Ghoul Mourning, Maniacs!
Yeshhh…that’s right. It’s 2014. Happy New FEAR! I’m back, to share some vintage horror goodness with you.
Let me tell you about Terrors of Dracula, number 5.
It was the late 1979, when we took a road trip to NYC, to get my sister to a rendezvous with the New York State NYSMA high school orchestra. From there, they were to travel to Europe. So, jam packed into our station wagon, were my father, three sisters, our future step mother and me. I was almost 9.
The road trip was spread out over a couple of days, and we did the expected tourist stuff until we arrived in NYC. From there on in, it was strictly can rides. Had to rest the station wagon, faux wood panelling and all. When we checked into the hotel, my father and I went to the newsstand in the lobby. I spotted it, and fell in love with- Terrors of Dracula, number 5! Oh, the cover! Blood, gore, monsters fighting to the death, over an unconscious babe. What’s not to love? My father got it for me, and I sporadically read through it, during our stay. Statue of Liberty, then back to the hotel and old number 5. Empire State Building, then old number 5, etc. , etc. It wasn’t until we were back on the road, that I got a real good read through, while crammed into the back of the station wagon. I’ll share with you, my top picks from this issue.
Terrors of Dracula was a magazine series of black and white horror comicbook reprints published by the notorious Eerie Publications, sometimes known as Modern Day Periodicals. This particular cover was originally used for Horror Tales, in 1973. The stories are culled from their other horror titles, and given new titles. There are nine stories in this issue. I’m partial to three of them. Don’t get me wrong- the others are good, too. But, these three really stand out!
First up, is “Where the Flesheaters Dwell.”
In this tale, we find Roman policemen chasing a crook named Banco, through the sewers. They lose him track of him. When they do find him, his body’s flesh has been devoured. Still in the sewers, the policemen discover a catacombs system, rife with old skeletons, bodies and giant flesh eating creatures! The higher ranked policeman, Signor Renzi, gives his partner Pietro to the fiends. This starts a weird partnership between Renzi and the creatures. He gives them victims. They do his bidding, which mostly involves multiple bank robberies.
Renzi’s home is invaded by the creatures, because he has stopped feeding them victims. There is a struggle, which doesn’t end very well. The creatures leave with his wife and daughter! Renzi follows, but is too slow. When he arrives, the creatures proudly show off their trophies; picked clean from the neck down! Then, it is Renzi’s turn… Now that is some horror poetry in motion, Daddy-o! MMM…MMM!
My second pick is- “Swamp Monsters” and from the very first page ( a splash panel), you’ll see some real gorey, kinetic drawing, complete with a beheading, by a begin itch named Bombo! The head’s left eye is bursting out its socket, while the whole head is absolutely and furiously airborne!
Riley and his small gang have robbed a bank. His two partners are shot dead, and he gets away with only sixty grand of their haul. He finds temporary refuge among the underworld. He makes arrangements to get taken to a crime hideout, run by “The Duchess” and her staff- Lulu and Bombo. They are to escort him at some point, to South America.
When he arrives, he is not thrilled. The hideout is a rundown shanty, in the middle of the Florida Everglades. But, once inside, the scenery is different, as the place is furnished like a four star hotel. Authentic cigars, fancy cocktails and sumptuous meats are always at the ready. Riley is starting to really enjoy himself, and is getting fat from the weeks of meals and cocktails, while pondering a romance with the Duchess.
After he gets spooked by Bombo, then a discovery of human skulls, which are explained as a hobby, Riley wants to leave. He notices the heavy meals are not as plentiful. Riley goes to the kitchen to get a snack. He opens a meat freezer, in hopes of finding some chops to fry. He finds the freezer stocked with human limbs! Riley does the math, and realizes that he has been gorging on human flesh. Also, that he is probably going to be a featured menu item!
Riley tries to escape, but is caught by Bombo. He tries to bargain with Bombo and the Duchess to no avail. He is fattened up, they have money, and will soon have him! Bombo raises the meat cleaver and… you can fill in the blanks…
My third and final pick is, “The Hungry Ghoul.”
Ellison Eldritch inherits his ancestral estate, and its own private mausoleum.
He tours the grounds and mausoleum, only to find his grandfather’s casket is wide open. He makes return trips, as he feels closer to his kin by this practice.
During one trip to the mausoleum, Ellison notices the casket of cousin Ambrose is wide open. Upon closer inspection, he sees that Ambrose has been gutted! He is astonished at what he has discovered!
Ellison goes into town, and purchases a steel trap. Big enough to catch a man. After setting the traps, he falls into a nightmare filled sleep. Visions of cousin Ambrose disturb him. He awakens, to look in on his cousin. He discovers that Ambrose’s body has been fouled again, and that a ghoul has struck once more!
This time, he enlists the police to stand guard at night.
Ellis discovers the Eldritch family history. Reading through generations of his family was exciting. When he came to entries made by his grandfather, the excitement doubled! His grandfather mentions a suspected ghoul tampering with the family mausoleum. Part of the page is torn out, which supposedly reveals the ghoul’s identity. Ellis falls into another fitful sleep.
Ellis is woken up by a man’s voice and flashlight beams. He has no idea where he is or how he got there. He is in the family mausoleum, eating his cousin Ambrose. The men holding the flashlights are the policemen he hired.
They followed him in there. Ellison realizes that his grandfather and all of the Eldritch clan, were ghouls. Eating ancestors within the family mausoleum. The caskets were never sealed, in case an Eldritch was hungry. Now, I AXE you, have you ever heard of a closer knit family? I think not.
I had my copy of this magazine for about a year or two. Then, my parents found it. I never hid it, so it couldn’t have been to hard to see. I’m not even sure how they stumbled upon it. Anyway, one thing led to another, and I believe there was some parental reading, then a sir down talk, where I was given the third degree about taste and disgust, etc. Then, the grand finale- watching being torn to shreds, and deposited into the trash. For years, I could only think of the three stories. Not entirely, but enough.
I had no recollection of the magazine.’a title. I had only the vaguest idea of the cover art. I wanted to reclaim this magnificent mag, and would look now and then, at websites, collector shows, comic shops, etc. but never found any trace. I came across a copy of Voodoo Tales, last year, and thought I had some kind of lead. I’d search online every now and then, but nothing looked right. Again, I couldn’t recall the title, so too many cross references slowed my search.
But, last Christmas, I bought a book called “The Weird World of Eerie Publishing.” In this book, I found references to the three stories I partially burned into my brain. Small pieces of familiar artwork dotted the chapters. I spotted the cover image that I needed. The date (1973) didn’t match my purchase (1979) and the title didn’t sound right. Then I spotted the cover I did remember, and did some research. I found out about the reprints and the stories, then started hunting on ebay. I found a copy within a week. I bought it immediately! I didn’t want to wait it out and chance getting outbid.
When I received this version of the magazine, as soon as I started turning pages, floods of memories came rushing in! Each panel and page brought something back. I felt like I was in a yellow cab with my father, going through Times Square to see Meatballs, just for “the boys,” as my stepmother and my sisters went on to do something just for “the girls.”
Until next time, Maniacs: OuijaBoardWishesCadaverDreams!!
Monstermatt Patterson
Author of
Ha-Ha! Horror
