Secrets of Haunted House
Encyclopedia
Secrets of Haunted House was a horror
-suspense anthology
comic book
series published by DC Comics
from 1975 to 1982.
, and very much in the same vein as House of Mystery
and House of Secrets, Secrets of Haunted House was originally "hosted" by Cain, Abel
, Eve, and Destiny
(who had moved over from Weird Mystery Tales
). By issue #10, Destiny was the only one of these who remained a regular. In issue #40, Abel returned with no further mention of Destiny, going so far to say that the House of Secrets had been torn down. Issue #44 implies that various horror hosts are being murdered, most of whom were never to appear again; however, Lucien is killed on the opening splash page. He appears in the story subsequently, but the story ends with him being told to answer the door, which is what he was doing when he was killed.
Debuting in 1975, Secrets of Haunted House was a temporary victim of the "DC Implosion
." With issue #14 (October/November cover date), it was cancelled, only to be revived a year later with issue #15; the title continued until issue #46 in March 1982
).
Later in the series, the Mister E
character came into being, where he was a recurring character for ten issues, competing with the likes of Johnny Peril, Dr. 13, and I, Vampire — regulars of DC's other horror titles.
The series' letter column
was titled "The Haunted Mailbox."
Horror comics
Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. Horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to...
-suspense anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
from 1975 to 1982.
Publication history
Like its predecessor Secrets of Sinister HouseSecrets of Sinister House
Secrets of Sinister House was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972–1974, a companion to Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion.-Publication history:...
, and very much in the same vein as House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
and House of Secrets, Secrets of Haunted House was originally "hosted" by Cain, Abel
Cain and Abel (comics)
Cain and Abel are a pair of fictional characters in the DC Comics universe based on the Biblical Cain and Abel. They are key figures in DC's "Mystery" line of the late 1960s and 1970s, which became the mature-readers imprint, Vertigo, in 1993....
, Eve, and Destiny
Destiny (DC Comics)
Destiny is a DC Comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Bernie Wrightson, first appearing in Weird Mystery Tales #1 , and was regular host of that series for the first fourteen issues, after which he hosted Secrets of Haunted House. He is one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's comic book series,...
(who had moved over from Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
). By issue #10, Destiny was the only one of these who remained a regular. In issue #40, Abel returned with no further mention of Destiny, going so far to say that the House of Secrets had been torn down. Issue #44 implies that various horror hosts are being murdered, most of whom were never to appear again; however, Lucien is killed on the opening splash page. He appears in the story subsequently, but the story ends with him being told to answer the door, which is what he was doing when he was killed.
Debuting in 1975, Secrets of Haunted House was a temporary victim of the "DC Implosion
DC Implosion
The DC Implosion is the popular label for the sudden cancellation of more than two dozen ongoing and planned series by the American comics publisher DC Comics in 1978.-History:...
." With issue #14 (October/November cover date), it was cancelled, only to be revived a year later with issue #15; the title continued until issue #46 in March 1982
1982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
).
Later in the series, the Mister E
Mister E
Mister E is a fictional character that appears mainly in the Vertigo Comics universe, though he sometimes appears in the DC Comics universe. Created by Bob Rozakis and Jack C. Harris, the character first appeared in Secrets of Haunted House and was a recurring character for ten issues...
character came into being, where he was a recurring character for ten issues, competing with the likes of Johnny Peril, Dr. 13, and I, Vampire — regulars of DC's other horror titles.
The series' letter column
Comic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
was titled "The Haunted Mailbox."