House of Mystery #24 is an issue of the series House of Mystery (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1954.
Synopsis for "Kill the Black Cat"
Appearing in "Kill the Black Cat"
Featured Characters:
- Jeff Winters (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Arpad Gurda (Single appearance; dies)
Animals:
- Satan, a black cat (Single appearance; dies)
- a panther (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- The sheriff (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Greentown
Synopsis for "The Freak Show of Doom"
Appearing in "The Freak Show of Doom"
Featured Characters:
- Max Veblin (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Boris, the Neanderthal Man (Single appearance; dies)
- Olaf, the Tattooed Man (Single appearance; dies)
- Baldar (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Death (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Dr. Wesson (Single appearance)
- George (Single appearance)
- Bob (Single appearance; dies)
Locations:
- Veblin's Circus
Synopsis for "The Walking Stick"
Appearing in "The Walking Stick"
Featured Characters:
- Tom (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Scotland Yard Inspector
Other Characters:
- Uncle Hartley (Mentioned only) (Dies)
Locations:
Items:
- Walking stick
Synopsis for "The Flaming Treasure"
Appearing in "The Flaming Treasure"
Featured Characters:
- Pete, oil prospector (Single appearance)
- Steve, oil prospector (Single appearance)
- Al, oil prospector (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Swamp Fox, an Indian chief (Single appearance)
- White-Cloud, an Indian brave(Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Dobie (Dies in flashback)
- Fergus (Dies in flashback)
Locations:
Synopsis for "Bewitched Beauty"
A beauty contestant named Myra meets a mysterious old crone that claims she has the power to help her win a beauty contest. She drinks a potion and allows herself to be handled by the old woman’s make-up artist to prepare for the contest. To her surprise, Myra easily wins. She is then approached by the old woman who states she must now pay the price for her success or else her beauty will become a terrible curse. Myra slams the door on the old witch fearing that the price she has to pay might be too high. The next day Myra is walking down the street when a nearby driver crashes into a lamppost. Myra rushes over to help as the driver declares that he was basically distracted by Myra’s beauty. Time after time, Myra finds that men are hypnotized by her looks. She decides to pay her father a visit. Myra’s father is a sergeant attached to a homicide unit. She relates her story to him and he suggests that she wear a hat with a veil to hide her curse. She takes his advice but still feels men staring at her. At one point she steps into an apartment elevator and finds a man who is so taken with her beauty that he deliberately tries to crash the car to destroy the both of them, but Myra is able to escape. She realizes that she must deal with the curse. She then pays a visit to the old woman who informs her that her beauty has the power to the dead to life. The old woman states that Myra must assist her in bringing a gangster named Whitey Reed back to life. She asks Myra to meet her at Whiteys mausoleum. They arrive to find the gangsters body lying on a slab and he seems to revive as Myra comes closer. All of a sudden they are interrupted by the police who are led by Myra’s dad. They reveal that the beautiful woman in the mausoleum is not Myra but rather an imposter to show that the curse was never real. The real Myra appears and explains that her father had warned her that she was walking into a trap. Apparently, the old woman and the gangster had targeted Myra by convincing her that she was cursed. Myra’s father had been the one responsible for Whiteys arrest the previous year. The gangster had planned to abduct Myra as revenge, but her father had uncovered the scheme in time to come to her rescue.
Appearing in "Bewitched Beauty"
Featured Characters:
- Myra (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Myra's father, a detective (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Molly Reed (Single appearance)
- Whitey Reed (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Anne (Single appearance)
- Jeff (Single appearance)
Locations:
- An undisclosed city
Items:
- A veil
Notes
- "The Walking Stick!" is reprinted in House of Mystery #88 and The Phantom Stranger #9.
- "The Bewitched Beauty!" is reprinted in The Unexpected #158.
- Other features appearing in this issue of House of Mystery:
- "Buzzy Says "Start the Day Off Right!" (PSA) by Jack Schiff, art by Win Mortimer, and lettering by Ira Schnapp.
- "The Animal Men" (text article) written by Jack Miller.
See Also
Links and References
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.