Bewitched!

I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of post-code 50's Atlas stories. I mean, yeah, they may contain some nice artwork from bullpen legends, --unfortunately, most of it tends to feel a bit lightweight, pandering, and unbearably bland / repetitive when it comes to the storytelling (especially when compared to the precode stuff!) But give good 'ol bad ass Bob Powell a script to bewitch the reader with, and suddenly now you're talkin' a horse of a whole different, creeptacular color! Take for example this eerie excellent entry via the August 1957 issue of Strange Stories of Suspense #16 (the final issue in this series.) Powell fleshes-out four perfect pages into one heckuva thrilling supernatural quickie-- even reminding me a little bit of Charles Beaumont's masterfully freaky, funeral planet episode, "Elegy", from the first season of the OG Twilight Zone television series. I have an equally good Golden Age Powell tale coming up next too, stay tombed...

Curse of Karnak

Wow, it's already Mummy Monday again, --time to open up another time-rotted tomb of ancient horrors! And this one is absolutely loaded with eerie Egyptian god freaks, as well as various bad decisions on the parts of our heroes. But it's a fast paced, fun yarn none the less, plus Bob Forgione (again already, too!) adds a healthy dose of cleavage to the chase so that kooky Mr. Karswak doesn't have to! On top of all that, dig the ghastly cover decap design, and rather lovely B/W table of contents page, both courtesy of Lou Morales. From the October - November 1952 issue of The Thing #5.

Deadly Doodles of Dandy

Hear that grinding noise? Is that the monolithic mills of the Gods slowly turning, or is it just Mr. Karswell uploading the final post of September 2024? Could be one, or both, and with a silly title like "Deadly Doodles of Dandy" you may just find that this Goldfarb and Baer terror team-up isn't quite as cornball as ya'd think! From the very short-lived, second and final issue of Fantastic #9, via Youthful in April of 1952.

The Slaying of Joshua Sprague!

There's a lot to beware this November here at THOIA, as I've suddenly decided to keep the blasphemous Beware! Terror Tales train a'rollin' for a few more posts, anyway. And this is an eerily illustrated Andru / Esposito classic with a gnarly mix of satanic supernatural, time travel, and brutal execution-- seriously, don't read this if you have a splitting headache! From the July 1952 issue of Beware! Terror Tales #2. CLANG!

"I Hired a Ghost!"

An appropriately themed Halloween party in a haunted house tale from the May 1953 issue of House of Mystery #14, with classic art by Leonard Starr and Bruno Premiani. And yes, maybe you're one of the odd ducks just now discovering THOIA, (really?!) --so as the eerie invite below states: "You Are Invited To Enter And Join In Our Fun!" Have a great holiday everyone, burn the midnight fires this evening, and we'll see you all next month for lots rots more!

The Horn of Palzner

Here's a bizarre one for you, from the March 1953 issue of Strange Terrors #7. It reaches for a Quatermass and the Pit type level of ancient legend and superstition mixed with a sudden shocking science fiction alien invasion swerve. It almost works too-- until it doesn't-- becoming disappointingly muddled just as it starts getting good, (and that rushed ending doesn't really help either.) But those bonkers, Mardi Gras-headed, Matt Fox-esque beings from outer space added to the otherwise realistic approach to all of the other highly detailed art, just makes for a super surreal story on par with some of the best 1950's sci-fi monster films. Who's the artist here?