I guess the first thing that needs to be said about Haunted Horror #11 is that it’s a collection of reprinted horror comics from the 1950’s. So naturally the book is filled with a lot of 50’s tropes, e.g., panels full of narration boxes and many uses of the phrase “then (blank) happens!”. They also appear to be cliched ridden, but given the fact that these stories are all sixty years old, this book is actually an excellent look at the origins of horror tales. The biggest detriment to the book is that each story only gets about seven pages to tell itself, so there’s never really a sense of suspense or tension built.
The Witches Come at Midnight:
Fairly standard “Paranormal Activity” storyline here. The kid sees strange things happening, tells his father but he doesn’t believe his son. Things eventually go completely pear-shaped until some serious dues ex-machina kicks in. The art has some serious issues in this story. I had no idea that Joel, the main character, was but a wee lad until he was shown next to his parents. There was little distinction between day and night in the panels. The final segment of the story takes place specifically at midnight, but the only reason you know that is because the aforementioned obtrusive dialogue box tells you so. Otherwise, there was no difference in background scenery from the beginning of the story which took place at seven in the morning when Joel was playing with his rooster. Some leniency can be given for artistic limitations in a sixty year old comic, but paying such little attention to detail to where you get the time of day wrong is a bit too far.
Hallahan’s Head:
Due to reasons known only to our main character Fletcher, he decides to kill his business partner Hallahan with the help of a vaguely racist depiction of a “savager Native American”. I think. It’s never really made clear what Otongo is. Significant amounts of detail are told via thought bubbles that make for a more entertaining story than the one we’re given. Several time jumps make the bulk of this story meeting new characters who are ultimately pointless since they are gone forever a few panels later.
Day of Panic:
A body is discovered and the first suspect is a vampire. The town slowly delves into chaos as they decide the best way to deal with said vampire. Why they jumped to the vampire conclusion instead of any of the wild animals that could have attacked someone in this wild west era Texas town is beyond me. Even more confusing is the fact that no one even disagrees with the initial vampire claim. This story claims to be about vampires, but it’s more about mob hysteria and people’s tendency to latch on to buzz words.
Hand:
A tale of twin brothers. One of which is a total dick to the other. Most of this story comes in the form of flashbacks, giving examples of things that Timmy has done to Tommy. It’s literally been a life long struggle, as Timmy has tried to ruin every aspect of Tommy’s life up until the point where Tommy’s tormentor passes away. But, even after death, it seems that Timmy hasn’t finished with his brother. Sadly, no motivation for the epic, ethereal plane spanning hated is ever given.
Candles for the Undead:
This is the story of a candle maker turned master of the macabre Von Derek, who has lost everything. His fortune, his wife, and his business were all stripped from him when the plague struck. With no animals to get fat from to make his candles, he must become resourceful and find other materials and methods to reopen his business. There’s nothing quite like debt to turn a man to the dark arts. This story suffers the most from the limited page space, but I can say it is the most well-written story in the issue and I would honestly love to see an updated version in a mini-series form.
Sadly, the two remaining stories don’t warrant of their own, as there is nothing noteworthy that comes from either one from either an art or storytelling point of view. Still, this issue gave us four decent, if not flawed, short horror stories, and one that is truly excellent. While many may simply write this series off as “dated horror”, it is still definitely worth a read for those who enjoy going back to look at how far we’ve come. And the fact that this series gets to exist today is exciting, knowing that people are genuinely interested in the roots of horror. Old doesn’t necessarily mean bad, after all, the greatest horror movie of all time came out 42 years ago.
