Master of Masks and Mystery!

May was such a grueling month of hideous, downbeat horror tales, I thought maybe kicking off June with some kid friendly fun could really shake things up around here! And don't for a single second think just because it's Spiderman in a haunted house that this one doesn't deliver the chills-- the final twist panel, in fact, makes this story very worthy of its inclusion here at THOIA. From the Dec. 1974 issue of Spidey Super Stories #3, with art by Win Mortimer and Mike Esposito!

Hugo at the Monster Rally (AD)

A fun, comic book style ad for one of the best Kenner hand puppet toys of the 70's --you could even wear the interchangeable disguises on your very own face --it's Hugo the Man of a Thousand Faces! Dracula ("BLYAH!"), Frankie ("HYUCK!"), the Wolfman ("YIPE!"), and heck, even Peter Lorre ("SNERK! SNERK!") showed up for this one! BEHOLD:

I Killed Mary

Well, if you were paying attention in the intro of the previous post, then you probably saw this one coming next. Even more shocking than the story itself is that somehow, in all these years, I've never posted this original January 1954 issue of the Weird Mysteries #8 version until now (though I did post the very graphic Eerie Pub re-title / remake a few times in the THOIA Archive HERE, and we put it in Haunted Horror #22 too.) So how well does this story hold up today as a reflection of modern society ie: high schooler frustration levels, teen suicide, clueless parenting etc? Spot any Jack Davis swipes?

Raising the Devil

Time once again to evoke something entertaining and eerie, it's a swingin' 70's spin on Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife scenario where we find bored suburban couples trying their hand at summoning the Satanic supernatural-- and with the usual, unpredictable results, of course! From the ominous October - November 1977 issue of DC's Secrets of Haunted House #8, featuring Bernard Baily pencils, Win Mortimer on inks, plus a really great Mike Kaluta cover too!

The Monster Kits / A Game of Squirt

It's kind of fun to find horror stories that clearly attempted a spooky spin and capitalize on popular fads of the time, like Monster Model Kits and Silly String, for example. And here are two interesting tales to prove my point: Frank Thorne's "The Monster Kits" from the March 1965 issue of Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #9, and "A Game of Squirt" illustrated by Giorgio Cambiotti, from the February 1972 issue of Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #39. And the cool thing about some fads is that they're actually still alive and lurking around too!

Hey, don't miss The 1st Annual Boris Karloff & Mr. Karswell Thanksgiving Feastival of Fear Collection-- NOW PLAYING at And Everything Else Too... CLICK HERE!

Cry in Car 13

Here's something different for you, from the October 1973 issue of The Witching Hour #35. And similar to an emotionally fueled episode of The Twilight Zone, we discover that sometimes man can be just as monsterous as anything supernaturally charged with evil. But is it horror?

The Secret of the Moaning Ghosts

I posted this Sergeant Spook tale waaaay back in 2008 HERE in its strangely less exciting, recolored / 1963 reprint version-- so here it is again in all of its original superdupernatural, fists a'flyin' fun (aka a much better encore presentation) from the far superior, October 1942 issue of Blue Bolt Vol. 3 #5. Plus, we finally get to see that amazing John Jordan cover art! For an extra good laugh, read the whiny comments on the original post, it's truly amazing that I'm even still maintaining this blog. I mean, the script was written by Mickey Spillane!