House of Mystery #294 is an issue of the series House of Mystery (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1981.
Synopsis for "The Darkness!"
A boy named Montgomery Craig steals a voodoo charm in 1930s Haiti. The charm causes Craig to fear the dark. Even as he grows to manhood, Craig must always have the lights on for fear of monsters. Craig becomes a cruel business man but one night his personal assistant gets revenge him by turning off the lights engulfing Craig in his fears. Craig begins to panic and suffers a fatal heart attack. His assistant then finds out that Craigs fear of monsters was real as he screams out in the darkness.
Appearing in "The Darkness!"
Narrator:
- Cain (Host)
Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Old Haunts"
A man named Jud Hershel inherits an old house that is said to be haunted. Hershel ignores the haunted rumors and visits that house nightly as he studies its beautiful woodwork and statuary. One night, Hershel runs into an apparition of a woman named Gretchen who roams the house. The apparition appears nightly until Gretchen finally reveals how she and her husband used to reside in the mansion until she caught him in an act of infidelity. Gretchen becomes distraught and uses a gun to shoot herself. Hershel is skeptical that this woman really is a ghost. Hershel continues to see Gretchen on a nightly basis and begins to inform her that she suffers from psychosis. He tells her that she is still alive but Gretchen continues to disappear as soon as dawn arrives. One night Hershel discovers a secret compartment and discovers Gretchen hiding there. She has a stash of food proving that she is not truly a ghost. She then reveals what really happened on the tragic night that she supposedly died. She reveals that it was her husband Brad that discovered her in an act of infidelity with Brads best friend Phil. Brad shoots Phil but merely wounds him. Brad runs out and takes off in his car with Gretchen chasing behind. She jumps in the car with him but the the car rolls over ejecting Gretchen and Brad perishes in the accident. The town inhabitants assumed that Gretchen perished in the accident but she was just living in the house because she was ridden with guilt. Hershel holds Gretchen consoling her as the sun begins to rise but this time Hershel begins to fade away. He disappears as Gretchen walks the grounds and discovers Hershels grave marker. Hershel had been the ghost all along.
Appearing in "Old Haunts"
- Appearances not yet listed
Synopsis for "Congratulations, Mr Bates -- It's a Warlock!"
A married couple celebrates the birth of their child. They are not really an ordinary couple, the Bates family are actually witches but the father Mr Bates is having second thoughts about raising their child in the traditional ways of their Coven. He contacts a lawyer and decides to sue the mother to prevent his child from being raised as a Warlock. The mother Muriel is infuriated and fights the legal proceedings in court. The trial commences and John Bates makes the case that the life of a warlock is very lonely, people fear witches and he wants his son to be raised in a normal manner. At one point during the trial, Muriel asks to speak to John in private. They retreat to an empty room where Muriel asks if John has considered asking the baby how it wants to be raised. At this point and evil baby John is shown extending out his hand. A lawyer rushes in asking what happened to Mr Bates, he had disappeared. Muriel simply responds that John had left. John Bates is never seen again. The last panel reveals baby John holding a stuffed toy that wears the same color tie as his father.
Appearing in "Congratulations, Mr Bates -- It's a Warlock!"
- Appearances not yet listed
See Also
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