River of Blood!

Time to finish up the macabre March - April 1953 issue of Dark Mysteries #11 --and what a bonkers collection this turned out to be, eh? It's hard to beat vampires, rats, and haunted hotrods, but I think this fourth and final nail in the comic book coffin is my favorite, and perfectly packed with gory severed heads, and slimy zombie vengeance! Hope everyone enjoyed this COMPLETE issue presentation --see the last 3 posts too if you missed 'em! But don't crawl back into your coffins just yet, there's even more Dark Mysteries coming up next! I'd say "stay tombed" like I usually do, but I just told ya not to crawl back into your coffins, didn't I?

Terror of the Hotrod

Pound that putrid pedal to the metal, it's time now for some hot rod horror from the March - April 1953 issue of Dark Mysteries #11! Okay, I'm not exactly sure if Hollingsworth was the best choice for the art duties here, but he still deliver's a pretty solid, fast paced, rip roarin' creeper-- and that wonderfully witchy splash is pretty fantastic too! One more story to go from this wild issue, stay vroooomed...

Terror of the Hungry Rats

I think we'll stick with the March - April 1953 issue of Dark Mysteries #11 for a bit. It's absolutely infested with icky precode gems, like this horrific Hy Fleishman favorite about some very hungry, very violent vermin. You're gonna love it.

A Vampire is Born

We spent the first half of May in bloodthirsty Beware mode, so time now to switch it over to something darker and more mysteriously batty with another vampire bit, errr, HIT from the March - April 1953 issue of Dark Mysteries #11. And hey, it's also time to learn something new about how a bloodsucker even comes to be... I think you'll all be verrrrry interested!

Terror Needs a Stage!

Who's ready for one of the weirdest vampire stories ever posted around here? From the February 1954 issue of Dark Mysteries #16, and illustrated by none other than fearsome THOIA fan fave, Hy Fleishman! Okay, these ain't the greatest scans though, and I apologize, (they look as if they were also colored by a 4 year old with crayons!) Still, this is a wild one that will likely drive a few of you totally ape!

Bewitched

Today's story would've been a good one to save for a witchcrafty "Halfway to Halloween" presentation post. Unfortunately, we're still shivering in the first week of a very wintery March-- brrr! Ahh well, just imagine that it's actually Walpurgisnacht, or even Halloween itself, get into costume (don't forget the devil's bane!) and head on over for a party to end all parties properly-- with a black magic powered seance! And slow down a second now, or you'll forget to bring the catnip too! From the Dec. 1954 issue of Dark Mysteries #21.

Bargain With a... Worm

I'm not sure what planet the creators of this story are from, but here on Earth worms don't look like a blobby grey melted bag of trash. Even the creature itself is all "wtf!" about it too. Ahhh well, putting that completely deranged detail aside, this story is still a wonderfully weird, formless mass of anxiety and color. It's the kind of thing that made early days stories from Master Comics so bizzare and surreal... and they definitely don't come much more bizarre than this one! From the October - November 1951 issue of Dark Mysteries #3.

The Clutch of the Devil Fish!

Had ourselves a tough turkey decision to make this Thanksgiving, so now we're heading out for some seafood instead! Yep, things from the darkest depths make for a most delectable dish, but what if that thing from the deep wants to eat you back?!! A.C. Hollingsworth is in way over his head with this high seas horror hottie who's ringin' up the dinner bell on some modern day Ahabs that are literally beggin' for their just deserts and holiday desserts. From the October 1954 issue of Dark Mysteries #20. One more November helping up next...