code" you are, and own a THOIA shirt today!

To find out more about Michael Price and his books click HERE!

The Monster Maker

Feeling like yesterday’s post didn’t quite meet the Monster Overload Quota that I was hoping for, I present to you "The Monster Maker" from the January 1954 issue of Baffling Mysteries #19. Its a hot little story to wrap up our dreary work week... and don’t forget, our Ace Fest is far from over.

THIS SATURDAY & SUNDAY DON’T MISS---

DEADLY KILLER DOLLS WEEKEND!