I Dare You..! A DC '70s Horror Line Appreciation - 2020

[Lee Stone]

Because the Comics Code had gotten revised and now allowed most horror conventions to return, with a few restrictions, DC had a renaissance of the horror genre that began in 1968 and peaked in the mid-70s.
Fortunately, at the time, popular horror in other media was more psychological or supernatural, which could be done in comics with no fuss.
However, with the rise of gore in slasher films and such, the comics couldn't keep up and eventually began to look tame in comparison.
By the early '80s, they were gone. But not without leaving a legacy.
Swamp Thing, Phantom Stranger, Madame Xanadu and many Sandman supporting characters featured prominently or first appeared in the pages of DC's horror line.
Indeed, virtually the entire early Vertigo line was somewhat descended from these books, as Karen Berger (the Godmother of Vertigo) got her start at DC as an editor on House of Mystery in 1981.

The core titles were:

House of Mystery (rebranded as a horror anthology with #174) - May/June 1968-Oct 1983
The Unexpected (Mad Mod Witch begins with #108) - Aug/Sept 1968-May 1982
The Witching Hour - Feb/Mar 1969-Oct 1978
The Phantom Stranger - May/June 1969-Feb/Mar 1976
House of Secrets (relaunched as a horror anthology with #81) - Aug/Sept 1969-Oct/Nov 1978
Ghosts - Sept/Oct 1971-May 1982
-For a time from the end of 1970 until late 1972, these titles also carried a bat-symbol on their covers to designate they were part of DC's horror line.

Swamp Thing -Oct/Nov 1972-Aug/Sept 1976 (to be revived in 1982 at the end of the 70s horror wave and find even better success under Alan Moore, leading to the 'British Invasion' and '90s Vertigo horror resurgence).
Secrets of Haunted House -Apr/May 1975-Mar 1982 (with a year break in 1976)
Doorway to Nightmare (arrived in 1978 and was cut short by the DC Implosion (which also took Witching Hour and House of Secrets) - Jan/Feb 1978-Sept/Oct 1978

Fringe titles included:

Weird War Tales
Weird Western Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
-these weren't under the horror umbrella but rather a mini-line unto themselves.

Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love (later renamed Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion)
Sinister House of Secret Love (later renamed Secrets of Sinister House)
-likewise, they were a sub-imprint that mixed the horror stuff with DC's romance stuff at the time. The first few issues of each (before the title changes) also had very striking gothic novel style covers. Similarly, while the horror titles briefly carried the bat symbol on their covers, the romance comics carried a heart symbol and these two had a silhouette of a house or manor (a staple of gothic fiction).

And other titles include:
Tales of Ghost Castle (a three issue series from 1975)

Books that carried the 'DC Witching Hour' logo:
Witching Hour from Oct/Nov 1970 to June/July 1972.
House of Secrets from Oct/Nov 1970 to Oct 1972.
House of Mystery from Nov/Dec 1970 to Oct 1972.
Phantom Stranger from Nov/Dec 1970 to Sept/Oct 1972.
Unexplained from Feb/Mar 1971 to June 1972.
Ghosts from Sept/Oct 1971 (its first issue) to May/June 1972.

Further reading:
DC Comics' Horror Titles of the Seventies
Follow Me into Weird Worlds: DC’s Horror and Supernatural Comics

There are volumes of DC's Showcase Presents B&W trades for the following:
House of Mystery -three volumes, covering #174-226.
The Witching Hour -one volume, covering #1-21
The Phantom Stranger -two volumes, covering #1-41 and a few appearances.
House of Secrets -two volumes, covering #81-119
Ghosts -one volume, covering #1-18

Honorary Mention:
Elvira's House of Mystery (1986) #1-11, Special #1
Night Force (1982) #1-14
Swamp Thing (1982) #20-64

Previously... in the last appreciation thread...

[Astroman]

What an awesome post! Thanks!

I'd love to track a lot of these down as I was too much of a superhero kid to pick them up when I saw them on the racks waaayyyy back then.

[Lee Stone]

Good luck tracking them down.

When I’m back at the computer and have some time, I’ll make a list of the comics available digitally, too.

[NeathBlue]

Great list of comics, instantly reminded me of buying them in the late 70’s for a newsstand in my town.
House of Mystery was great, and I’m glad you mentioned Weird War Tales.. A very underrated title.
Still got loads of war comics from the 70’s, but sadly don’t have any WWT anymore.

[caj]

Not sure about the year, but this thread instantly reminded me of this cover:

[Astroman]

That's a great cover!

[Vakanai]

Interesting. How much of any of this stuff is collected? I could go for some old school horror. I like that Witching Hour bat logo, how were the books?

[Lee Stone]

Interesting. How much of any of this stuff is collected? I could go for some old school horror. I like that Witching Hour bat logo, how were the books?

They’re pretty good, imo.
They’re more Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock than EC, but there were some good stories.

Some trivia I discovered recently, and looked it up to confirm:
There was a letter in an issue of Phantom Stranger where the reader complained about Phantom Stranger being listed alongside the ‘mystery’ comics on the subscription forms, instead of alongside the superhero comics.
Joe Orlando replied back that the mystery comics sold better than the superhero comics, so they chose the better of the two to label it as.

[Vakanai]

They’re pretty good, imo.
They’re more Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock than EC, but there were some good stories.

Some trivia I discovered recently, and looked it up to confirm:
There was a letter in an issue of Phantom Stranger where the reader complained about Phantom Stranger being listed alongside the ‘mystery’ comics on the subscription forms, instead of alongside the superhero comics.
Joe Orlando replied back that the mystery comics sold better than the superhero comics, so they chose the better of the two to label it as.

I'm only vaguely aware of EC horror comics (sort of a more gruesome Tales from the Crypt vibe), but I do like Alfred Hitchcock and I love The Twilight Zone. I prefer mood and atmosphere over gore and shocks (nothing against some gore and shocks, just don't think they can carry a story as well on their own).

[Lee Stone]

I'm only vaguely aware of EC horror comics (sort of a more gruesome Tales from the Crypt vibe), but I do like Alfred Hitchcock and I love The Twilight Zone. I prefer mood and atmosphere over gore and shocks (nothing against some gore and shocks, just don't think they can carry a story as well on their own).

I'm the same way. I prefer Terror over Horror any day.
Hitchcock really was a master of suspense and terror.

I just watched an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour last night, or night before, that was oozing with suspense and used two of his key tools: a MacGuffin (an intentional misdirection, usually involving an item that the viewer is tricked into thinking is more important than it really is) and a buried plot seed (something barely set up at the beginning and easily forgotten by the viewer).
His shows and movies really do make you want to watch them again just to see it from the perspective of the ending.

I read a biography on him once and learned a lot about his work.
He also favored scenes with mirrors and staircases.

[Phoenixx9]

What an awesome post! Thanks!

I'd love to track a lot of these down as I was too much of a superhero kid to pick them up when I saw them on the racks waaayyyy back then.

Much agree and seconded.

While I have seen them long ago and respect them as being good books with some awesome covers, they were not what I was collecting at the time so I never bought any of them.

[Lee Stone]

Digitally available:

The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1-15 (15 issues)
Doorway to Nightmare #1-5 (5 issues)
Ghosts #97 (1 issue)
House of Mystery #174-211, 290-304 (53 issues)
House of Secrets #92-135 (44 issues)

The Phantom Stranger #1-9 (9 issues, currently being digitized)
Swamp Thing (1972) #1-24 (24 issues)
Swamp Thing (1982) #1-171, Annual 2, 7 (173 issues)
Weird Mystery Tales #1-4, 8, 9 (6 issues)
The Witching Hour #1, 2, 4-8 (7 issues, currently being digitized)

DC Comics Presents: Night Force #1 (reprints Night Force #1-4)

[Phoenixx9]

Digitally available:

The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1-15 (15 issues)
Doorway to Nightmare #1-5 (5 issues)
Ghosts #97 (1 issue)
House of Mystery #174-211, 290-304 (53 issues)
House of Secrets #92-135 (44 issues)

The Phantom Stranger #1-9 (9 issues, currently being digitized)
Swamp Thing (1972) #1-24 (24 issues)
Swamp Thing (1982) #1-171, Annual 2, 7 (173 issues)
Weird Mystery Tales #1-4, 8, 9 (6 issues)
The Witching Hour #1, 2, 4-8 (7 issues, currently being digitized)

DC Comics Presents: Night Force #1 (reprints Night Force #1-4)

Do you know if they are collected in book form?

[Vakanai]

Digitally available:

The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1-15 (15 issues)
Doorway to Nightmare #1-5 (5 issues)
Ghosts #97 (1 issue)
House of Mystery #174-211, 290-304 (53 issues)
House of Secrets #92-135 (44 issues)

The Phantom Stranger #1-9 (9 issues, currently being digitized)
Swamp Thing (1972) #1-24 (24 issues)
Swamp Thing (1982) #1-171, Annual 2, 7 (173 issues)
Weird Mystery Tales #1-4, 8, 9 (6 issues)
The Witching Hour #1, 2, 4-8 (7 issues, currently being digitized)

DC Comics Presents: Night Force #1 (reprints Night Force #1-4)

Is the digital stuff part of the DC Universe streaming app/site?

[Lee Stone]

Is the digital stuff part of the DC Universe streaming app/site?

Yeah.
These are all on both DC Universe and Comixology.