''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, and

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

comics anthologies 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 to co ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series.

First series

Genesis

''The House of Mystery'' began as a horror anthology, featuring tales of the supernatural as well as supernatural-themed mystery stories. Issue #1 was cover dated December 1950-January 1951. With the growing backlash against American horror comics in the mid-1950s, as well as the advent of the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

and its restrictions on horror-themed storylines (banning stories dealing with such supernatural fare as vampires and werewolves), the series was quietly revamped into dealing with science fiction-type monsters and other mystery/suspense-type tales that were permitted by the Comics Code.

Superheroes

In the mid-1960s, the series was revamped to include superhero stories. From ''The House of Mystery'' #143 (June 1964) to 155 (December 1966), " J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars" headlined the book, as his back-up feature from ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' was moved to ''The House of Mystery''. This was followed with the introduction of "

Dial H for Hero ''Dial H for Hero'' is a comic book feature published by DC Comics about a magical dial that enables an ordinary person to become a superhero for a short time, such as an hour, by selecting the letters H-E-R-O in order. Each time it is used, the ...

" in issue #156 (January 1966), which took over as headliner until issue #173 (March–April 1968). The Martian Manhunter was again relegated to back-up status during this time.

Return of horror

With issue #174,

EC Comics E.C. Publications, Inc., (doing business as EC Comics) is an American comic book publisher. It specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, nota ...

veteran

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian Americans, Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' and ...

was hired by DC to take over as editor of ''The House of Mystery''. As the Comics Code Authority was now being challenged by both DC and

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

over content restrictions, the series returned to its overt horror themes. The first issue under Orlando would be a reprint issue of old horror/suspense stories, as the new direction would truly begin with #175 (July–August 1968). The issue would introduce a new figure to the series,

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

, the "able care taker" of the House of Mystery who would introduce nearly all stories that would run in the series before its cancellation. Cain would also host the spin-off humor series ''

Plop! ''Plop!'', "The New Magazine of Weird Humor!", is a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics in the mid-1970s. It falls into the horror / humor genre. It lasted 24 issues and the series ran from Sept./Oct. 1973 to Nov./Dec. 1976. Backg ...

'' and later become a recurring character in '' Blue Devil'' and '' The Sandman''. Artist

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...

's first professional comic work was the story "The Man Who Murdered Himself" which appeared in issue #179 (March–April 1969). Under Orlando's stewardship, the series won a good deal of recognition in the comics industry, including the "

Shazam Award The Academy of Comic Book Arts (ACBA) was an American professional organization of the 1970s that was designed to be the comic book industry analog of such groups as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Composed of comic-book professio ...

for Best Individual Short Story (Dramatic)" in 1972 for "The Demon Within" in issue #201 by

John Albano John F. Albano (September 12, 1922 – May 23, 2005) was an American writer and WW2 veteran who worked in the comic book industry. He was recognized for his work with the Shazam Award for Best Writer (Humor Division) in 1971, and the Shazam A ...

and

Jim Aparo James N. Aparo (; August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre (DC Comics character), Sp ...

, and the "Shazam Award for Best Humor Story" in 1972 for "The Poster Plague" by

Steve Skeates Stephen Skeates (; January 29, 1943 – March 30, 2023) was an American comic book creator known for his work on such titles as ''Aquaman'', ''Hawk and Dove'', ''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'', and ''Plop!'' He also wrote under the pseudonyms Chester P. ...

and

Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born 6 September 1937 in Sant Mateu, Castellón, Spain) is a Spanish-Mexican-American cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo t ...

. '' Limited Collectors' Edition'' #C-23 (Winter 1973) featured reprints of ''House of Mystery'' stories. ''House of Mystery'' #224 (April–May 1974) to 229 (Feb.–March 1975) were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. The series was in the

Dollar Comics Dollar Comics was a line of DC Comics comic book publications issued from 1977 to 1983 and revived in 2019. The 1977-1983 line included the titles '' The Superman Family'', ''House of Mystery'', ''G.I. Combat'', ''World's Finest Comics'', ''Batman F ...

format for issues #251 (March–April 1977) to 259 (July–August 1978). ''House of Mystery'' featured stories by writers T. Casey Brennan (issues #260, 267, 268 and 274) and

Scott Edelman Scott Edelman (; born 1955) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer and editor. Career Writer In the 1970s, he worked in American comic books, in particular writing horror comics for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. For Marv ...

(issues #257, 258, 260, 264, 266, 270, 272, 273). Orlando's tenure as editor ended with issue #257 (March–April 1978).

Karen Berger Karen Berger (; born February 26, 1958) is an American comic book editor. She is best known for her role in helping create DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in 1993 and serving as the line's Executive Editor until 2013. She currently oversees Berger ...

became editor of the series with issue #292 (May 1981), her first for DC Comics. Under Berger, the series experimented with long-form storylines in the popular '' I…Vampire'' serial created by writer

J. M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

. "I... Vampire" revolved around the heroic

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, Andrew Bennett, who sought to defeat his nemesis and former lover Mary Seward, the Queen of Blood. This serial began in issue #290 (March 1981) and would last until issue #319 (August 1983), two issues before the title ended with issue #321 (October 1983). Since 2006, DC Comics has reprinted stories from the original run: three black and white ''

Showcase Presents ''Showcase Presents'' is a line (comics), line of black-and-white paperback books that were published by DC Comics (from 2005 - 2016) at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' ''Essential Marvel'' volumes, each book usually incl ...

'' volumes have been published, reprinting the series from #174 - 194, #195 - 211 and #212 - 226, respectively. A

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

reprint in color, ''Welcome Back to the House of Mystery'', featured 10 of the most highly regarded stories as selected by

Alisa Kwitney Alisa Kwitney (born 1964) is an American writer of comedic romance novels and graphic novels. Biography Kwitney grew up in New York City, on Manhattan's Upper West Side,Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

and

under the

Vertigo Comics DC Vertigo, also known as Vertigo Comics or simply Vertigo, is an Imprint (trade name), imprint of the American comic book publisher DC Comics. Vertigo publishes comics with adult comics, adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and ...

imprint. The first issue from 1951 was reissued as a '' Millennium Edition'' bearing the Vertigo imprint.

''Elvira's House of Mystery''

In 1986–1987, DC comics published a new series, ''Elvira's House of Mystery''. It lasted 11 issues, plus a special

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

issue. The series was a quasi-follow-up of the original series, with famed horror movie hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark tasked by the House with finding Cain, though she spent much of her time making fun of him and introducing horror stories similar to the original series. One issue of this series, issue #3, was released without Comics Code Approval and contained significant implied nudity, but subsequent editorial comments in later issues stated that the experiment in releasing an unapproved issue was not considered successful.

2008 series

DC's

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

imprint began a new ongoing series in May 2008, written by

Lilah Sturges Lilah Sturges (; born Matthew Sturges, October 1970) is an American writer of comics and fantasy novels. She is best known for co-writing with Bill Willingham the Eisner-award-nominated '' Jack of Fables'', and other comics published by Vertigo Co ...

and

Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series '' Elementals'' and ''Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. During his father's military career the fam ...

. It features at least one different story each issue, told by people trapped in a "purgatory-like house". The series ended in October 2011 with issue #42. Two ''

Annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

''s were also published.

The House

The House of Mystery exists north of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, where it was built and abandoned by Colonel Braitwaithe before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and in

the Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by hi ...

. Little is known about the House of Mystery in general. Its exterior and interior change periodically, meaning that one never enters the same room twice. The House of Mystery lies in the same graveyard as the House of Secrets, its companion. Cain lives in the House of Mystery, whereas Abel resides in the House of Secrets. Cain is not the only person to have resided within the House; in addition to

boarder Boarder may refer to: Persons A boarder may be a person who: *snowboards *skateboards *bodyboards * surfs *stays at a boarding house *attends a boarding school *takes part in a boarding attack Other uses * ''The Star Boarder'', a 1914 American ...

s, including

Mister Mxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk ( or ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with ...

, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark took shelter within the House. Her brief stay in the House of Mystery is notable for two reasons: first, the House of Mystery is established as being the same House throughout its publication history. Three distinct personalities of the House are shown: the original horror House of Mystery, a dark humor "House of Weirdness"-style which harkened back to Cain's stint in ''

'', and the current version of the House of Mystery in Kentucky. The second reason is the timing of Elvira's stay. She took up residence during the ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

''. Elvira, tasked by the House of Mystery to find Cain, took over his role of host for a brief period, while Cain was relegated to being the butt of her jokes during occasional cameos. The House of Mystery possesses sentience, along with mystic powers. It has possessed someone before and merged with the House of Secrets briefly. It was destroyed in ''The House of Mystery'' #321 before being restored during ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''.

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

entered the house in ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...

'' #93, tripped on a floorboard, and would have been shot had his pursuer's gun not jammed. He never actually met Cain, who instead narrates a story about him occurring in Scotland, which climaxes in a castle he describes as "a house of mystery" rather than "the House of Mystery".

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

teamed with Cain against Mxyzptlk, who was attempting to take over the House, in ''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

'' #53. The House of Mystery appears mainly in various Vertigo titles, especially those tied into

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

's ''

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...

''; it has appeared briefly in '' Resurrection Man''. Something called the House of Mystery appeared in '' 52'' #18, where it seems to have been used for some time as a base for a team of detectives called the Croatoan Society, which counts both

Detective Chimp Detective Chimp (Bobo T. Chimpanzee) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A common chimpanzee who wears a deerstalker cap (à la fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes), Detective Chimp has superhuman-level intell ...

and Ralph Dibny among its members. It is unclear if the Croatoan's House of Mystery is meant to be the same as the original House of Mystery, a post-''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' version of the original House of Mystery, or simply a different location with the same name. Cain's name appeared on this house's mailbox, implying a connection to the original House. In ''

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

''s rebooted DC continuity (launched in 2011), the House reappeared in the pages of ''

Justice League Dark Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team made their debut in ''Justice League Dark'' #1 (September 2011). The team features some of the more supernatural characters in t ...

'', being used as a base for the team. The House is shown to currently belong to

John Constantine John Constantine (), also known as Hellblazer, is an antihero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben, and first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985). I ...

, who claims to have won the key to the House in a poker game against

Doctor Occult Doctor Occult (Richard Occult, sometimes nicknamed the Ghost Detective, and one time referred to as Doctor Mystic) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (the crea ...

and

Father Time Father Time is a personification of time, in particular the progression of history and the approach of death. In recent centuries, he is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, sometimes with wings, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe ...

. Constantine takes his time to adjust to the House of Mystery due to the changing rooms and feels that the House has to play tricks on those who enter it.

Collected editions

* ''

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

Volume 2'' collects the Martian Manhunter stories from ''The House of Mystery'' #143–173, 592 pages, May 2009, * ''Showcase Presents

Volume 1'' collects the Dial H for Hero stories from ''The House of Mystery'' #156–173, 288 pages, April 2010, * ''Showcase Presents The House of Mystery'' ** ''Volume 1'' collects ''The House of Mystery'' #174–194, 552 pages, February 2006, ** ''Volume 2'' collects ''The House of Mystery'' #195–211, 552 pages, March 2007, ** ''Volume 3'' collects ''The House of Mystery'' #212–226, 552 pages, January 2009, * ''The Steve Ditko Omnibus Volume 1'' includes stories from ''The House of Mystery'' #236, 247, 254, 258, and 276, 480 pages, September 2011, * ''DC Through the 80s: The End of Eras'' includes stories from ''The House of Mystery'' #286, 290, 294-295, 300, 308, and 321; 520 pages, December 2020, * '' I...Vampire'' collects the "I...Vampire" stories from ''The House of Mystery'' #290–291, 293, 295, 297, 299, 302, and 304–319, 320 pages, April 2012,

Novels

Two novels were written by

Jack Oleck Jack Oleck (March 1, 1914 – March 10, 1981)Social Security Death Index, SS# 115-01-6988. was an American novelist and comic book writer particularly known for his work in the horror genre. The brother-in-law of comics pioneer Joe Simon, Oleck ...

and illustrated by

, both published by

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Kinney National Company acquired the New York City-based Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publis ...

: * ''Tales From The House of Mystery'' #1 () * ''Tales From The House of Mystery'' #2 ()

In other media

* The House of Mystery appears in the

DC Animated Movie Universe The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an American media franchise and shared universe of Animation, animated films distributed between 2013 and 2024 by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. Based on characters from the DC Universe ...

franchise: ** First appearing in ''

'', this version is owned by John Constantine and serves as the base of operations for the eponymous group. ** The House appears in '' Justice League Dark: Apokolips War'', where it was revealed that, shortly before the titular war, it had thrown Constantine out. Black Orchid later uses the House to destroy one of

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...

's planet killers before being killed by a

Parademon List of alien races in DC Comics is a list of fictional extraterrestrial races that have appeared in comic book titles published by DC Comics, as well as properties from other media that are listed below, with brief descriptions and accompanying ...

. ** The House appears in ''Constantine: The House of Mystery'', which takes place after the events of ''Apokolips War''.

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...

traps Constantine in an attempt to protect him from being punished for changing the timeline. However, he is unaware of this and ultimately escapes. After this is explained to Constantine, he requests to be placed back in the house and will never attempt to escape again. Spectre explains that he can no longer protect him and Constantine is dragged screaming into a hole in space. What became of the House afterwards is currently unknown. * The House of Mystery appears in ''

Justice League Action ''Justice League Action'' is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero team Justice League. The series is produced by Jim Krieg, Butch Lukic, and Alan Burnett. The show debuted on Cartoon Network UK on N ...

''. * The House of Mystery and House of Secrets, as well as Cain and Abel, appear in '' The Sandman''.

References

External links

* * *
''House of Mystery''
at Cover Browser
''House of Mystery''''House of Mystery'' (vol. 2)
an
House of Mystery''
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

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