Each Night I Drown in the Pool

Something evil is bubblin' down below-- and I'm not talking about your stomach after chowin' on too many White Castle burgers last night! It's a double dose of watery weird doom for you to dive right into today, and Frank Springer again returns to THOIA with a terrific spin on an 'ol resurfacing ancient curse, from the March 1966 issue of Ghost Stories lucky #13. But first up, Karswell fave, Vernon Henkel delivers a deadly deep discovery with every breath youuu take, via the September 1952 issue of Suspense #22. Better call The Police! And just to make things even more fun, I've included a one page tale about another young lady who wants to drown, via the I Forget Where I Found This Thing #-0. Sorry.... anyway, I'm pretty certain that the saucy artwork is by the always great Bill Wenzel, at least!

Night of Horror / The Stranger

We saw some super fine Frank Springer art just a few posts ago over at AEET HERE, and now he springs forth yet again here with a familiar old, urban legend-style, spook story set-up, via the June 1966 issue of Dell's Ghost Stories #14. And yes friends, it all takes place on New Years Eve! But first, let's see what the great cover illustration of our previous post was about as we once again return to the April 1952 issue of Suspense #17. Hmmm, have I really not posted a Werner Roth story since 2019?! For shame! I'll see what I can do about that in the coming year. And speaking of, while some of you will likely be out and about, having a party packed evening of festive fun, other's will be experiencing quite the opposite. In fact, you might even call tonight a "Night of Horror!" Yeah, that's the way we do things around here at THOIA, anyway. And if the drunken car crashes and hellarious graveyard hazing antics don't finally do you in, then be sure to come back here next year and see what other terrors ominously await! Happy New Year, everyone-- we did it! 13... 13... 13... 13... 13... 13... 13... 13... 13... 13... 13... 13...

Still Life

The October 1962 one-shot issue of Tales from the Tomb #1 (published by Dell) is 84 freaky pages of varied anthology horror about ghosts, monsters, and all manner of eerie bumps 'n boos in the night. It's a fun, though somewhat mixed bag, with the real stand-out story for me being this engagingly casual 8-pager about an artist and his friendly female neighbor discussing the man's recent return from the cursed countryside. Their breezy cool, flirty conversation in a big city loft feels nothing short of a spooky stage play, slowly turning more and more ominous with each chilly page turn, until that single... final... panel...

Strangers in Our Midst

Fans of John Carpenter's unique 80's sci-fi action film, They Live, may find some interestingly familiar plot details about today's post, courtesy of the November 1967 issue of Dell's The Outer Limits #16. And I guess maybe I've already said too much, so without further spoiler ado, let's just let the story do the talking-- as well as the art, because like our previous Outer Limits post, the illustrations here are also by Jack Sparling. Now, who brought the bubble gum?

What Happened to Charley Banes?

Surprised myself this week after realizing that in all the years I've been posting stories online here at THOIA, I've yet to post any from Dell's fun 60's comic spin-off of the great television series, The Outer Limits. And this is a unique yarn to correct my oversight with, mainly because it has a little bit of everything: horror, humor, beach babes, a tunnel of love, neat Jack Sparling artwork, and a cool monster that looks a little bit like the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Add one final "last name" ingredient into the mix (spelled correctly on the cover, but not in the story, dagnabbit!) and you have one winner of a fishy tail freak-out. From the April 1967 issue of The Outer Limits #12, and we'll take a look at another great story from this series in our next post as well, stay tombed...