House of Mystery #1 is an issue of the series House of Mystery (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1952.
Synopsis for "I Fell in Love with a Witch!"
Private investigator Carter Blake prides himself on his resistance to womanly charms. While in the dining car of a train headed to New York, he finds himself drawn to a woman named Jean Brewster. They share dinner and a seat next to one another on the train. Reaching New York, Jean gets a cab. Unable to see her leave, Carter jumps in next to her and the pair head to her apartment. Carter professes his love, and the two agree to marry. Carter returns to his job as a PI, visiting the home of client Boris Wilder. He reveals the infidelity of Wilder's fiancee Iris Ashley, but Wilder balks at the $5000 fee. Leaving the apartment, Carter visits his buddies who kid him about his quick marriage proposal. One suggests she murdered a former husband, planting doubt in Blake's subconscious. Carter travels to Jean's hometown of Newton, Massachusetts to investigate her past. To his dismay, he discovers that her three previous husbands all met untimely ends after kissing his soon-to-be wife. Carter returns to New York, where his friends attempt to reassure him. He also has a run-in with Boris Wilder at the bar. On a date with Jean, Carter's fears of kissing her lead him to back away. He falls over the railing towards a rushing river but quickly catches himself. Leaving Jean, he travels to Albany and has a near death experience on the highway. He resolves to end his engagement, but still kisses her after breaking the news. Carter quickly hurries away from the apartment after noticing mandrake roots on a table. In a haze, he enters a subway station and is almost pushed on the tracks. Jean helps revive him and a police officer brings in the suspect who tried to kill him: Boris Wilder. Wilder reveals he killed his partner to gain control of their business, but feared Blake was on to him. In truth, Wilder was the one behind Carter's close brushes with death. The story ends with Wilder getting the electric chair and Carter and Jean getting married. Jean also reveals that the supposed mandrake roots were really driftwood.
Appearing in "I Fell in Love with a Witch!"
Featured Characters:
- Carter Blake (Single appearance)
- Jean Brewster (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Boris Wilder (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Charlie (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Massachusetts
- Boston
- Newton
- New York
- Albany
- New York City
- Pennsylvania
Synopsis for "Man or Monster?"
Dr. Hunt visits a wealthy, elderly patient and discovers a formula to turn a man into a beast in the library. While his patient dies, the doctor creates the formula and places it in the refrigerator. In a mixup, the housekeeper mistakes the formula for milk, and the doctor unknowingly drinks it. Hunt turns into a beastly creature reminiscent of Mr. Hyde. He travels to the home of a lawyer named Benjamin Brock and kills him in front of Brock's wife. Dismayed at his crime, Hunt resolves to stay away from the formula. As night falls, however, he is compelled to drink more and becomes the beast. He kills another one of his friends, Albert Conway, but this time in view of the butler. Once again, Hunt resolves to be strong but the beast takes over. He kills another friend but is cornered by the police. Using his cunning, he outwits and escapes the police. Hunt begins to wrack his brain to discover why he is killing his old friends. In a flashback, he remembers being denied acceptance into Alpha Tau, a college fraternity. He declares he will get even with those who rejected him, but eventually becomes close friends with those men. Hunt realizes only one man is left: Myron Carter, his brother-in-law. He smashes the formula and chains himself to the wall, but his craving is too much, and he becomes the beast again. Entering Carter's home, Hunt is tricked by his sister and is locked in the wine cellar. He soon turns back into his normal self. The police arrive and Hunt's sister assumes Hunt was trapped by the beast but managed to escape. In the end, Hunt wonders if he has truly defeated the beast and reflects on whether it would have been a good thing to have been killed.
Appearing in "Man or Monster?"
Featured Characters:
- Dr. Jason Hunt (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Benjamin Brock (Single appearance; dies)
- Albert Conway (Single appearance; dies)
- Myron Carter (Single appearance)
- Jean Hunt (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- The Beast (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Mabel the Housekeeper (Single appearance)
Synopsis for "The Curse of Seabury Manor"
Two friends, Bob, the narrator, and Dan Perry, argue about taking a bet on staying in the supposedly haunted Seabury Manor. The house was the former home of Silas Seabury, a known murderer, and was the purported cause of three previous mysterious deaths. All three deaths had one thing in common: the men died one day after visiting or staying in the manor. Dan laughs off Bob's worry by recalling his crazy antics as a young teenager and as a soldier in the army. Taking crazy bets is right up Dan's alley. Still unnerved by the creepy atmosphere of the mansion, Bob leaves Dan and returns to his own home. Awakened around midnight by a knock at the door, Bob lets in his friend who has run all the way from the manor. He explains that he heard strange noises and that his candle was blown out by an unseen force. Dan, however, quickly recovers from his fright and resolves to return to the manor to find any evidence of the supernatural. Dan takes several pictures and returns to his home to develop them. When Bob arrives to view the pictures, he reflects that a full day has almost passed since Dan first entered Seabury Manor. Suddenly, he finds Dan struggling to breathe and unsuccessfully attempts to save Dan's life. The doctor arrives and declares the cause of death to be carbon monoxide poisoning as Dan had forgotten to turn off his car. Those same gasses destroyed the photo negatives. Even though he could not prove it, Bob surmises that the photo evidence was so terrifying that it stopped his friend's heart.
Appearing in "The Curse of Seabury Manor"
Featured Characters:
- Bob (Single appearance)
- Dan Perry (Single appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
- Silas Seabury (Mentioned only)
Other Characters:
- Joe (Flashback only)
Locations:
- Seabury Manor
Synopsis for "Wanda Was a Werewolf!"
Traveling by train to the backwoods of Kentucky to meet his fiancée, Wanda Wolf, Doug Martin reflects on his attaining his engineering degree and his new job in South America. Arriving at the station, he asks an old man for a ride to Wheaton Hall. The man jumps into his jalopy and drives off at full speed, refusing to go near the place. Doug trudges to Wheaton Hall on foot, meeting up with an armed posse on the way who warn him that it's not safe to walk the hills at night. He finally reaches his fiancée who rushes to greet Doug, explaining that she had overslept. Wanda notices Doug's silver bullet around his neck and freaks out, asking him to get rid of it. Later, Wanda's cousin, Lem Hawks, arrives and tells Doug that the posse was out hunting a woman who ran with the wolves through the hills, in effect a female werewolf. Seth Keene, whose property Wanda inherited, has already been killed by the werewolf. With all the wolf paraphernalia around Wheaton Hall, Doug worries that the posse will mistake Wanda for the werewolf. Shrugging off his concerns, Wanda directs him to the guest cabin, explaining that she also needs to work out a land deal with a Dod Cheever before the couple can leave. Doug heads into the cabin and is hounded by Lem who is cooking some herbs in the kitchen. Doug kicks him out and tries to get some sleep but is awakened by the posse. Riding with them, Doug sees a woman running with the wolves, a woman who looks just like Wanda. Rushing back to Wheaton Hall, he finds Wanda absent and awaits her return. She finally returns and attacks Doug, transforming into a wolf before his eyes. He passes out. When he awakens, it is almost sundown, so he locks down the home to stop Wanda from escaping. The posse awakens him again, and he shockingly learns that Wanda has escaped and Dod Cheever has been killed. Doug takes his silver bullet and his rifle and joins the hunt to stop anyone else from being hurt. He tracks down Wanda and shoots, only to have a wolf hit the ground. The posse congratulates him on his aim, but Doug, dismayed, reveals he aimed high to miss his love. Doug quickly realizes that Lem is behind the plot and Wanda is an innocent victim. The men rush to Lem's cabin and subdue him, rescuing Wanda in the process. The herbs Lem was cooking were hallucinogenic, causing Wanda to run safely with the wolves and causing Doug's vision of Wanda as a wolf. In the end, Lem was really after Wanda's property, something he could get only if Wanda was dead.
Appearing in "Wanda Was a Werewolf!"
Featured Characters:
- Wanda Wolf (Single appearance)
- Doug Martin (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Lem Hawks (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Seth Keene (Appears only as a corpse)
- Dod Cheever (Single appearance; dies)
- Joe (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Kentucky
- Wheaton Hall
Notes
- "I Fell in Love with a Witch!" is reprinted in The Unexpected #162.
- Also in this issue of House of Mystery:
- "The Ghost of Paris", artist unknown.
- "Casey the Cop", by Henry Boltinoff.
- "Exposing Voices From Beyond", an article written by David Kahn.
- "Superstitious Lover", by Morris Waldinger.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- House of Secrets (Volume 1)
- House of Secrets (Volume 2)
- House of Mystery (Volume 1)
- House of Mystery (Volume 2)