House of Secrets (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1971. It was published on June 1, 1971.
Synopsis for "Lonely in Death!"
At first circumstances in an old house led a young woman to believe her recently deceased mother is attempting to kill her in order to have company in the afterlife, but then the resentful brother is revealed as the cause of the near fatal mishaps. He attempts to stab his sister with a spear but falls out a window to his death when startled by something the woman takes to be her mother's ghost protecting her, not attempting to kill her as she mistakenly previously believed.
Appearing in "Lonely in Death!"
Narrator:
Featured Characters:
- Cynthia Compton (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Mrs. Conrad (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Morris Compton (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Mrs. Compton, Cynthia & Morris' mother (As a spirit)
Locations:
- House of Secrets
- Compton mansion
Items:
- Spear
Synopsis for "The Curse of the Cat's Cradle"
This story is reprinted from My Greatest Adventure #85.
A Guatemalan plantation manager and his underling discover a giant creature trapped inside a patch of quicksand. The giant spells out a message for them by way of a cat's cradle of vines.
Appearing in "The Curse of the Cat's Cradle"
Featured Characters:
- Dan Hearn (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Hector (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Mike Trammel (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- A Giant
Locations:
Items:
- Giant's gold
- Machete
Vehicles:
- Jeep
Synopsis for "Nightmare"
A man being paid to sabotage a construction project has a nightmare about falling into a dark area and then being seized by a giant hand. After he wakes up and heads to the construction site he finds that his nightmare was a premonition.
Appearing in "Nightmare"
Featured Characters:
- Dirk Ellis (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Creature in the dark (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Construction site
- Black pit (In dream sequence only)
Synopsis for "The Beast from The Box"
This story is reprinted from House of Secrets #24.
Appearing in "The Beast from The Box"
Featured Characters:
- Charles Sanders (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Anne (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Beast from the box (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Barney (Single appearance)
Locations:
- An undisclosed city
Items:
- Small box-like cocoon
Synopsis for "Never Kill a Witch's Son!"
A niece and her husband plot to kill her uncle for insurance money, but since the uncle's mother fancies herself a witch, the husband hatches a scheme to drive his wife to suicide so that he can get all the money. He fakes the uncle's appearances after they push him to his death off the balcony claiming that he had a fainting spell but does too good a job and while his wife has been sedated, she sees her husband at the balcony and mistakes him for her uncle and shoves him to his death. All this time, the uncle's mother has been tending her son's grave, believing herself to be responsible through black magic for what happens to the niece and her husband.
Appearing in "Never Kill a Witch's Son!"
Narrator:
Featured Characters:
- Mrs. Rawson (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Ken Rawson (Single appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
- Randy Winthrop (Single appearance; dies)
- Andria Winthrop (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Inspector (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
- Martin (Single appearance)
Locations:
- The Rawson estate
Notes
- Except for "The Curse of the Cat's Cradle" and "The Beast from the Box", which are reprints from My Greatest Adventure #85 and House of Secrets #24 the stories and features in this issue are reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Vol. 1.
- Sergio Aragonés does the artwork on the gag strip "Abel's Fables".
See Also