House of Mystery #201 Welcome to the House of Mystery / Put Your Trust in a Killer! / Million-Dollar Magic / Cain's Game Room / Hail the Conquering Aliens / The Demon Within! / A Tale of Vengeance!

Issue Description

"The Demon Within!"

A boy named Gary Winters discovered that by some form of magic, he can transform himself into a red monster and return to his normal self. He is not viscious as the monster but frightens his parents and sister, then his schoolmates and teachers with this ability. They don’t understand the boy's ability and insist that he stop transforming himself into this red monster. His parents take him to a hospital for tests. The doctor asks for a week to study the child and determine if anything is possible to prevent the child from transforming himself into a monster. The doctor determines that the boy can transform himself by thinking, so the doctor performs a lobotomy on the boy. Following the operation, the boy becomes a blankly staring and unthinking child. The community feels safe again, but horrific damage was done to the child forever.

"Welcome to the House of Mystery" written by Joe Orlando, penciled and inked by Bernie Wrightson."Put Your Trust in a Killer!" written by Steve Skeates, penciled and inked by Adolfo Buylla."Million-Dollar Magic" Reprinted from House of Mystery #60."Cain's Game Room" written, penciled and inked by Sergio Aragones."Hail the Conquering Aliens" Reprinted from House of Mystery #103."The Demon Within!" plotted by Joe Orlando, scripted by John Albano, penciled and inked by Jim Aparo. Reprinted in Limited Collectors Edition C-52, DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #24, Wrath of the Spectre #4 and Welcome Back to the House of Mystery #1."A Tale of Vengeance!" written by John Albano, penciled and inked by Sam Glanzman.

Notes:

All original stories reprinted in Showcase Presents: House of Mystery #2.

House of Mystery (1951)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

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.

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