''Secrets of Haunted House'' was a horror-suspense

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication t ...

series published by American company

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

from 1975 to 1978 and 1979 to 1982.

Publication history

The series began in April–May 1975. Like its predecessor ''

Secrets of Sinister House ''Secrets of Sinister House'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972–1974, a companion to '' Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soap oper ...

'', ''Secrets of Haunted House'' was originally "hosted" by Cain, Abel,

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

, and

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

who had moved over from ''

Weird Mystery Tales ''Weird Mystery Tales'' was a mystery horror comics anthology published by DC Comics from July–August 1972 to November 1975. Publication history 100 Page Super Spectacular The title ''Weird Mystery Tales'' was first used for ''DC 100 Page Sup ...

''. By issue #10 (Feb.–March 1978), Destiny was the only one of these who remained a regular. In issue #40 (Sept. 1981), Abel returned with no further mention of Destiny. A ''Secrets of Haunted House Special'' was published in 1978 as part of the ''

DC Special Series ''DC Special Series'' was an umbrella title for one-shots and special issues published by DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. ''DC Special Serie ...

umbrella title An umbrella title is a formal or informal name connecting a number of individual items with a common theme. It is most often used in lieu of listing the separate components or providing a convenient "label" for a collection of disciplines. Uses of ...

. ''Secrets of Haunted House'' was a temporary victim of the so-called "

DC Implosion The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cut it back. The DC Explos ...

". With issue #14 (Oct.–Nov. 1978), it was cancelled but revived a year later with issue #15 (Aug. 1979). The title continued until issue #46 (March 1982). The

Mister E Mister E is a fictional character, appearing in magazines published by American company DC Comics. Created by Bob Rozakis and Jack C. Harris, the character first appeared in ''Secrets of Haunted House'' #31 (December 1980) and was a recurring ...

character was introduced in issue #31 (Dec. 1980) by writer

Bob Rozakis Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and Editing, editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man". Career Bob R ...

and artist

Dan Spiegle Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comics artist and cartoonist best known for comics based on movie and television characters across a variety of companies, including Dell Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comi ...

and became a recurring character for the next ten issues. The final Mister E story appeared in issue #41 (Oct. 1981). The series'

letter column A comic book letter column is a section of an American comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns (or lettercols), letter pages, letters of comment (LOCs), or ...

was titled "The Haunted Mailbox".

Collected editions

* ''The

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

Omnibus'' Volume 1 includes stories from ''Secrets of Haunted House'' #9, 12, 41, and 45, 480 pages, September 2011,

References

External links

*
''Secrets of Haunted House''
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics * {{Steve Ditko 1975 comics debuts 1978 comics endings 1979 comics debuts 1982 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics by Arnold Drake Comics by David Michelinie Comics by George Kashdan Comics by J. M. DeMatteis Comics by Paul Kupperberg Comics by Steve Ditko Comics magazines published in the United States DC Comics one-shots Defunct American comics Fantasy comics