House of Mystery (1951)

Name:

House of Mystery

Start year:

1951

Publisher:

DC Comics

Aliases:

First issue:

House of Mystery #1 Wanda Was a Werewolf

Last issue:

House of Mystery #321 This Property is Condemned! / Government Vampire / I... Baby Vampire! / Can't Wait to Get Off Work / I Am a Middle-Aged Werewolf!

See at ComicVine

The original Logo for the House of Mystery volume was designed by Gaspar Saladino.

Like DC's popular science-fiction comics "Mystery in Space" and "Strange Adventures," "House of Mystery" was a wide ranging anthology title, but what made it different was that its content was mostly horror themed. The title's first issue contained stories of the supernatural like "Wanda was a werewolf" to articles debunking spiritualism. The meat of the series' early issues was occult stories mixed with crime thrillers, plus the occasional foray into science fiction. However, with the Comics Code Authority of 1954 - brought about because of public concerns regarding "inappropriate material in comics"- horror themes featuring werewolves, vampires etc were banned. "House of Mystery" was therefore forced to gradually re-focus itself as a suspense and science fiction title.

"House of Mystery" was re-vamped again in the Silver Age, changing its focus to super heroes for the first time in issue 143 and until 155 it would star Martian Manhunter. The House of Mystery was a location that existed within the DC Universe, although its origins remained unknown and its dimensions were in a constant state of flux. In the late 1960's the Biblical character Cain was introduced to reside over the house as an "Able Care Taker" with issue #168. The same issue saw the title return to its horror roots under the editorship of Joe Orlando as the comic industry began to edge away from the confines of the CCA. "House of Mystery" remained in the horror genre for the rest of its run which lasted until #321 (October 1983). Before the series ended, House of Mystery introduced the character of Andrew Bennett, the anguished vampire of the serialized, "I...Vampire!" (Issue# 290 seeing his debut). After the series ended, the House of Mystery remained located in the DCU and was a key location in the Dreaming of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.

Collected Editions

The House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus Volume 1 (#174-200)
The House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus Volume 2 (#201-226)
DC Through the '80s: The End of Eras (#286, 290, 294-295, 300, 308 & 321)
I... Vampire! (#290, 291, 293, 295, 297, 299, 302 & 304-319)

Issues

#1 Wanda Was a Werewolf December 31st, 1951

#2 I Was A Dead Man! February 29th, 1952

#3 The Dummy of Death! April 30th, 1952

#4 The Man with the Evil Eye June 30th, 1952

#5 I Was A Witch August 31st, 1952

#6 The Monster in Clay September 30th, 1952

#7 The Nine Lives of Alger Denham October 31st, 1952

#8 Tattoos of Doom November 30th, 1952

#9 The Secret of the Little Black Bag! December 31st, 1952

#10 The Wishes of Doom! January 31st, 1953

#11 February 1st, 1953

#12 The Secret of the Matador's Sword March 31st, 1953

#13 The Theater of a Thousand Thrills April 30th, 1953

#14 The Case of the Deadly Dolls May 31st, 1953

#15 The Man Who Could Change The World June 30th, 1953

#16 The Man Who Killed His Shadow July 31st, 1953

#17 Station G-H-O-S-T August 31st, 1953

#18 Devil Bird! September 30th, 1953

#19 The Strange Faces of Death! October 31st, 1953

#20 Mr. Mortem November 30th, 1953

#21 The Magic Spotlight! December 31st, 1953

#22 The Ghost of Devil Mountain January 31st, 1954

#23 Stamps of Doom February 28th, 1954

#24 The Bewitched Beauty March 31st, 1954

#25 The Hands That Could Haunt April 30th, 1954

#26 The Human Target May 31st, 1954

#27 Fate Holds Four Aces June 30th, 1954

#28 The Clock Strikes Death July 31st, 1954

#29 The Man Who Became a Lion August 31st, 1954

#30 The Statue That was Tried For Muder September 30th, 1954

Characters in volume

Cain Appeared in 147 issue(s)

Moolah the Mystic Appeared in 73 issue(s)

Gregory Appeared in 42 issue(s)

Professor Eureka Appeared in 33 issue(s)

Martian Manhunter Appeared in 31 issue(s)

Andrew Bennett Appeared in 24 issue(s)

Abel Appeared in 19 issue(s)

Deborah Dancer Appeared in 18 issue(s)

Robby Reed Appeared in 18 issue(s)

Dmitri Mishkin Appeared in 16 issue(s)

Mary, Queen of Blood Appeared in 16 issue(s)

Zook Appeared in 16 issue(s)

Satan Appeared in 15 issue(s)

Mr. V Appeared in 10 issue(s)

Shorty Appeared in 10 issue(s)

Dr. Floogle Appeared in 9 issue(s)

Peter Puptent Appeared in 8 issue(s)

The Magic Genie Appeared in 8 issue(s)

Doctor Rocket Appeared in 6 issue(s)

Eve Appeared in 5 issue(s)

Susan Shoemaker Appeared in 5 issue(s)

Cynthia Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Death Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Mildred Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Mordred Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Destiny of the Endless Appeared in 3 issue(s)

Hamid the Hypnotist Appeared in 3 issue(s)

Jack C. Harris Appeared in 3 issue(s)

Karen Berger Appeared in 3 issue(s)

Len Wein Appeared in 3 issue(s)

Concepts in volume

Anthology Appeared in 321 issue(s)

Horror Appeared in 302 issue(s)

Aliens Appeared in 120 issue(s)

Magic Appeared in 84 issue(s)

Murder Appeared in 79 issue(s)

Revenge Appeared in 77 issue(s)

Ghosts Appeared in 73 issue(s)

Fringe Science Appeared in 71 issue(s)

Witches Appeared in 31 issue(s)

Curse Appeared in 28 issue(s)

Robots Appeared in 26 issue(s)

Archaeology Appeared in 24 issue(s)

Demons Appeared in 23 issue(s)

Indigenous People Appeared in 22 issue(s)

Occult Appeared in 22 issue(s)

Werecreatures Appeared in 22 issue(s)

Circus Appeared in 19 issue(s)

Time Travel Appeared in 18 issue(s)

Vampire Hunter Appeared in 17 issue(s)

Bronze Age of Comics Appeared in 13 issue(s)

Dream Sequence Appeared in 11 issue(s)

Possession Appeared in 11 issue(s)

Dimensional Travel Appeared in 10 issue(s)

Gambling Appeared in 10 issue(s)

Organized Crime Appeared in 10 issue(s)

Voodoo Appeared in 9 issue(s)

Alternate Reality Appeared in 6 issue(s)

Religion Appeared in 6 issue(s)

Silver Age of Comics Appeared in 6 issue(s)

Suspended Animation Appeared in 6 issue(s)

Locations in volume

The House of Mystery Appeared in 147 issue(s)

New York City Appeared in 27 issue(s)

London Appeared in 22 issue(s)

England Appeared in 21 issue(s)

Egypt Appeared in 19 issue(s)

Littleville Appeared in 17 issue(s)

Africa Appeared in 15 issue(s)

France Appeared in 14 issue(s)

Europe Appeared in 12 issue(s)

Paris Appeared in 12 issue(s)

Atlantic Ocean Appeared in 9 issue(s)

New York State Appeared in 9 issue(s)

India Appeared in 8 issue(s)

Hell Appeared in 7 issue(s)

Mexico Appeared in 7 issue(s)

Scotland Appeared in 7 issue(s)

Space Appeared in 7 issue(s)

South America Appeared in 6 issue(s)

China Appeared in 5 issue(s)

Greece Appeared in 5 issue(s)

Hollywood Appeared in 5 issue(s)

Italy Appeared in 5 issue(s)

California Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Germany Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Kansas Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Maine Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Manhattan Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Missouri Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Pacific Ocean Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Peru Appeared in 4 issue(s)

Objects in volume

H Dial Appeared in 18 issue(s)

The Flying Dutchman Appeared in 2 issue(s)

Hand of Glory Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Necronomicon Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Pandora's Box Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Authors in volume

Ira Schnapp Appeared in 158 issue(s)

Henry Boltinoff Appeared in 116 issue(s)

Jack Miller Appeared in 89 issue(s)

George Roussos Appeared in 86 issue(s)

Whitney Ellsworth Appeared in 84 issue(s)

Jack Schiff Appeared in 81 issue(s)

Will Ely Appeared in 77 issue(s)

Joe Orlando Appeared in 71 issue(s)

Mort Meskin Appeared in 63 issue(s)

Ruben Moreira Appeared in 56 issue(s)

George Kashdan Appeared in 50 issue(s)

Jack Oleck Appeared in 49 issue(s)

Sheldon Moldoff Appeared in 49 issue(s)

Dick Dillin Appeared in 43 issue(s)

Sergio Aragonés Appeared in 43 issue(s)

Stan Starkman Appeared in 43 issue(s)

Howard Purcell Appeared in 42 issue(s)

Jim Mooney Appeared in 42 issue(s)

Michael Wm Kaluta Appeared in 39 issue(s)

Nick Cardy Appeared in 39 issue(s)

Jerry Serpe Appeared in 35 issue(s)

Bernard Baily Appeared in 32 issue(s)

Joe Certa Appeared in 31 issue(s)

Howard Sherman Appeared in 30 issue(s)

Karen Berger Appeared in 30 issue(s)

Morris Waldinger Appeared in 30 issue(s)

Adrienne Roy Appeared in 29 issue(s)

Bernie Wrightson Appeared in 29 issue(s)

Curt Swan Appeared in 28 issue(s)

Neal Adams Appeared in 27 issue(s)

Teams in volume

Vampires Appeared in 46 issue(s)

Dial H for Hero Appeared in 18 issue(s)

The Blood Red Moon Appeared in 18 issue(s)

United States Army Appeared in 13 issue(s)

Jinn Appeared in 7 issue(s)

Mummies Appeared in 5 issue(s)

Werewolves Appeared in 5 issue(s)

Nazis Appeared in 3 issue(s)

The Three Witches Appeared in 3 issue(s)

Zombies Appeared in 3 issue(s)

Fairies Appeared in 2 issue(s)

Mermaids Appeared in 2 issue(s)

Amazons Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Angels Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Asgardian Gods Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Cavemen Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Dragons Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Elves Appeared in 1 issue(s)

French Foreign Legion Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Gorgons Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Harpies Appeared in 1 issue(s)

KGB Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Ku Klux Klan Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Romans Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Royal Air Force Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Sirens Appeared in 1 issue(s)

TRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids Appeared in 1 issue(s)

United States Air Force Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Vikings Appeared in 1 issue(s)

Characters first appearance

Andrew Bennett In issue #290

Bug Baron In issue #163

Cain In issue #175

Deborah Dancer In issue #290

Dmitri Mishkin In issue #290

Doctor Cyclops In issue #164

Doctor Rigoro Mortis In issue #165

Dr. Drago In issue #160

Franz Ferdinand In issue #20

Gregory In issue #175

Hamid the Hypnotist In issue #75

Jenette Kahn In issue #252

Karen Berger In issue #292

King Kandy In issue #160

Lorelei In issue #72

Marie Fouchere In issue #161

Mary, Queen of Blood In issue #290

Master Shoju In issue #297

Moolah the Mystic In issue #39

Moon Man In issue #156

Mr. V In issue #160

Peter Puptent In issue #73

Robby Reed In issue #156

Susan Shoemaker In issue #160

The Moon Monster In issue #97

Toymaster In issue #169

Concepts first appearance

Ghost Ship In issue #4

Metafiction In issue #95

Phobia In issue #28

Suspended Animation In issue #84

Read-Comics.Net

House of Mystery (1951)

House of Mystery (1951)

House of Mystery (1951)

Collected Editions

Issues

Characters in volume

Concepts in volume

Locations in volume

Objects in volume

Authors in volume

Teams in volume

Characters first appearance

Concepts first appearance