A Couple Of Days Ago I
Posted A Story The Plague
Of Gournau Which Contained A
Very Interesting Story Concept
Involving The Tying Of A Beetle
To A String To Make Someone
Return. Well It Was Pointed Out
To Me By Two Very Astute
Comic Book Historians
That This Concept Has Been
Used Before In Other Golden
Age Horror Stories. So Now
Thanks To JMR And Glowworm
Here Are Both Of Those Tales.
'You Must Believe Me'
Is From This Magazine
Is Haunted #17....
.... It's Actually A
Spider On A String In
The Witch Hunter
From Adventures Into
The Unknown #55.
And The Story I Posted Before
The Plague of Gornau
From Boris Karloff's
Tales Of Mystery #84
Thank you, but I'm far from a learned comic historian. Just simply noticed a pattern with this beetle (or spider) on a string pattern. It started with the tale I mentioned and then I saw a very similar pattern with the tale the other poster mentioned, and finally I saw the Karloff tale. I actually never knew about this supposed method of bringing someone back (or in these cases back from the dead) before then.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think for the final tale as I noticed on Saturday's posting as well, you are missing one of the essential pages where the witch hunter finally gets news of the missing alchemist as he tries out the beetle and the string only to be told that he is dead. He refuses to believe this and at that moment the ghost appears.
ReplyDeleteI re-upped the last story so it should be complete now.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder now if there aren't more stories with this spider on a string theme.
Or Beetle on a string.
ReplyDeleteI wonder so myself.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call myself a comic historian, I'm just a guy who always liked the spooky comics best.
ReplyDeleteThe story 'You Must Believe Me' stuck in my mind due to the beetle on a string detail and the coloration of the face of Mr. Hemming. He looks more like a fiend from the shadowy realm than a human being due to the coloring job done, though in this case the eerie flesh tone added to the scare factor in this tale.
Thanks for posting all three stories, it was interesting to see how different writers took the general idea and made it unique to each tale.
I like the spooky comics best myself and I thank you for finding this cool story. It's funny because as a small child I was afraid of these horror comics and movies. They gave me nightmares. I think by the time I was 7 or 8 years old I began to enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteIt was kinda fun to put these three stories together to compare and contrast.