House of Mystery #1<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n December 1951<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Blonde woman running with pack of wolves being watched by two hunters) \u2013 Win Mortimer + Charles Paris<\/p>\n \u201cMan or Monster?\u201d (Bob Brown)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ghost of Paris!\u201d (???) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Curse Of Seabury Manor\u201d (???)<\/p>\n \u201cCasey the Cop\u201d (Henry Boltinoff) \u2013 one-pager, humor filler<\/p>\n \u201cWanda Was A Werewolf!\u201d (Win Mortimer ?)<\/p>\n \u201cSuperstitious Lover!\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n HOUSE OF MYSTERY offered you 44 pages for your 10 cents<\/strong> \u2013 from the first to the fifth issue. Then they switched to the usual 36 pages (like SENSATION COMICS did when they started featuring horror stories at the same time, in January 1952).<\/p>\n The opener (\u201cI Fell in Love with a Witch!\u201d) is more crime than horror. It\u2019s a clever constructed case about private investigator Carter Blake who falls head over heels in love with Jean Brewster. Of course he does some background checking and is led to believe he may be in love with a man-killing witch<\/strong>! In the end there is a rational explanation to everything. \u00a0It\u2019s a thrilling read, but do not retrace the plot steps! They build up too much mystery to let it go up in smoke. Just telling ya\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cMan or Monster?\u201d is a shameless variatio<\/strong>n of „Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde“. Dr. Hunt gets addicted to a formula which transforms him into a brutish beast and commands him to murder his friends. Hunt remains undetected because he changes back to human form just in time. The open ending<\/strong> (\u201cWhat had I escaped from? To kill again, and again, and AGAIN?\u201d) is quite a surprise and I always like first-person narratives!<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ghost Of Paris!\u201d shocked me, because the (uncredited) art look like pencils by Rudy Palais! Or someone swiping Rudy. Then again, some clown credited the art in \u201cThe Curse Of Seabury Manor\u201d to Bernard Krigstein! So, we\u2019re all seeing ghosts here.<\/strong> It\u2019s a mystery book, innit?<\/p>\n DC HORROR\u2019s first book wraps it up with \u201cWanda Was a Werewolf!\u201d, another first-person narrative (they seem to go for them). The downside to FPNs, of course, is that they\u2019ll most likely end on a happy note<\/strong> (narrator surviving). This story could\u2019ve been called \u201cMy Sweetheart Is a Werewolf\u201d, because that\u2019s what happens to protagonist Doug Martin. His Wanda is running with the wolves<\/strong> at night! But not because she\u2019s the werebeast everybody\u2019s been looking for, but because she\u2019s drugged into her strange behavior \u2013 by an ill-meaning cousin! Jeepers! There it is again \u2013 the DC twist!<\/p>\n The DC ratio-twist! All horror is just illusion. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I can\u2019t possible stand too much of these story resolutions. Will they do it over and over again? It can be charming; I swallowed it in \u201cI Fell In Love With a Witch!\u201d \u2013 but don\u2019t strain my brain, folks!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #2<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n February 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Woman crying over dead man while the ghost of the man protests) \u2013 Curt Swan + Ed Smalle ?<\/p>\n \u201cThe Secret of Salzo the Great\u201d (???)<\/p>\n \u201cTree of Doom!\u201d (Jim Mooney)<\/p>\n \u201cI Was A Dead Man!\u201d (Curt Swan + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n \u201cGhost River\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Strange Experiment of Dr. Grimm!\u201d (???)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Mark Of X\u201d is again a first-person narrative. Suspense writer Grace Deems creates a high-flying TV show about a hairy monster called „X“. But then an X-like creature materializes and starts harassing people. Comedy gold! Ridiculous beyond description.<\/strong> The \u201cmonster\u201d itself is nothing but a laughingstock. What looks like a haystack on stickfigure legs? The frightful CREATURE X \u2013 terror of the US nation. It has a \u201ccloven hoof\u201d it will kick you with! Jeez, I think I wet my pants. Laughing. See it pictured here:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Secret of Salzo the Great\u201d is an inane crime \u201cshortie\u201d of three and a half pages about a magician using hypnosis to commit crimes. \u201cTree of Doom!\u201d mixes crime with horror as an old tree seems to come alive to avenge the death of his painter \u201cfriend\u201d. Tree-hugging wacky nonsense.<\/strong> Gosh, golly and darn!<\/p>\n The next first-person narrative awaits us in \u201cI Was a Dead Man!\u201d. Uranium prospector Clyde is tricked into believing that he died and walks around as a ghost. His criminal partner Steve wants to drive him mad to get his hands on the valuable claim.<\/p>\n Now ponder for a moment on that exposition. Then realize how absurd this story is<\/strong>! Clyde runs around the jungle for three pages fearing he has died: There is no fog on the mirror, he is able to touch a hot stove without feeling it, and his bride does not notice him. Those are quite intriguing scenes. Which are resolved like this: the mirror has been coated with chemicals so that it doesn\u2019t fog anymore. The hot stove is cold, but emanates dry ice \u2013 looking like a hot one. Clyde\u2019s bride Jane does not notice him, because a one-way mirror has been installed. All that in the middle of the frigging jungle<\/strong>!<\/p>\n And with very uncertain results! Had Clyde only shouted once for Jane, every single dumb trick would\u2019ve gone up in smoke. As it does, of course! Whose addlebrained mind installs such devices?<\/strong> Who\u2019s thinking up those storylines?<\/p>\n So far HOM #2 has been a broadside of baddie comic book culture<\/strong>. Fun! What about the last contribution: \u201cThe Strange Experiment of Dr. Grimm!\u201d? Fun, too! Doctor Grimm revives the brain of the executed killer Nick Nolan. He falls under the criminal\u2019s spell and has to do his bidding, meaning killing the lousy D.A. who sentenced Nolan. Luckily a lightning bolt (!) out of the blue interrupts the trance and Grimm is master of his senses again.<\/p>\n Brace yourself for the final twist, though: It was all a hallucination<\/strong>! The brain let the doctor only IMAGINE the last step of the murder. What the f\u2026.?! And go figure. They lost me there!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #3<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n April 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Puppeteer ripping apart his talking dummy on stage) \u2013 Bob Brown + Ray Burnley<\/p>\n \u201cThe Mysterious Painting!\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cShe Wakes Up Screaming\u201d (Ruben Moreira, signed)<\/p>\n \u201cAncient Legend!\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Prophecy of Doom\u201d (Howard Purcell)<\/p>\n \u201cI Was A Victim of Black Magic!\u201d (George Roussos)<\/p>\n \u201cThe House Where Evil Lived!\u201d (Curt Swan + Stan Kaye)<\/p>\n Let\u2019s delve into DC\u2019s take on devil puppets<\/strong> with \u201cThe Dummy of Death!\u201d: It\u2019s a great horror story \u2013 for 7 of its 7 and a half pages. The critical half page revokes everything which kept the story going before. Sounds good? Yes, for 7 pages. Last half page is the infamous DC anti-twist.<\/strong> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxlink FHxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n Hold on to your seats, please: A midget actor had taken the place of the puppet \u2013 to make Lang confess his crime! That went unnoticed by a professional puppeteer for weeks?!<\/p>\n God, I want to kill someone at DC right now!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cShe Wakes Up Screaming\u201d offers a very nice splash by Ruben Moreira; else it\u2019s a confusing account of a mad woman who is being treated with seemingly supernatural surprises to \u201cshock\u201d her back to sanity. I didn\u2019t get it, frankly, and I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Prophecy of Doom\u201d is another shocker. You can\u2019t go THAT wrong<\/strong> with explorers excavating an Egyptian tomb and being hit by a curse, still DC writers manage to turn this into some kind of lunatic comedy<\/strong>. Have a look at the bottom panel on page 4 (of 6). Not only is there no drawing space left, but all four characters behave silly like hell:<\/p>\n In the end it turns out to be a sham from the start. The professor and the Egyptian guide want to rob the tomb and kill the others. How, may I ask, did they arrange for the first explorer to get hit by an arrow \u2013 fired from within the unopened tomb?!<\/p>\n DC twists are getting on my nerves!!!<\/strong> And this in only the third book I\u2019ve been reading\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI Was A Victim of Black Magic!\u201d: A wheat fungus makes a French woman fantasize about demons. Yes, you can break it down to this statement. Kind of a medical thriller<\/strong>, if you will. Sadly, my head hit the table top when I fell asleep during the wordy explanation to another ruthlessly constructed pseudo-horror tale.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve written down a lot of story synopses in the Grand Comics Database, but never one like this \u2013 about \u201cThe House Where Evil Lived!\u201d: \u201cPaul and Helen Morris win a house on the Mexican border which is said to be haunted. Three men died there, and nightly spooks keep running through the cellar. Turns out that illegal aliens are smuggled through the house into US territory.\u201d<\/p>\n Gotta hand it to the DC writers<\/strong>. They keep turning horror stories into the most nutty and fantastic \u201ceveryday explanations\u201d you could possibly dream up!<\/strong><\/p>\n That, of course, is a Mexican immigrant breaking and entering \u2013 into the US of A. Wipe your feet, hombre, por favor!<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #4<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n June 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Man in blue suit shooting light out of his eyes hurting another man, frightened woman protesting) \u2013 Ruben Moreira<\/p>\n \u201cRiver of Death\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cFriday The 13th<\/sup> Club\u201d (Curt Swan + John Fischetti)<\/p>\n \u201cNightmare\u201d (Howard Purcell + ?)<\/p>\n \u201cKnightly Ghost\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n \u201cSpectre of Death\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cHis Double\u2026 in Doom?\u201d (Curt Swan + John Fischetti)<\/p>\n \u201cStrange Apparition!\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n Another strangely awkward DC cover<\/strong>, let\u2019s go inside and have a look if the promised title story \u201cThe Man With The Evil Eye!\u201d is any good. Nooooo! Welcome back to the pages of HOUSE OF MISERY<\/strong> (!), where a good horror story is torn apart to build up a nonsensical rational ending.<\/p>\n Mobster Jim Keene is blinded, but kills his neighbor Bob who promised him an eye transplant. Police can\u2019t prove anything because Keene makes it look like an accident. Bob\u2019s right eye, however, was \u201chexed\u201d (as we suddenly learn) and Keene (now living with it) can kill a person if he stares at him in anger<\/strong>. \u201cFriday The 13th<\/sup> Club\u201d is not that bad, but no epiphany either. \u201cNightmare\u201d uses quite the same plot as the title story: John Howell randomly kills three people to cover up the murder of his business partner. He pretended to dream about the deaths first. Police stages more accidents to drive Howell over the edge and make him confess<\/strong>. This time it\u2019s no horror, but a clear-cut detective mystery. The cheek!<\/p>\n \u201cHis Double\u2026 in Doom?\u201d offers me the chance to drop an old Woody Allen joke<\/strong> again: \u201cOne twin washed himself\u2026 and the other got clean!<\/em>\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s what happens in this story. Dennis and David Stanton are twins and are able to share their feelings. They embark on a life of crime using their exact likeness to be one another’s alibi. In the end both get shot dead at the exact same moment although they are hundreds of miles apart.<\/p>\n The title story was the most horror you got with this issue \u2013 very disappointing.<\/p>\n The artwork\u2019s rather miserable<\/strong> throughout in this issue (and many of the previous ones). The sister title SENSATION COMICS resp. SENSATION MYSTERY is looking better!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #5<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n August 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Woman stirring ladle in giant cauldron, forming witches\u2019 shadow on wall behind her) \u2013 Ruben Moreira<\/p>\n \u201cThe Caravan of Miracles!\u201d (Ruben Moreira, signed)<\/p>\n \u201cDouble Mourning!\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Man Who Was Death!\u201d (Jim Mooney + Sy Barry ?)<\/p>\n \u201cA Piece of Rope!\u201d (???)<\/p>\n \u201cDead or Alive\u201d (???) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n \u201cI Was a Witch!\u201d (Howard Purcell + George Klein?)<\/p>\n Last issue to sport \u201cbig\u201d 44 pages<\/strong>. And one of the better covers (it\u2019s moooody!). Publication frequency of this title changes from bi-monthly to monthly! You get less, but more often<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Man with the Strangler Hands!\u201d kicks off the issue \u2013 and is one of those typical DC ratio-twist affairs: John Croydon commits a series of robberies and murders. When caught by the police he tells a fantastic tale: His hands are those of a gangster who died in a jungle plane crash.<\/strong> A witch doctor transplanted them to Croydon, thus condemning him to a life of crime. The police prove him wrong. You probably hafta see it to believe it. That’s why we show it to you HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n They really come up with some fantastic crap<\/strong>! Again, more crime than horror. Same goes for \u201cThe Caravan of Miracles!\u201d, in which Peter Farrell travels the world and steals all the secrets behind miracles like the Indian rope trick and fire walking stunts. Putting them together for an US-American road show he is haunted by mystics. Farrell, however, is only hallucinating.\u00a0 As it turns out. O, jeez.<\/p>\n So welcome \u201cThe Man Who Was Death!\u201d \u2013 At last a real horror story<\/strong>. As good as it gets with DC\u2026 During Mardi Gras gaiety Fred Jones is greeted by three hooded characters. He is the person with the touch of death. And, indeed, a puppy dog and three men touched by Jones cease to exist \u2013 apparently. Though everything is explained as a fraternity initiation stunt, a certain doubt remains. It\u2019s an OKAY story.<\/p>\n \u201cA Piece of Rope!\u201d is a thoroughbred crime story of just four pages. Fun thing about it is (though not credited to any artist) THIS now has touches of Sheldon Moldoff!<\/strong> Let\u2019s return to horror with \u201cI Was a Witch!\u201d, the cover story. Again one of DC\u2019s horror\/crime hybrid stories<\/strong> with a ratio-twist: Leslie Cantwell visits her brother Roy in the country. The failed painter plans to drive her to suicide to inherit the family money. Husband Bruce, however, can foil the evil plot. The script tags along with plausible twists \u2013 and it\u2019s a fun read. Have a look at just this one panel, which made me laugh quite heartily.<\/p>\n Artwork (allegedly Howard Purcell) is sub-par, though (in my not so humble opinion).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #6<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n September 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Sculptor being antagonized and shouted at by four of his statues) \u2013 Bob Brown<\/p>\n \u201cThe Tell-Tale Hand!\u201d (Curt Swan + George Klein)<\/p>\n \u201cMysterious Princess\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hidden Author!\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cI Was a Ghost for Hire!\u201d (Jim Mooney + Sy Barry ?)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Devil Was My Partner!\u201d (Curt Swan + ?)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n First HOM issue to run with the usual 36 pages, cut down from 44 pages in the last issue.<\/p>\n Finally! A mad sculptor story! You haven\u2019t published horror comics without at least one tale about crazed sculptors, painters, dancers<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cThe Monster in Clay!\u201d is again one of THOSE stories: The sculptor Dwight Courtney models a bust of a black sorcerer from the past. He seems to gain uncanny abilities: Whatever he makes is destroyed in real life. After the death of three of his colleagues, Courtney investigates the strange accidents. Someone else was hypnotizing him into sculpting death scenes and yadda, yadda, yadda\u2026<\/p>\n I\u2019m too tired to rant against the inanities of yet another DC ratio-twist! Won\u2019t show you a panel, either. It doesn\u2019t add up, in any way. Ahhhh, I\u2019m miffed.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe Tell-Tale Hand!\u201d, stupidly twisted crime story about a murderer with a guilty conscience.<\/p>\n \u201cI Was a Ghost for Hire!\u201d starts out very promisingly, moreover so as the narrator reminds us dearly of EC\u2019s Vault Keeper:<\/strong><\/p>\n A medium and her aide stage elaborate s\u00e9ances and incorporate the dead very convincingly. The racket is brought down by frightening the ghost impersonators with a ghost impersonation! The story has nice touches, but is blown out of proportion at the end (as usual). Would the police really go through all those pains \u2013 just to unmask a harmless pair of conmen?!<\/strong> Have they no CRIMINALS to catch?! You read a lot about those in these crime comics\u2026<\/p>\n Wrapping it up with \u201cThe Devil Was My Partner!\u201d. I always like a good devil story.<\/strong> Problem is, there\u2019s not many around. This one is okay, though: Arthur Drake gets addicted to casino gambling in Naples, Italy. He signs a pact with the devil and now wins every time he gambles. Satan, however, is an impostor and casino owner who steals Drake’s identity to continue his life in the US. That is one of those DC\u2019s ratio-twists again \u2013 but this time you don\u2019t see it coming! It\u2019s fantastic, of course, but also quite charming and clever<\/strong>. Like!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #7<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n October 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Man holding knife running down the street, visions of specters looming behind him) \u2013 Ruben Moreira<\/p>\n \u201cLover from the Dead!\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cStrange Beliefs!\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Devil Mask of Death!\u201d (Howard Purcell + Charles Paris)<\/p>\n \u201cMuseum of Murder!\u201d (???)<\/p>\n \u201cMysterious Portrait\u201d (???) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Riddle of the Split Siamese Twins!\u201d (Leonard Starr ?)<\/p>\n One of the best covers<\/strong> in HOM\u2019s quite long run (35 pre-code issues). How much horror can we expect from another issue of DC\u2019s flagship mystery title? Not much, as it seems.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Nine Lives of Alger Denham!\u201d is detective mystery stuff.<\/p>\n The splash of \u201cThe Devil Mask of Death!\u201d made me laugh:<\/p>\n \u201cWear that mask for one hour, Peter, and you\u2019ll look like a complete twat!\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n Rest of story is inane dribble about tourists in native devil masks<\/strong>. One of them wants to harm a friend of his, but is hit by a curse before he can accomplish his evil plan.<\/p>\n \u201cMuseum of Murder!\u201d is a crime story.<\/p>\n I always thought Leonard Starr looks better<\/strong> than what I see in \u201cThe Riddle of the Split Siamese Twins!\u201d \u2013 well, he doesn\u2019t necessarily. There\u2019s a signed story by him in HOM #9, using that style of drawing. I\u2019m still not convinced it is Starr \u2013 and keep this credit therefore question-marked. The artwork<\/strong> in HOM continues to be unpleasantly run-of-the-mill early 50s style<\/strong>. Not downright BAD, but there\u2019s hardly ever a spark of true creativity. Depressing.<\/p>\n House of Mystery #8<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n November 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Naked bald man with checkered skin staring at his tattooed chest whereupon a man is pictured drowning) \u2013 Ruben Moreira<\/p>\n \u201cNemesis from the Grave!\u201d (Howard Purcell + Charles Paris)<\/p>\n \u201cPuppet’s Revenge\u201d (Jerry Grandenetti)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Grim Jester!\u201d (Curt Swan + Ray Burnley)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s a bizarre cover!<\/strong> \u201cNemesis from the Grave!\u201d is the next overconstructed piece<\/strong> of crime-horror hybrid: While on a treasure hunt, Danvers murders his partner Rainier. His guilty conscience makes him see Rainier on different occasions. The police confront Danvers with an agent in a ghost suit<\/strong> to make him confess his crime. Yechhh!<\/p>\n Enter artist Jerry Grandenetti at DC HORROR<\/strong>. \u201cPuppet’s Revenge\u201d is his first contribution (three more will follow). Two puppeteers hate each other. George kills Paul in a rage, but confesses to his crime later on. Jeez. HOUSE OF CRIME! Still waiting for a halfway valid horror story!<\/strong><\/p>\n Will it be \u201cThe Grim Jester!\u201d, this book\u2019s last story? Nope! It\u2019s a crime-thriller nuisance about a councilman planning to murder the city\u2019s mayor with the involuntary help of the town\u2019s practical joker. Ach, next please\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #9<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n December 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Giant black bag floating above the heads of three frightened people) \u2013 Ruben Moreira<\/p>\n \u201cPartners in Fear!\u201d (Leonard Starr, signed)<\/p>\n \u201cWitch Hunter!\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cGhost Writer\u201d (Ed Smalle)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Unwanted Guest!\u201d (Jerry Grandenetti + Ray Burnley)<\/p>\n O no. That cover alone is giving me cramps<\/strong>. I expect nothing anymore. This is supposed to be a horror book?!<\/p>\n \u201cThe Secret of the Little Black Bag!\u201d is a crime story. If DC scripts could kill, half of the US would be a wasteland.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe Unwanted Guest!\u201d wraps up the issue with more DRAMA\u2026 sigh. The story is ridiculous beyond description. I\u2019ll show you the top panel of page four. Nearly stopped reading there: An English cousin blackmails his American relatives and moves into their home, indulging in luxuries:<\/p>\n Prime example for over the top behavior in comic books<\/p><\/div>\n Turns out that the cousin is a nutcase, because he killed a dog in the war and is haunted by his eternal howling. I. Kid. You. Not.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #10<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n January 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Couple making wishes in front of idol shooting light from its eyes) \u2013 Curt Swan + George Klein ?<\/p>\n \u201cThe Brush That Could Haunt Men’s Souls\u201d (Jim Mooney)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Weirdest Museum in the World\u201d (Bob Brown)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Magician Who Haunted Hollywood\u201d (Leonard Starr)<\/p>\n Suppose you were given ONE wish<\/strong>, what would you wish for? Yep, kiddies, \u201cThe Wishes of Doom!\u201d is about a topic as old as the horror genre. The idol head of Shandu travels from hand to hand, granting the owners one wish. Every wish comes true, but with a curse attached<\/strong>. The only wish without a catch is one for the benefit of mankind.<\/p>\n Actually a nice story, a philanthropical tale<\/strong> \u2013 but no horror at all, as you might have guessed. The two-page sequence of a woman wishing herself beautiful I\u2019ve seen somewhere else as a whole story. Can\u2019t put my finger on it\u2026 happens more often than you think.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Brush That Could Haunt Men’s Souls\u201d is surely one of the most stilted titles<\/strong> ever to grace a horror story. A DC writer\u2019s wet dream. The ratio-twist incarnate! Paint me a nonsensical tale ending in the villain\u2019s confession. Have a look at that brush-hair-raising splash:<\/p>\n But then, it isn\u2019t. The story runs along otherwise. And is again (same plot formula, same author, I guess) quite fun. A magic painter’s brush travels from hand to hand, exposing bad people and helping the good ones. The story opens with comic book artist<\/strong> Ralph Cotton buying the magic brush and slipping it in the hands of a colleague who steals his ideas. This one makes a fool of himself in front of the editor<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Brush That Could Haunt Men’s Souls\u201d wraps it up with two crime sequences. In one the brush is used as a deadly arrow! Tch, tch, tch\u2026<\/p>\n Eli Thornton runs the town’s „Animal Theater“<\/strong> with exhibits<\/strong> of wildlife. Mr. Redgrave and Mr. Kirkson threaten to ruin him if he’s not able to pay his debts. Thornton upgrades his theater with a wild cat and a genuine werewolf<\/strong>. The werewolf, however, is newspaper reporter Ed Baker. He was killed by Kirkson and Redgrave and framed as a werewolf, because he was about to expose them as frauds. Now I\u2019m curious. What about the final one – \u201cThe Magician Who Haunted Hollywood\u201d? We get a tale of mild ghostly suspense. The actor Dick Mayhew seems to be \u201cchanneling\u201d the ghost of the late magician Gregory. That is\u2026 okaaaaay.<\/p>\n HOUSE OF MYSTERY\u2019s best issue so far<\/strong>! And their first issue with NO story told in first person!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #11<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n February 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (S\u00e9ance society spelling the word \u201cG-h-o-s-t\u201d as astral body rises from man on the right) \u2013 Leonard Starr<\/p>\n \u201cSuperstition and the Ladder!\u201d (??????) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bewitched Clock!\u201d (Ruben Moreira, signed)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Demon\u201d (Bob Brown)<\/p>\n \u201cNine Lives Equal Death!\u201d (Curt Swan + ?)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Deadly Game of G-H-O-S-T\u201d: Not again that hogwash. Murderer is driven to a confession<\/strong> by making him believe he\u2019s being haunted by a ghost. That exactly<\/strong> is the DC HORROR formula! Fake horror blended with wacky crime-solving machinations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The corresponding cover to that story looked way more promising!<\/p>\n The plot of \u201cThe Bewitched Clock!\u201d seems eerily familiar: A man comes into possession of a magic clock and has to relive the same day for eternity. Huh? Sounds like \u201cGroundhog\u2019s Day\u201d<\/strong>, doesn\u2019t it? The story does not turn into comedy, though. A nameless man uses his power to amass riches \u2013 until he is cursed to \u201cstand still\u201d in time. Not bad, but nothing to get excited about, either\u2026<\/p>\n The ending of \u201cThe Bewitched Clock!\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n I didn\u2019t quite get the plot of \u201cThe Demon\u201d, another hoax-exposing mystery stunt. A demon genie appearing from a magic lamp is an actor in a luminous suit. DC HORROR business as usual!<\/strong><\/p>\n Is \u201cNine Lives Equal Death!\u201d a horror story? George Crowley is granted the nine lives of a tiger he spares while on safari. He uses them up in criminal activities. It is supernatural, you gotta admit. But horror? Hmm. Crime, mystery, fantasy, drama. DC HORROR is once more not getting off the ground.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n House of Mystery #12<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n March 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Matador in arena being heckled by ghostly colleagues) \u2013 Curt Swan + George Klein<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trial of Harry New!\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cMen Never Die in Cell 13\u201d (Curt Swan + ?)<\/p>\n \u201cSpilled Salt!\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cBlack Future\u201d (Ed Smalle)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Secret of the Matador’s Sword!\u201d (Curt Swan + George Klein)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Am relieved to see no ratio-twist<\/strong> shatter the supernatural suspense of \u201cThe Devil’s Chessboard\u201d: Chess expert Alan Blake engages in a deadly game on the magical „devil’s chessboard“ where every lost piece equals a loss in real life. When Blake’s queen is taken, his fianc\u00e9e suffers a heart attack. She survives only, because Blake can promote a pawn to a queen.<\/p>\n \u201cMen Never Die in Cell 13\u201d is an interesting crime story<\/strong>: Two newspaper reporters fake a murder to write a scoop from the death row. But then a real corpse is found and things get serious.<\/p>\n And we have a strange one: \u201cBlack Future\u201d is a drama-adventure-fantasy. Every prophecy of a fortune teller comes true in the life of Jud Taylor. The fortune teller came from the future and knew about Taylor’s life.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Secret of the Matador’s Sword!\u201d is a load of bull<\/strong>. Haha. Jose Pinto comes into possession of a magic sword<\/strong>, allowing him to win bullfights up to a certain number. In his last fight the sword proves to be cursed and leads to Pinto’s death. <\/p>\n House of Mystery #13<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n April 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n Cover: (Young couple approaches fortune teller\u2019s booth, in which hooded figure beckons) \u2013 Leonard Starr<\/p>\n \u201cAlbum of Fear!\u201d (Ed Smalle)<\/p>\n \u201cLifelong Trance\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n \u201cSilk Gauze\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n \u201cNightmare Nemesis\u201d (Curt Swan + Ray Burnley)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Tell-Tale Mirror!\u201d (Jerry Grandenetti)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Theater of a Thousand Thrills!\u201d is once more the run-of-the-mill DC suspense<\/strong> plot: An actor wants to poison his rival, but he’s tricked into confessing his plan. The story\u2019s splash, however, promises something else. Read caption. No fair!<\/p>\n I\u2019m beginning to like Ed Smalle\u2019s artwork<\/strong> for DC HORROR. He looks refreshingly different than those run-of-the-mill (yeah, again!) artists we get all the time. Have a look at his \u201cAlbum of Fear!<\/a>\u201d in our \u201cStories\u201d section.![\"HOM#1\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HOM1.jpg\")
\u201cI Fell in Love With a Witch!\u201d (Curt Swan + Ray Burnley)<\/p>\n![\"ManOrMonster\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/ManOrMonster.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"StoryRes\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/StoryRes.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"HomCover2\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HomCover2.jpg\")
\u201cThe Mark of X\u201d (Curt Swan + George Klein)<\/p>\n![\"CreatureX\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/CreatureX.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"MadGimmicks\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/MadGimmicks.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut why, Nolan? Why?\u201d<\/em> Why indeed. Read it for yourself:<\/p>\n![\"Brainwash\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/Brainwash.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"HomCover3\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HomCover3.jpg\")
\u201cThe Dummy of Death!\u201d (Bob Brown)<\/p>\n
\nVentriloquist James Lang murders his colleague Wendell and steals his puppet „Blockhead“. He manages to be successful, until Blockhead starts talking and revealing the murder of his former puppeteer.<\/p>\n
\nAttention, spoiler warning! If you want to read the whole story, please click HERE to see it posted as our kick-off story for this new website… Do not read on!<\/em><\/p>\n![\"PuppetDesaster\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/PuppetDesaster.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"ComedyFromTheCrypt\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/ComedyFromTheCrypt.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"MexicanGhosts\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/MexicanGhosts.jpg\")
![\"HomCover4\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HomCover4.jpg\")
\u201cThe Man with the Evil Eye!\u201d (Ruben Moreira, signed)<\/p>\n
\nWhen Keene kill-stares his girl friend Nancy, he is overwhelmed with grief and confesses to the murder of Bob. The police inform him that the eye-hex has been an elaborate \u201choax\u201d to drive him mad! Keene killed no one, but fell for the performances of G-Men. Ca-ripes! House of Misery, I say!![\"FridaySplash\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/FridaySplash.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n13 men and women form a club to debunk superstition<\/strong>, but one by one they meet violent deaths. They don\u2019t die, however, because they challenge fate; they die because they touched a poisoned gavel to smash a mirror with.<\/p>\n![\"HomCover5\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HomCover5.jpg\")
\u201cThe Man with the Strangler Hands!\u201d (Curt Swan + ?)<\/p>\n![\"Hallucinate\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/Hallucinate.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nI dismissed a DC Moldoff credit elsewhere (\u201cThe Strange Experiment of Dr. Grimm!\u201d in HOM #2) <\/em>
\nas impossible (and stand by it).![\"funnyPic1\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/funnyPic1.jpg\")
<\/em>
\n\u201cA Piece of Rope!\u201d looks like someone swiped <\/strong>fr<\/strong>om Moldoff<\/strong>. Who\u2019d ever be so insane???<\/p>\n![\"HomCover6\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HomCover6.jpg\")
\u201cThe Monster in Clay!\u201d (Bob Brown)<\/p>\n![\"HiredGhost\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HiredGhost.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"DevilPartner\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/DevilPartner.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"HOM#7\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HOM7.jpg\")
\u201cThe Nine Lives of Alger Denham!\u201d (Ruben Moreira, signed)<\/p>\n![\"DevilMaskSplash\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/DevilMaskSplash.jpg\")
\nThe story itself again is a very annoying crime story<\/strong> about Siamese twins who never had been Siamese twins (as it turns out in the end). Aaaaaarrrggghhhh!!!<\/p>\n![\"HOM#8cover\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HOM8cover.jpg\")
\u201cTattoos of Doom!\u201d (Ruben Moreira, signed)<\/p>\n
\nThe corresponding story inside sadly is a crime affair. On the skin of Leroy, the tattooed man, pictures appear which foreshadow doom. But it’s all a trick to cover up robberies. Don\u2019t ask me how, don\u2019t ask me why. I didn\u2019t quite get it\u2026<\/p>\n![\"HOM#9bad\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HOM9bad.jpg\")
\u201cThe Secret of the Little Black Bag!\u201d (Ruben Moreira, signed)<\/p>\n
\n\u201cPartners in Fear!\u201d is even less. A drama about two friends trying to out-rival each other. One has high anxiety, the other goes mad with fear of falling. Jeez. If this were about girls instead of men, we\u2019d be in a friggin\u2019 romance book<\/strong>!<\/p>\n![\"GhostWriterDetail\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/GhostWriterDetail.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cGhost Writer\u201d sounds like it could be a horror yarn, and it is \u2013 kind of. Insanely inane, but lovable baddie<\/strong> about TV comic Billy Conway who kills his ghost writer Foster \u2013 just because he wanted to be credited! Hey, stoopid, you\u2019ve got no gag writer anymore! Then it gets worse: Conway is visited by a ghostly audience exposing him as the murderer. \u201cTwist\u201d coming up: it was all a costume rehersal! Hahahahahaah!!!!!!!!!!!
\nWe post <\/a>this story, the art by Ed Smalle is refreshingly different and interesting to look at.<\/p>\n![\"LuxuryLiving\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/LuxuryLiving.jpg\")
![\"HOM#10bad\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HOM10bad-1.jpg\")
\u201cThe Wishes of Doom!\u201d (Curt Swan + George Klein ?)<\/p>\n![\"BrushStroke\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/BrushStroke.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"ComicThiefTrip\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/ComicThiefTrip.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"WeirdestMuseum1\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/WeirdestMuseum1.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cThe Weirdest Museum in the World\u201d is a next entertaining story<\/strong>! I am surprised. Are we witnessing a change of guard<\/strong> in HOUSE OF MISERY\u2026 sorry\u2026 MYSTERY. Maybe we don\u2019t have to pull this pun anymore???<\/p>\n
\nSounds winded and wildly constructed, but works fine on just six action-laden pages! See it posted <\/a>in our \u201cStories\u201d section by clicking on the miniature splash.<\/p>\n![\"HOM#11\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HOM11.jpg\")
\u201cThe Deadly Game of G-H-O-S-T\u201d (Leonard Starr)<\/p>\n![\"ClocksEnd\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/ClocksEnd.jpg\")
![\"HomCover12\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HomCover12.jpg\")
\u201cThe Devil’s Chessboard\u201d (Leonard Starr)<\/p>\n![\"ChessMatch\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/ChessMatch.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nBest story of the issue \u2013 and entertaining bullfighting horror in general. Find it posted <\/a>in our ‚Stories‘ section.<\/p>\n![\"HomCover13\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HomCover13.jpg\")
\u201cThe Theater of a Thousand Thrills!\u201d (Leonard Starr)<\/p>\n![\"ThrillSplash\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/ThrillSplash.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThe horror-seeking eccentric<\/strong> Jasper Jennings records the sounds of dying men<\/strong> on his portable tape machine. A man covering up a crime drives Jennings insane by making him believe he’s being haunted by the voices of the dead.
\nThere is that unnecessary ratio-twisting at the end, but it\u2019s a fun story with some truly inventive and previously unseen sick<\/strong> panels.<\/p>\n
![\"AlbumOfFearDetail\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/AlbumOfFearDetail.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"JuwelryGhoul\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/JuwelryGhoul.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"HOM#14bad\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/HOM14bad.jpg\")
\u201cThe Crimes of the Black Cat\u201d (Bob Brown)<\/p>\n![\"BlackCat\"](\"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/filecollection\/sites\/6\/2016\/06\/BlackCat.jpg\")
<\/p>\n