That time i buried a comic book behind granny's house

One summer afternoon, when I was about 10 years old, I dug a hole behind my grandmother’s house, tossed in a comic book, and covered it with dirt. Why?
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Well, do you remember that episode of Friends when Joey puts a copy of Stephen King’s book The Shining in the freezer because it scares him? Yeah, it’s a similar concept.

Like most kids, I was a fan of comic books. The first ones I read were light fare: Walt Disney’s Comics, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, Sad Sack, and Archie.

I consumed all the superhero stories, but I read DC more than Marvel. I enjoyed Superman, Justice League of America, Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Hawkman, and The Flash. I loved the characters Green Arrow and the Black Canary. From the Marvel library, I was a fan of The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and Doctor Strange.

However, I have always been drawn to dark stories and found my happy place with horror anthology comics. Some of these originated in the 1970s, and some were reprints of the gruesome and controversial E.C. Comics from the 1950s. I plowed through Witches Tales, Tales from the Crypt, The House of Mystery, Vault of Horror, Tales of Ghost Castle, The House of Secrets, the Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Adventure into Fear, Unexpected, Chamber of Chills, Ghosts, and more.

I blame these comic books for my lifelong fear of moths and my distaste for mushrooms. The final panel of a mushroom-themed horror story repulsed me so much that I buried the comic book behind Granny’s house. The story was called “The Mushroom Man,” and it appeared in the first issue of Tales of Ghost Castle.

My terror didn’t last long, though. I found even darker works: Eerie and Creepy. I discovered dozens of issues in a box my grandfather bought at a flea market. The covers, by well-known artists such as Frank Frazetta, were the stuff of nightmares. I was hooked.

I graduated from pulp fiction to paperbacks as I entered my teenage years. Remember those horror paperbacks from the late 70s and early 80s? They were cheesy, with garish covers featuring kids with glowing eyes, killer dolls, and rats with bloody fangs. I loved them! In fact, Oh Reader published an essay I wrote about this a few years ago. If you’re interested in this topic, check out the Grady Hendrix book Paperbacks from Hell.

I won’t go into details about my lifelong obsession with all things related to horror. I’m saving that for an October article!

While my reading taste is a bit more sophisticated these days, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the horror comics of the 1970s. Comic books inspired GenX kids to be readers, writers, artists, and other creators, and it’s hard to argue that there’s no value in that.

Did you read comic books in the seventies and eighties?
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#genx #horror #comicbooks #reading #seventies #eighties #horrorcomics

The first issue of Tales of Ghost Castle.