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...

"The Paper Ghost"

So far May has become a month to BEWARE, and we're rolling out the November 1953 issue of Beware #6 to prove it! Or are we unrolling, --or maybe unraveling it? Whatever, it's a weird story about a vengeful paper ghost (not a toilet paper ghost, anyway!), and it's a tale we liked so much that we included it in Haunted Horror #13 way back in 2014. Also, if the 2-ply terror pair-up of Belfi / Tyler art doesn't wipe you out-- nothing will! Ugh... did I really just say that?

Lost Souls

Well, how'd everyone make out on Witches' Night? I suppose if you're here and reading this that it worked out okay-- although, there are still ways of getting around the reality of death if you actually do mess with the supernatural. And if you did do some messin' around and lost your head, well, this story is for you-- so be more careful next time, ya ding dong! From the March 1954 issue of Beware #8, art by Myron Fass. 

The Passing of Samantha B

Film history has shown us that on this day, April 21st, in 1880, the 6 founding fathers of Antonio Bay, California deliberately wrecked a clipper ship off the coast so that its wealthy, leprosy-afflicted owner could not establish a leper colony nearby. All crew and passengers were killed, and the sunken ship was eventually salvaged of its treasures by the same men responsible for this senseless tragedy. I'm sure many of you that follow this blog know the rest of John Carpenter's classic, gory, ghost story. So as long as we have the SSS collection handy (see our previous post too), let's take a look at a terrific terror tale possessing quite a few similarities, via the July 1969 issue of Strange Suspense Stories #8. Spectral ship, vengeful spirit, a lonely lighthouse, lots of fog, and a care-free couple suddenly caught up in the clutches of a screaming supernatural spook. Joe Gill script, Vince Coletta illustrations, and Jim Aparo cover art, too!

The Man Who Warmed the Bones of the Dead! / The Idea!

In just a few short weeks we'll be halfway to Halloween! But as everyone here already knows, everyday is Halloween at THOIA, so let's unleash a couple of ghastly old g-g-ghosts to further p-p-prove my p-p-point! Bob Powell, (as promised in our previous post) returns to warm up this haunted house of horrors with 10 atmospheric pages of pure nightmare fuel! From the June 1952 debut issue of Strange Suspense Stories #1 --and check out that bone-chilling cover by Sheldon Moldoff! Also, if it's just too scary for some of you, how about a cute Droopy Dog bonus page via Laffy-Daffy Comics #1 (1945.) We can't let Yogi have all the fun, now can we? And okay, this isn't quite the same Droopy that some of you are likely already familiar with, but it's still a nice little chiller ghost filler! BAARRF! ARF! Give that dog a warm bone!