House of Secrets (1956 1st Series) comic books 1976-1978

Cover art by Ernie Chan. "The Harder They Fall," script by Carl Wessler, art by Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chua); A bum dreams that he is a ruthless businessman on the way to a senate seat when he is betrayed by the beautiful girl he is in love with; He is relived that his recurring falling dreams are no longer possible with the realization that at Skid Row, he's got nowhere further to fall. Minerva Menace! Hostess snack cakes ad featuring Shazam! "The Magic Elixir," script by George Kashdan, art by Ricardo Villamonte; A group of vampires con a con man who sells snake oil that they've got something better; They lead the man to a corpse and pour some of their elixir into him; He gets up and the con man offers to cut the vampires in on the profit. "Final Exam" one-page Abel's Fables story, script and art by John Albano; An old man disintegrates when the doctor tests his reflexes by tapping his knee. "Suit of Lights," script by Steve Clement (plot) and Robert Kanigher, art by Ruben Yandoc. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.25.

Cover art by Bill Draut. "Where Dreams Are Born," script by Jack Oleck, art by Frank Redondo; A boy who can enter dreams based on what he reads immediately before he falls asleep and return with the material wealth that he finds in these places is tormented by his greedy foster parents who demand that he take them with him into his dreams so that they can fill up suitcases full of loot; The woman wants to beat the kid into acquiescing but the man tries to cozy up to him for a week first; The boy knows that they are evil doers so he denies being able to enter dreams. "Night Watchman," script by George Kashdan, art by Leopoldo Duranona; A vampire takes a job as a night watchman with the condition that no one enter the premises at night; When his boss becomes too curious for his own good, he becomes just another victim and the vampire resigns himself to looking for another job. "Snake Bite!", script by Steve Clement, art by Romy Gamboa; An escaped convict runs into a tribe of tiny Indians and dies when a rattlesnake bites him while harassing the Indians. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.25.

Cover art by Bernie Wrightson. "The Devil's Daughter," script by Jack Oleck, pencils by Steve Ditko, inks by Mike Royer; When a stepfather hears his daughter talking to the circus ape Bobo and the beast replies, he becomes convinced that she's a witch; The man attempts to kill the girl but the ape breaks his neck; The authorities have some suspicions about the girl, but she convinces them her stepfather was mad by showing them a book about ventriloquism she said she had been reading; The sheriff tells her that they are going to have to put down the ape now that it's killed and she pleads for a chance to say goodbye. Abel's Fables cartoon page by Sergio Aragones. "A Real Crazy Kid," script by Steve Skeates, art by Nestor Redondo; A ladies man meets a girl on the street who acts crazy and is intrigued by the potential challenge of getting her to fall in love with him; When he first sees her she is peeling two bananas without paying for them; He approaches her and she pushes the bananas into her ears telling him that she can't hear him because she's gone bananas. "Instant Rebirth!", script by George Kashdan, art by Bill Draut; An archaeologist gets more than he bargains for when he ingests the substance that will transform him into the natives' ancient god; He wanted the god's power but he gets the god's loathsome appearance as well. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.25.

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Last 25-cent cover price. Cover art by Ernie Chan. "Reprise: The Patchwork Man," script by Gerry Conway, art by Nestor Redondo; Gregori Arcane survived a fall and found himself hiding in a department store; He startled two employees opening up and security fired a shot that grazed his head, knocking him out; The security men turned him over to the police who were visited by a Dr. Chomes who demanded that they release his "patient" into his custody. Dr. Chomes conducted some painful experiments upon the Patchwork Man and the pain caused him to break his restraints and brush past Dr. Chomes and his assistant; Outside, a good Samaritan cab driver picked him up and drove him away from his tormenters; Dr. Chomes took down the license plate number and told his assistant they would acquire the man's address in the morning. The Cup Cake Caper Hostess Cup Cakes ad featuring Shazam! 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.25.

First 30-cent cover price. Cover art by Leopoldo Duranona. "You Can't Beat the Devil!", script by Bill Finger, art by E. R. Cruz; A man sells his soul to a demon named Caligula when the demon tells him as Roman Emperor he was so evil that Satan made him a demon to recruit other damned souls; The man thinks he can have fun for a year getting back at people and then when he's judged by Satan, he'll be made a demon like Caligula and can go on tormenting people; After the year, Caligula shows up again and claims his soul; The man expects his wife to testify that he was cruel since he beat her every day, but she lies and tells Satan's court that he was kind and loving. Abel's Fables cartoon, script by Don Edwing, art by Dave Manak. "Exit Laughing," script by Jack Oleck, pencils by Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chua), inks by Bill Draut; A man who was the victim of a practical joke in his college days shows up at the reunion twenty years later and the practical joker howls with laughter that he has been scared for twenty years because of when he dressed up as a ghost to frighten the man; The victim withdraws a knife and stabs the practical joker to death much to the shock of his companion. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.30.

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Cover art by Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chau). "Who Goes There?", script by Jack Oleck, art by Ernesto Patricio; A woman has a recurring dream where she flees from a specter and falls off a balcony, then wakes up; Her husband is concerned with his wife's distraught behavior so he takes her on a vacation; While on the road, she identifies the house where the dream occurs and are told by the real estate agent that it is for rent. "Food for Thought!", script by George Kashdan, art by Leopoldo Duranona; A man takes a serum which makes him invulnerable and then shoots the scientist who provided it; He goes to Africa to rob the native tribes, but they toss him into quicksand where the bugs devour him forever as he cannot die. Twinkies and Kelp Hostess snack cakes ad featuring Aquaman. "Playmate," script by Jack Oleck, art by Bill Draut; A crippled boy has a playmate come to visit him but his parents can't see the little girl he speaks of so they assume she is just an imaginary playmate; She wants him to come outside but he refuses so she tricks him by skipping rope in the path of an oncoming car. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.30.

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Cover pencils by Jack Sparling, inks by Vince Colletta. The Muse Hostess snack cakes ad featuring Batman. "Witch Blood," script by Jack Oleck, pencils by Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chua), inks by Bill Draut; A baron burns a woman as a witch because he wishes to annex her land. He gives her orphan boy to a vassal of his; When the man discovers that his adopted son can shape-shift he realizes that his mother really was a witch; The boy learns that the baron had burned his mother so he changes into a hawk and claws the baron's eyes. "The Experiment," art by Vicente Alcazar; This is a story with no text that looks like it is telling the story of Frankenstein, except that the last panel features Pinocchio. Abel's Fables cartoon, script by Don Edwing, art by Dave Manak. "The Evil Side," script by Steve Skeates, art by Ruben Yandoc (as Rubeny); A boy sorcerer resents his uncle for attempting to discourage him from following his evil inclinations and when the man's brother visits and mentions the powerful items kept in the attic, the boy waits until his uncle has gone to sleep before exploring the attic; He finds a magic carpet and a spell book that he uses to summon a demon so that his uncle will be killed and he'll be free of his smothering influence. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.30.

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Cover pencils by Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chua), inks by Vince Colletta. "The Man with Death on His Shoulders," script by Cary Bates, pencils by Mike Vosburg, inks by Vince Colletta; The ghost of a body builder gives a weak man power so that he can humiliate the boyfriends of the girls that previously rejected him; One day he accidentally kills a man walking with a beautiful girl and takes her to a cave while he figures out what to do with the body; The cave begins to collapse and he uses his strength to hold it up while the girl wanders out to the road. "The Vampire of Broadway," script by Robert Kanigher, art by Abe Ocampo; A sign painter working on an advertisement for a Broadway show about a vampire brings his creation to life when he falls in love with the girl; The painting kills him and two police officers before the second police officer, who suspects the painting to be the culprit, fires silver bullets into it and ends its menace. "Justice for All Includes Children" #9 public service announcement featuring Superman. "Bide Your Time," script by Steve Skeates, pencils by Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chua), inks by Vince Colletta; A man becomes the victim of a beautiful woman who claims to be a medium for an old man, but she is actually his lover and his spirit has been transferred into the body of an old man through a crystal ball. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.30.

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Last 30-cent cover price. Cover art by Luis Dominguez. "The Shark-Man Cometh!", script by Michael Fleisher and Russell Carley (as Russ Carley), art by E. R. Cruz; After a carnival barker's stunt man is "accidentally" killed for demanding more money for battling sharks, a wereshark shows up to take his place; The carnival barker's wife is turned on by him, so she goes out for a night swim with him; This enrages the carnival barker, so he hits her and takes a spear gun out to the pool. "The Operation Was Successful... But –", script by Robert Kanigher, art by Fred Carrillo; A jealous surgeon stabs an older physician and his attractive nurse to death and disposes of the bodies; He gets in a car accident and when he revives he finds himself a patient in surgery; He's shocked to discover that the medics are the two people he killed. Abel's Fables cartoon, script by Don Edwing, art by Dave Manak. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.30.

First 35-cent cover price. Cover price by Gray Morrow. "Snow Ghost," script by Bill Reilly (Murray Boltinoff), art by Bill Draut; A man kills his partner for gold and the dead man's ghost manipulates him into returning to the ghost's grandchildren where he expires just outside the cabin and is buried beneath the snow; The following day the kids find some personal effects of their grandfather outside as well as the gold. "Snake's Alive!", script by Michael J. Pellowski (idea) and E. Nelson Bridwell, art by Buddy Gernale; A man and a woman arrive on an island chain where the natives plan to sacrifice her to the snake god; The man is impatient to leave, but since the natives are pampering the woman before they sacrifice her, she doesn't want to go; The man picks up her body to show the terrible accident to the yacht crew and then they will leave, but the natives are enraged and they pursue the man. #7 Curt Swan DC Profiles bio by Mike Gold. Statement of ownership: Total No. Copies Printed Nearest To Filling Date (October 1, 1976): 301,574. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

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Cover price by Gray Morrow. Introductory page with Abel, script by Paul Levitz, art by Romeo Tanghal. "A Gift of Evil," script by Jack Oleck, pencils by Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chua), inks by Bill Draut; A man whose village is being destroyed by plague seeks a bargain with Satan and is answered by space aliens who give him their eggs in the form of gold cubes; The man hires agents to distribute the eggs throughout the world in order to buy medicine and supplies in an effort to relieve the suffering of his village. Abel's Fables one-page story, script by Don Edwing, art by Dave Manak. "The See-Through Thief!", script by David Michelinie and Russ Carley, art by Alex Nino; A boy vandalizes a witch's garden and she places a curse upon him that makes him invisible at random times for the rest of his life; He has difficulties proving to employers that he is reliable and so finally gets a job as a night watchman, where if he fades out, no one notices; He starts thinking that maybe he can use the curse to steal the payroll from the safe, so he waits until the curse kicks in and then blows the safe; It looks like he's going to be able to just walk out with the money but he starts to fade in and the police have been alerted. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

Cover price by Gray Morrow. Introductory page with Abel, script by Paul Levitz, art by Michael Golden. "Roman Holiday," script by George Kashdan, art by Ernie Chan; A man answers an ad to go on a Roman holiday and ends up being thrown to the lions. #19 Julius Schwartz DC Profiles bio. "Sorcerer's Apprentice," script by Jack Oleck, pencils by Steve Ditko, inks by Ernie Chan; The sorcerer's apprentice is ambitious and wants to wed the princess; The princess rebuffs him as it is not possible for the princess to marry a commoner; The apprentice gets the king to allow him along on his campaign and actually proves decisive in gaining the victory; When the apprentice again asks the king to marry his daughter, he is once more rebuffed, so he slays the king and usurps the throne; When he returns from the campaign he has his master tossed in the dungeon until he can arrange the marriage ceremony. Letter from comics writer and editor Kevin J. Dooley. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

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Cover price by Michael Wm. Kaluta. Introductory page with Abel, script by Paul Levitz, art by Michael Golden. "The Rain Dance," script by Paul Levitz (plot) and J. Cheever Loophole, art by Bill Draut; Settlers kidnap an Indian medicine man and force him to do a rain dance at gunpoint; The sky rains blood which clots into the form of a vampire bat; The bat kills most of the settlers until they try to set fire to it by burning the crops. "The Evil One," script by Jack Oleck, art by Ricardo Villamonte; A boy's uncle kills his father and hides the body; The boy suspects him but the police tell him that they can't arrest the uncle without a body; The years go by and the boy becomes angry and bitter living with his abusive uncle until he spots an old woman that the kids used to believe was a witch; He asks her if she can summon Satan but she gives him a book of spells and tells him to try it himself if he wants to because she doesn't believe in magic; He does attempt to summon Satan and it works; He offers Satan his soul in exchange for getting revenge on his uncle. #23 Bob Layton DC Profiles bio. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

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Cover art by Jim Starlin. Batman and Sable Lady Hostess snack cakes ad. "A God by Any Other Name," script by Gerry Conway, art by Gerry Talaoc; At the House of Secrets, The Phantom Stranger tells Abel how exorcists Father John Christian and Rabbi Samuel Shulman used to exorcise possessed machines; Dr. 13 arrives, and blames such stories on mass hysteria; But when machines all over the world run amok due to a demonic computer, it is up to The Stranger to stop it. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

Cover art by Mike Kaluta. Introductory page with Abel, script by Paul Levitz, art by Michael Golden. "Love Me... Love My Demon!", script by Arthur Suydam (idea) and Cary Burkett, art by Arthur Suydam; A marsh-demon befriends a kid in an orphanage; When the aunt and uncle come for the boy, the marsh-demon exchanges appearances with him and tells him to hide in the closet. The adults take the marsh-demon back with them to their house. "Death Has Baby-Blue Eyes," script by Robert Kanigher, art by Ruben Yandoc (as Rubeny); A three-month old child observes his parent's murder; The killer approaches the crib and gets a good look at the child and the elephant necklace he wears; The killer leaves the kid alone as he thinks there's no way the kid could act as a witness against him; The years pass, and the child grows up to be a police officer. "Nightmare," script by Miriam B. Campbell (poem) and Roger McKenzie, art by Michael Golden. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

Cover art by Vicente Alcazar. Introductory page with Abel, script by Paul Levitz, pencils by John Calnan, inks by Danny Bulanadi. "Sister Witch," script by Jack C. Harris, art by Jess Jodloman; A boy is picked up at the orphanage by his sister only to learn that he is to be sacrificed in a Satanic ritual. Statement of ownership; Total No. Copies Printed Nearest To Filing Date: 303,008. "Monkey See, Monkey Do," script by Jack Oleck, art by Ruben Yandoc; A doctor thinks that he can use an ape's imitative qualities to murder his wife and get away with it as he suspects her and his assistant of being lovers; The assistant complains when the doctor leaves his trained ape uncaged while they operate on other primates, but the doctor tells the assistant if he doesn't like it than he can leave; Eventually the doctor accuses the assistant and the assistant admits he loves the doctor's wife but they are not having an affair; The doctor fires the assistant but before he leaves the assistant sees the doll that the doctor trains the ape to act aggressively on and figures the assistant might be able to implicate him in his wife's murder. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

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Cover art by Jim Aparo. Introductory page with Abel, script by Paul Levitz, art by Gerry Talaoc. "The Resurrection Business!", script by Bob Toomey, pencils by Val Mayerik, inks by Augie Scotto; A man who revives the dead for money is strangled by the ungrateful dead. "Don't Look Now!", script by Jack Oleck, art by Alex Niño; A man leads an expedition that ends in disaster to a Greek island rumored to be the home of shape-shifting blood suckers called Cypors; They locate the Cypor cave but all except three all killed retreating from the cave; Explosives are used accidentally to seal the cave and the man who lead the expedition is bitter after returning home with no proof that Cypors exist; He begins to suspect that his wife really died in the cave and that a Cypor took her place so he follows her one evening and sees her feed off a pedestrian; He calls the other man who came back from the expedition and they shoot her. DC Publishorial by Jenette Kahn. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.35.

Featuring: 1-page "The House of Secrets" intro written by Paul Levitz and drawn by Bill Draut & Maurice Whitman; "To Master a Mummy!" written by Scott Edelman and drawn by Charles Nicholas and Romeo Tanghal; "The Smartest Plant in the World!" written by Arnold Drake and drawn by Ruben Yandoc; "A Piece of the Sky" written by Bob Toomey and drawn by Tom Sutton; "The Knight in a Gilded Cage!" written by Scott Edelman and drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Cover by Mike Kaluta. 44 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.50.