Vintage Comics: "Beware! Terror Tales!" Issue 6; Horror at the Lighthouse, The Tattooed Heart (Cover - Pg. 15)

 Because I'd been so underwhelmed by the last series, I decided to dig up something a little more substantial this week, 'Beware! Terror Tales!'. There is no doubt in my mind that this comic is not telling me to just realize that I might have an uncomfortable dream tonight. I'm in for (and obviously you, readers are also) TERROR! The first story includes a lighthouse and a creepy old dude, but unlike 'The Lighthouse', it's a lot less gross. Fantastically dark with some equally wonderful art (despite the grain and age of the issue), this one is the exact opposite sort of story from the last comic. In fact, maybe it's a little too dark. The second story, reminiscent of an old Twilight Zone episode seemed even darker. A grim reminder that your tattoo will outlive you, so be careful where you put it. Also, don't be a Nazi. That should probably be the first point, actually.

Vintage Comics: Beware, Issue #8, Terror in the Streets, The Watery Ghost, Come Die With Me (Pg. 16 - End)

 Wrapping up this shorter comic issue, Beware reminds me just how delightfully dark it was for a classic horror comic. I just love the twisted endings. The last one especially of the corpse having a night on the town with his 'friends' is particularly fun. You don't typically find these sorts of stories in 50s comics, and it's no wonder a lot of them became banned for a couple of decades until the American public lightened up.

Vintage Comics: Beware, Issue #8, Lost Souls, When Witches Summon (Cover - pg. 15)

 Returning with some more long-awaited vintage comics, this year I've got a fun one for you. An evil witch, a ghostly treasure, headless men and undead crusaders. I can't help but wonder why a music professor was so dedicated to his craft that he'd seek out a dead witch party to find a forgotten song.

Book of the Week: Who's Been Sleeping in my Grave? (Ghosts of Fear Street #2) by R. L. Stine

Fueled by fond library memories of my childhood perusing the shelves and grabbing the most intensely-shaded books with the brightest titles, I was thinking about the Ghosts of Fear Street series this morning. I read all of R. L. Stine's stuff throughout my childhood, stopping with a Nightmare Room book before I finally felt I'd outgrown his stuff. Goosebumps, Fear Street, Ghosts of Fear Street - - I loved them all. Why? Because they were mostly kids books that rarely had a happy ending, and it just felt scarier that way.

Some day I might revisit all of his books, though it'd be a monumental task. Whether they're easy 1-day reads or not, there are a lot of them. However, this one was one of my favorites. A kid has a creepy substitute teacher who has a particular fondness for him. Nostalgia is the main operator here, because I don't remember much. Except the chills that ran down my spine whenever the substitute teacher was described, and when her true identity was revealed in all it's - - gory. (Get it? Gory? Glory?)

Featured Phobia: Catoptrophobia (fear of mirrors)

Say that one three times fast. Catoptrophobia, catoptrophiblia, catroptohobi...Let's just call it fear of mirrors. This should be one we're all well aware of, and why not? Everyone is raised on some myth about a monster in the mirror, usually Bloody Mary, sometimes Candyman if you prefer horror movies to stories. When we're toddlers, we learn about object permanence, and examining your reflection is a major part of the process. It's also oddly magical in a manner of speaking. You see yourself, and deep down the primitive part of your soul may wonder whether that's actually you looking back, or something far more sinister.

Catoptrophobia isn't really about fearing the mirror itself. It's the reflection. Reflection of the self, of objects, or even words being mouthed. Some people find this fear so entrenched that even seeing a shiny surface that can reflect an image back, whether it's clear or not. A vast majority of sufferers associate mirrors with the supernatural, and these fears can often stem from religious or superstitious beliefs. Sometimes it merely relates to poor self image, as with those suffering from body dysmorphia.

Gradual exposure, psychotherapy, and 'talk therapy' through support groups are common ways of treating this fear. However, given that it can relate to concerns about the supernatural, even homeopathic remedies might have a place for the sufferer who believes in them. At the end of the day, my only real advice to you is fairly simple. You can run, you can even hide your reflection, but never break a mirror. I think you know why.

Additionally, I can't resist sharing this scene from my favorite Nightmare on Elm Street film (part 4), so for those who haven't seen it - - you may want to sit this one out.

Short Story Recommendations

So a couple of these might have been mentioned in previous posts, but I really can't stress enough how great they are. Today I'd like to give you guys a few recommendations for some simple, fun short stories to pass the haunting hours this month. Attached will be pictures of the books I've found them in for easy reference. So, without further ado, let's get into it!

W. S. by L. P. Hartley

Though that may be a mouthful of single letters, this short story was what inspired today's post. I think all of us who read, or who have grown up reading, are victims of our own need to buy more books even when we've got a shelf or two of the ones we still haven't managed to get around to. '11 Great Horror Stories' was one of the many, because I was familiar with more than half of the works in it (The Dunwich Horror, The Judge's House, The Shed, etc.) W.S. however, seems to be the ancestor of a very familiar trope (one especially popular with Stephen King) of a writer having a mental battle with one of his own creations. Sadly, this story was published posthumously, and I can only hope it wasn't autobiographical.

Fish Night by Joe R. Lansdale

Did you honestly think you'd get through an entry of mine about short stories without at least one Lansdale story sneaking in here? Fish Night is one of his more peculiar (though they've all sort of got that title) works about the phantoms of long dead sea creatures float about in the desert that used to be the ocean they lived in. It's such an interesting concept, I couldn't pass it up.

Drink My Blood by Richard Matheson

Throughout middle school, junior high, and high school - - this story was my white whale. I had read about it once in a small encyclopedia entry, and was obsessed with finding it. Now I may not be ancient, but it was a lot harder in the early to mid-2000s to find out of print books unless you dealt with certain vendors or were old enough to have a card and drop some cash online (which I was not). So when I finally stumbled on this book at a garage sale several years ago, and at long last got to read the story by Richard Matheson about a young boy obsessed with becoming a vampire, it was the best feeling in the world. Yes, it didn't live up to the hype, but I still highly recommend this story (if you can find it. It'll be a lot easier now than it was then...)

Sabrina by Don Wulffson

This one is not so much terrifying as a little upsetting (especially if you're an adult). A young boy falls in love with a beautiful performer, and things work out in the most twisted way possible thanks to a few nasty adults. For those of you who have somehow read this, I'm sure you'll understand why I had to keep it vague for that bizarre little twist.

A Grave Misunderstanding by Leon Garfield

There's no deep message behind this one, nothing beyond the whole 'man's best friend' concept wherein a dog keeps his master safe from a pretty ghost--and, well, a pretty living woman too. It's worth a read for the humor and the oddly poetic nature of a dog's point of view.