The Haunt of Fear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Haunt of Fear was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly horror comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with an issue cover-dated May-June, 1950. However, the first issue was numbered #15 because it was a title change from an EC Western comic book series, Gunfighter. In the early 1950's, comic book publishers, seeking to save money on second class postage permits, would frequently change titles of their comics rather than start new ones.
Over a four-year span, The Haunt of Fear ran for 28 issues, ending with the November-December, 1954 issue. The book's lead illustrator was Graham Ingels, who took over as cover artist beginning with issue #11 and also drew each issue's eight-page lead story under the heading, "The Witch's Cauldron" starting with the fourth issue. Other artists who contributed to this EC title were Feldstein, Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, George Roussos, Harry Harrison, Joe Orlando, Sid Check, George Evans, Reed Crandall, Will Elder and Bernard Krigstein.
The host of The Haunt of Fear was the Old Witch, one of EC's three GhouLunatics. The other two GhouLunatics were the Vault-Keeper and the Crypt-Keeper. The character of the Old Witch was inspired by Old Nancy, the witch of Salem, host of Alonzo Deen Cole's radio series, The Witch's Tale, which aired from 1931 to 1938 on WOR and Mutual and in syndication.
The first issue of The Haunt of Fear had no host introducing the stories, since it was prior to the creation of the Old Witch. However, the Johnny Craig cover shows the beginning of the concept with a cover character vaguely resembling the Vault-Keeper beckoning the reader to enter. The second issue debuted The Witch's Cauldron feature with the Old Witch introducing herself in a splash drawing by Jack Kamen.
The third issue (17) featured a Johnny Craig cover with all three GhouLunatics stepping out of doorways, and it also launched a letter column, "The Old Witch's Niche." The last story in that issue, "Horror Beneath the Streets," written and illustrated by Feldstein, tells how Gaines and Feldstein left the EC offices at 225 Lafayette Street one night, climbed down an open manhole and waded through sewers. Frightened by the Vault-Keeper. the Crypt-Keeper and the Old Witch, they were forced to sign contracts with the trio: "Well, Al! They got us! I guess we'll have to publish their stuff!"
Finally, in the fourth issue (November-December, 1950), Ingels drew his first "Witch's Cauldron" for The Haunt of Fear, with the Vault-Keeper and the Crypt-Keeper also settling in as back-up hosts elsewhere in the issue. The numbering was reset, as the Old Witch explained, "After publishing issues 15, 16, and 17, the United States Post Office requested that the fourth issue actually be numbered No. 4 rather than No. 18... Well, 'ya can't fight City Hall!'" Ironically the EC war comic Two Fisted Tales took over the numbering, starting with issue 18, and never ended up resetting its numbering.
The Haunt of Fear was one of five comics voluntarily killed by Bill Gaines in 1955 due to the increasing controversy surrounding horror and crime comics. Stories from this comic would eventually appear in the movie version of Tales From the Crypt as well as the TV series.
[edit] Issue Guide
| # | Date | Cover Artist | Story | Story Artist | Story Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15(1) | May/June 1950 | Johnny Craig | The Wall | Johnny Craig | None |
| House of Horror | Harvey Kurtzman | None | |||
| The Mad Magician | Wally Wood & Harry Harrison | None | |||
| The Thing in the Swamp! | Al Feldstein | Old Witch | |||
| 16(2) | July/Aug 1950 | Johnny Craig | Vampire! | Johnny Craig | None |
| Horror-Ahead! | Wally Wood | None | |||
| The Killer in the Coffin! | Graham Ingels | None | |||
| The Mummy's Return! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| 17(3) | Sept/Oct 1950 | Johnny Craig | Nightmare! | Johnny Craig | None |
| Television Terror! | Harvey Kurtzman | None | |||
| Monster Maker! | Graham Ingels | None | |||
| Horror Beneath the Streets! | Al Feldstein | Old Witch | |||
| 4 | Nov/Dec 1950 | Al Feldstein | The Hunchback! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| The Tunnel of Terror! | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Living Mummy | Jack Davis | Old Witch | |||
| Man from the Grave! | Wally Wood | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 5 | Jan/Feb 1951 | Johnny Craig | A Biting Finish! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Horror in the Freak Tent! | Wally Wood | Crypt Keeper | |||
| A Tasty Morsel! | Jack Davis | Old Witch | |||
| Seeds of Death! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| 6 | March/April 1951 | Johnny Craig | A Strange Undertaking... | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| So They Finally Pinned You Down! | Wally Wood | Vault Keeper | |||
| A Grave Gag! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Cheese, That's Horrible! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 7 | May/June 1951 | Johnny Craig | Room For One More! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| The Basket! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Horror in the Schoolroom | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| The Howling Banshee! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| 8 | July/Aug 1951 | Al Feldstein | Hounded to Death! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| A Very Strange Mummy! | George Roussos | Vault Keeper | |||
| Diminishing Returns! | Unknown | Old Witch | |||
| The Irony of Death! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 9 | Sept/Oct 1951 | Al Feldstein | Warts So Horrible? | Johnny Craig | Old Witch |
| Forbidden Fruit | Joe Orlando | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Age-Old Story! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| The Gorilla's Paw! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 10 | Nov/Dec 1951 | Al Feldstein | Grave Business! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| The Vamp! | Jack Davis & Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| My Uncle Ekar! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Bum Steer! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 11 | Jan/Feb 1952 | Graham Ingels | Ooze in the Cellar? | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| The Acid Test! | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper | |||
| Extermination | George Roussos | Old Witch | |||
| Ear Today... Gone Tomorrow! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 12 | March/April 1952 | Graham Ingels | Poetic Justice! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| ...On A Dead Man's Chest! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| Till Death Do We Part! | Joe Orlando | Old Witch | |||
| What's Cookin'? | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 13 | May/June 1952 | Graham Ingels | For the Love of Death! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Fed Up! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper | |||
| Minor Error! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Wolf Bait! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 14 | July/Aug 1952 | Graham Ingels | A Little Stranger! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Take Your Pick! | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper | |||
| Ship-Shape! | Sid Check | Old Witch | |||
| This Little Piggy... | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 15 | Sept/Oct 1952 | Graham Ingels | Chatter-Boxed! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| All Washed Up! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Marriage Vows! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Death of Some Salesman! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 16 | Nov/Dec 1952 | Graham Ingels | Nobody There! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| A Creep in the Deep! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| ...From Hunger! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| The Coffin! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 17 | Jan/Feb 1953 | Graham Ingels | Horror We? How's Bayou? | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Gorilla My Dreams! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| A Likely Story! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Garden Party! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 18 | March/April 1953 | Graham Ingels | Pipe Down! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Bedtime Gory! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Pot-Shot! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| The Black Ferris! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 19 | May/June 1953 | Graham Ingels | Sucker Bait! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Lover, Come Hack to Me! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Double-Header! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Foul Play! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 20 | July/Aug 1953 | Graham Ingels | Thump Fun! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Terror Train | Al Feldstein | Vault Keeper | |||
| Bloody Sure | Reed Crandall | Old Witch | |||
| Hyde and Go Shriek! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 21 | Sept/Oct 1953 | Graham Ingels | An Off-Color Heir | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| Corker! | Jack Kamen & Bill Elder | Old Witch | |||
| The High Cost of Dying! | Reed Crandall | Vault Keeper | |||
| 22 | Nov/Dec 1953 | Graham Ingels | Wish You Were Here | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Chess-Mate | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Model Nephew | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 23 | Jan/Feb 1954 | Graham Ingels | Creep Course | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| No Silver Atoll! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Hansel and Gretel! | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Country Clubbing! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 24 | March/April 1954 | Graham Ingels | Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes... | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| ...Only Sin Deep | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Secret | George Evans | Old Witch | |||
| Head-Room! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 25 | May/June 1954 | Graham Ingels | The New Arrival | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Indisposed! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| Out Cold | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| The Light in His Life! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 26 | July/Aug 1954 | Graham Ingels | Marriage Vow | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| The Shadow Knows | Reed Crandall | Vault Keeper | |||
| Spoiled | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Comes the Dawn! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 27 | Sept/Oct 1954 | Graham Ingels | About Face | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Game Washed Out! | George Evans | Vault Keeper | |||
| The Silent Treatment | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| Swamped | Reed Crandall | Crypt Keeper | |||
| 28 | Nov/Dec 1954 | Graham Ingels | The Prude | Graham Ingels | Old Witch |
| Numbskull | Bernard Krigstein | Vault Keeper | |||
| Audition | Jack Kamen | Old Witch | |||
| A Work of Art! | Jack Davis | Crypt Keeper |
[edit] Trivia and Famous Stories
- The Old Witch's origin was explained in issue 14's "A Little Stranger."
- Issue 16's The Coffin and issue 18's The Black Ferris were official adaptations of Ray Bradbury short stories. An earlier story, issue 6's A Strange Undertaking appears to be an adaptation of Bradbury's The Handler, which would later be adapted in Tales From the Crypt.
- Two stories, issue 15(1)'s The Wall and issue 20's Thump Fun are inspired by The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
- Issue 19's Foul Play is infamous for its ending, where a murderer is dismembered and his body parts are used to play a baseball game.
- The following stores were used in HBO's Tales From The Crypt television series: House of Horror (Issue 1), The Thing From The Grave (Text story in Issue 1), Ear Today, Gone Tomorrow (Issue 11), On A Deadman's Chest (Issue 12), Till Death Do We Part (Issue 12), What's Cookin' (Issue 12), Death of Some Salesman (Issue 15), Television Terror (Issue 17), Lover Come Hack To Me (Issue 19), Dig That Cat, He's Real Gone (Issue 22), Creep Course (Issue 23), Only Sin Deep (Issue 24), The Secret (Issue 24), The New Arrival (Issue 25), Spoiled (Issue 26), Comes The Dawn (Issue 26), and About Face (Issue 27).
