Greetings, my anemically arsonic friends. Can you dig it--? A tale of ancient evil, a bloodcurdler to curlde your life-substance proud! Who am I? That's a bad scene, brats--why I'm your friendly fiendish caretaker...Cain! 
- — Cain
House of Mystery #196 is an issue of the series House of Mystery (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1971.
Synopsis for "A Girl and Her Dog"
In an orphanage run by Satanists a young boy befriends a newly arrived girl and presents her with a pet dog. The mistress seizes the dog for an animal sacrifice but when the children follow the cultists downstairs, the dog takes the opportunity to bite the mistress and jump off the platform. The girl calls to the dog but it whines in fear and cringes away from her. It turns out the girl is the vessel of an evil spirit.
Appearing in "A Girl and Her Dog"
Narrator:
- Cain (Host)
Featured Characters:
- Lissa (Single appearance)
- Michael (Single appearance)
Animals:
- Peter the dog (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Black Priests (Single appearance)
- Miss Cruthers (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Lissa's Aunt & Uncle (Single appearance)
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Alien Within Me"
This story is reprinted from My Greatest Adventure #60.
A geologist hunting for rocks in the woods comes across a large alien creature. They work together to find an explosive device that accidentally fell to Earth.
Appearing in "The Alien Within Me"
Featured Characters:
- Geologist (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Alien being (Single appearance)
- Professor Vraney (Single appearance)
- Professor Adams (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Gangsters (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Mike (Single appearance)
Locations:
- An undisclosed city
Items:
- Sphere Bomb
Synopsis for "Child of the Dead!"
Appearing in "Child of the Dead!"
Narrator:
- Cain (Host)
Featured Characters:
- Anne Rutherford
Supporting Characters:
- Sir Walter Scott (As an infant)
Antagonists:
- Grave Robbers (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Graveyard caretaker (Single appearance)
- Walter Scott, Sr.
Locations:
Synopsis for "Dark Journey"
This story is reprinted from House of Mystery #72.
Appearing in "Dark Journey"
Featured Characters:
- Narrator (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Witch Doctor (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Bandits (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- A rich man & his wife (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Africa
- Kurudu
Items:
- Satchel of money
Vehicles:
- A boat
Synopsis for "The Little People!"
A man is annoyed when his wife dies in childbirth producing a baby girl because he wanted a son to help him on the farm. He meets one of the little people out in the country who offers to swap a son for the baby girl he doesn't want. He agrees to the bargain. He wakes and thinks that his encounter must have been a dream, but the midwife tells him that he has a son. The boy is mute and does the work of ten men but has a freakish appearance. The years go by, and the man's farm is financially successful, but he's lonely, so he returns to where he made the initial bargain and purposes to get his daughter back. They agree to do so, but this is the last of their bargains. When the man's daughter returns to him after so many years underground, she has a freakish appearance, and she beats her father to death with a fire poker for amusement.
Appearing in "The Little People!"
Narrator:
- Cain (Host)
Featured Characters:
- Michael O'Bannion
Supporting Characters:
- "Little People"
- The Macleish (Single appearance)
- Michael's son (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Michael's daughter (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- O'Bannion housekeeper (Unnamed) (Single appearance)
Locations:
Notes
- Aside from those that are themselves reprints, the stories and features in this issue appear again in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Vol. 2.
- "A Girl and Her Dog" is also reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #24.
- "Cain's Game Room" is done by Sergio Aragonés, and "Cain's Room 13" by Lore Shoberg,
- The poem from "A Witch's Garden of Curses" is an homage to William Wordsworth's poem, "My Heart Leaps Up", adapted by Len Wein. Tony DeZuniga did the illustration.
See Also