Dracula Returns! Again!

The Skeletal Spotlight shines this time on:
The skullerific cover art for "Dracula Returns!"
(Click on images to enlarge)

"Hey, I'm over here, behind this big ol' skull!"

My grandma's house was a few miles from a small bookstore called Bill's on Ingleside Ave in Macon, GA. As a young teen, when visiting her house on the weekend, I would sometimes walk the distance to look for the latest issue of The Monster Times or other cool magazines. After all, they had a better selection than the closer-to-home drugstore where I usually went. One summer, in 1973, I came upon the first in the Dracula Horror Series titled "Dracula Returns," and had read it nearly halfway through on the walk back to her house. It's a wonder I made it without getting run over, but I was pretty good at walking and reading. I still recall exactly where I was in the book at particular points as I walked home, passing under the oaks draped with spanish moss, blowing in the faint breeze.

Most horrifying of all, the flower in his buttonhole seemed fresh! Aaaiiiieeee! I never knew the Count liked wearing a daisy on his suit.

The series was begun as we learn how the telekenetic wheelchair-bound Professor X... uh, I mean, Professor Harmon, is drawn by Dracula's consort/slave (and sometimes black cat) Isis... I mean, Katara, into bringing the Count back to life. The Professor thinks he can control the Prince of Darkness by implanting a sliver of wood next to his heart, and triggering the mechanism with his mind to temporarily kill him should the need arise. He intends to use the vampire as a weapon in the war against crime. Needless to say, you can't keep such a creature on a short leash without getting bitten.

I might point out that close to the same time, Marvel was publishing the first issue of "Tomb Of Dracula," which I bought and still have. The wheelchair-bound protagonist Quincy Harker (depicted to the right) resembled the character of Professor Harmon, at least superficially, but with the publishing dates so close it might have only been a coincidence. However, Harmon wanted to use Dracula, and Harker only wanted to kill him.

"Put your head on my shoulder..." The awkward positioning of Katara makes it look as if her head has been grafted onto Drac's right shoulderblade.

Assisted by Cameron Sanchez, a strong and devoted friend, Harmon unleashes this supernatural force on those seemingly above the laws of man. The shape-shifter Katara helps out, but always with her Master's best interest in mind. Although Harmon considers himself morally above the criminal element he is seeking to expunge, Dracula knows that he in his own way is as blood-thirsty as the vampire he is using, and points that out, to the Professor's unease. Is he any better than the criminals and Dracula, by using such harsh and brutal methods? He is certainly no hero, but the thought doesn't hinder him from continuing to risk using his unwilling ally. And the blood flows copiously as Dracula, unleashed upon various criminal elements, metes out gory justice with slashing fingernails and fangs. They'd have been better off in jail.

The part of Professor Harmon will be played this episode by Boris Karloff.

As a youth I enjoyed the book, detailing Drac's return to "life" in modern times, and the various missions he sends the Count on fulfill his thirst for blood and the Professor's for justice. But Vlad's own agenda and desire for freedom mean that he is always looking for ways to escape the restrictions and feast on the Professor's own blood. Travelling from country to country during their adventures, the unlikely quartet meet with what seems to be a supernatural threat, but only turns out to be someone faking it. Though not always the case, this happens to such an extent that you begin to think that at the end, the bad guys are going to say "and I would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for that meddling wheelchair guy and his vampire!" Then Dracula slaughters them.

"One... two... three! Three million beautiful gold coins! Ah-ah-ah-ah-aaaaah!"

The series was successful enough to generate eight followups, which came out in extremely rapid succession, three of which I was able to find. After that I lost track of them. From what I've seen, after about #5 the artwork started to slide and Drac became more of a cartoon figure. But if I were to run across any at a used bookstore, I would pick them up and read them just for old time's sake. If the series were honest, it would end with Dracula finally turning on Harmon, proving the truth of the saying "he who lives by the sword dies by the sword." The revenge on evil, using evil to inflict it, that the Professor engineered would certainly turn on him at last. I doubt that ever happens, though. A continuing series such as this rarely ever concludes and wraps things up, as there might always be another book if the last sold well. The author is not willing to burn his coffins behind him.

Ad from Famous Monsters about the book series...

Kids! Ask your parents for the money to order!

Side note: In the same "vein," we have a novel that was published in 1973 that purports to be "non-fiction," in which a series of letters, journal entries and newspaper clippings tell the story of Dracula's resurrection and subsequent neck-bitings. Although a fun read at the time, the cover art depicts a very anemic-looking, not to mention fey, Count which reinforces the common Lugosi stereotype.

"I vant to suck... your blood! Vhat did you think I vas going to say, you naughty, naughty boy?"

Just to be a completist, below you will find the remaining covers to the rest of the books in the series. These I scavenged from around the web, but the ones above this I scanned in from my own copies.

The complete list:

#1: Dracula Returns (Pinnacle 1973)

#2: The Hand of Dracula (Pinnacle 1973)

#3: Dracula's Brothers (Pinnacle 1973)

#4: Dracula's Gold (Pinnacle 1973)

#5: Drums of Dracula (Pinnacle, 1974)

#6: The Witching of Dracula (Pinnacle, 1974)

#7: Dracula's Lost World (Pinnacle, 1974)

#8: Dracula's Disciple (Pinnacle, 1975)

#9: Challenge to Dracula (Pinnacle, 1975)

Update: Hey, you want to really know more about the Dracula Series, from someone much more erudite than I am? Read the excellent and comprehensive post on it over at the Groovy Age of Horror blogspot! Makes me want to take mine down out of shame.

Reaper Man artwork

The Skeletal Spotlight shines this time on:
Josh Kirby's Reaper Man artwork

What happens when Death loses his job? He goes with what he knows.

The cover artwork by Josh Kirby for this book in the Discworld saga beautifully illustrates the story inside. It shows us that a man is essentially the same no matter what he does. Being faithful to your calling, even when demoted or replaced, means that someday you will be recognized, and very likely end up in a better position than you held before. The Biblical stories of Daniel and Joseph both demonstrate that integrity pays off in the long run.

To learn more about the book and the Discworld series, read the Wikipedia entry.

Each species in the novel has it's own Death. Notice the Death of Rats on his knee. But, are those hands instead of feet on this guy?

Learn more on Josh Kirby's Reaper Man artwork, and more on the artist himself here.

A neat "Rolling Tombstones" book cover artwork by Josh.

Did you know that Josh was responsible for some awesome movie poster artwork you've seen? Here's one you might recognise...

Sadly, Josh met the Reaper personally at the young age of 72, moving on to parts unknown in October of 2001. His artwork will remain as a testament to his life and talent.

Although the artwork on the Reaper Man book cover made our friendly reaper more of a farmer than cowboyish, it still reminded me of one. So I've rounded up some more western skull images. Considering that in many depictions Death rides a horse, the cowboy motif is appropriate.

The Marlboro Man finally gave up smoking... but sadly, too late.

Riding off into too many sunsets finally killed this cowboy from skin cancer.

"The South will rise again.... and eat you!"

"Well, pardner, the Great Roundup is a' comin'. Whose brand you wearing?"

And looking at skeletal cowpokes we mustn't forget the Caretaker from "Ghost Rider," who in his time as the Rider got around the old-fashioned way.

"Let's ride, son! 'Course, soon as we get there, you're on your own, I'm splittin'."

There are images to be found floating around that show the deleted character from "The Crow" that was originally intended to be the title character's guide. He was cut and replaced by the bird, but here we see he looked a lot like the original Ghost Rider.

"Whaddaya mean, you're replacing me with a blackbird? Sure, he works for birdfeed, but I'm so much cooler!"


"Cut my part, will ya? You are sooo dead!"

Don't forget the zombie gunslinger below from "House II: The Second Story."

"General Custer is roundin' up a gang to gitsome payback. Wanna join?"

And then there's the irascible old mummy-lovin' Judge from "The Frighteners," a movie I'll be featuring on a future blog entry.

"There's some life left in these old bones yet! Jes' ask Anak-Soon-Amun."

Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors

The Skeletal Spotlight shines this time on:
"Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" poster
(Click all images for larger versions.)

Had the title been more accurate it would have been "Dr. Terror's
Train of Horrors" but it would have lacked the alliterative punch.

Here it is, folks... the first in the long line of Amicus horror anthologies. Released in 1965 and directed by veteran horror film director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, it set the tone for nearly a decade's worth of awesome Amicus anthologies.

Inspired by the 1945 film "Dead of Night," Milton Subotsky patterned "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" on that portmanteau format. When his film was a big hit, he stuck to that format for the rest of the series: "Torture Garden" in 1967, "The House That Dripped Blood" in 1970, my personal favorite "Asylum" in 1972, "Tales from the Crypt" in 1972, "The Vault of Horror" in1973, "From Beyond the Grave" in 1973 and "Tales That Witness Madness" in 1974.

Dr. Terror has the last laugh on his doomed traveling companions. But, at least he kept them entertained, long train trips can be murder.

After Amicus founders Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg went their separate ways, Subotsky was still active in the early 80s, producing yet another anthology "The Monster Club," directed by Roy Ward Baker, veteran of several Amicus efforts. So I really consider that film to be a part of the group of films.

If you'd ever heard that Kenny Rogers song you'd know it was time to run.

Synopsis: Five strangers board a train and are joined by a mysterious fortune teller who offers to read their Tarot cards. Five separate stories unfold: An architect returns to his ancestoral home to find a werewolf out for revenge; a doctor discovers his new wife is a vampire; a huge plant takes over a house; a musician gets involved with voodoo; an art critic is pursued by a disembodied hand.

Since this blog is mainly devoted to the image of the scary skull as used in horror movie posters, etc., I won't try to review it... also for the simple reason that I have not yet seen it, although I'm familiar with the stories from various sources. I look forward to the DVD release and viewing it for the first time. I am enjoying the US releases of the Amicus films as they come out, for I am finally getting a chance to see and enjoy these films I have read about since I was a kid.

To stop his wife from maxing out the credit card, Donald was forced to take drastic measures.

Here are some poster variations to feast your worm-eaten eyes upon!

"Frenzied Fright! Screaming Nightmare! Freezing Terror!" And Horrifying Hyperbole!

"I actually do have a house of horrors... but it wasn't in the cards that you should see it."

"Not only do the cards predict your future, but they can
help you clean your teeth when you don't have time to floss."

Newspaper insert that tried to look like an actual article.

Cover to the paperback novelization of the film.

SEE! Really crappy artwork ! The poster for the 1943 spook show that claimed the title first.

The title had been used before for a traveling roadshow (not a movie, as I had thought before knowledgeable blogger Karswell corrected me) making the rounds in 1943, in which a live host known only as Doctor Terror recounts seven stories from his casebook of personal encounters with evil and the supernatural. The blurb reads "For the first time on any screen!" However, the stories which he introduces and then shows on the screen, are only segments of reused footage from such films as Carl Dreyer's Vampyr, White Zombie, The Scotland Yard Mystery, Le Golem, and the serial The Return of Chandu. Talk about a ripoff. A crummy clip show.

Spicy Mystery Cover art

The skeletal spotlight shines this time on:

The Spicy Mystery Stories #5 cover

Click for a high-rez version.

"Do ya wanna par-ty? It's party time!"

Although the story title is "Ghoul's Nightmare," which would lead one to believe that the nightmare belongs to the ghouls, one has to think that it is referring to the woman in the scene. After all, those skull-faced ghouls are grinning waaay to widely for them to be losing sleep over a bad dream. Especially the one bearing her on his shoulder; that lustily-leering dude looks like he's just won the lottery.

Besides, what kind of nightmare would a ghoul have that would be worse than being the living dead? Working as a Wal-Mart greeter?

So it's safe to say that being abducted by this grinning group of ghastly graveyard guys qualifies as a bone-a-fide nightmare; therefore the title should be "The Blond Bimbo's Nightmare" or something similar.

Here are a couple more skele-centric covers from the same general time period, the mid 30's for you to enjoy. Just think, your dear old pop or grandpappy might have enjoyed these stories as a kid. Hidden under the mattress, though.

"Um, miss? Would you mind paying before we finish?"


"You ARE going to read this Watchtower magazine!"

The Screaming Skull

The spotlight today is on: "The Screaming Skull." Prepare to be boned.

Movie blurb: "The Screaming Skull is a motion picture that reaches its climax in shocking horror. Its impact is so terrifying that it may have an unforeseen effect. It may kill you! Therefore the producers feel it necessary to provide free burial services to anyone who dies of fright, while seeing The Screaming Skull!"

In 1958, American International released The Screaming Skull. This was the same year something else boney and screaming was released, namely me, from my mother's scary place. The movie's mystery is similar to "House on Haunted Hill" (which also had a cool movie poster), in that one wonders if the appearances are supernatural or part of a plan to scare the main female character. To it's credit, this movie keeps you guessing and then plays it both ways.

I scream, you scream, we all scream...

Peggy Webber portrays Jenni, the new bride of a man who had lost his first wife to a tragic, and suspicious, drowning accident. This film marks Alex Nicol's debut as a director, and he also portrays Mickey the caretaker. He should have stuck to the caretaker role and let someone else direct.

The best thing about this movie, as can be said about many, is the poster. Who wouldn't want to see a huge, floating, screaming skull (who happens to have bony hands also, so he's probably technically a skeleton) molesting a bra-clad woman in her bed? That would be scary. Or at least, entertaining.

Jenni was shocked to see that the skull had eaten all of her stashed "Screaming Yellow Zonkers."

Unfortunately, in the movie all we see is an ordinary skull that keeps popping up here and there to un-nerve the mentally tormented heroine. Of course, that alone would reduce most people to a quivering mess, but eventually you'd get used to it and move it aside to get the peanut butter.

And although it does eventually scream, the audience is already screaming, for their money back. The MST3K version is the best one to watch in order to really enjoy this movie. You might make it through the original once, but the "misty" version is the one you can come back to and watch again and again. It's a perfect Halloween party movie.

Jenni in a calmer, reflective moment between skulls.

To be fair, Peggy Webber fit the mold of the 50's horror-movie female... with the bullet bra and tight sweaters and dresses, she added some erotic visual interest that kept the adolescents riveted. Even today, the scene of her undressing down to her bra is more of a turn-on than the artificially-inflated plastic barbies of today's films.

It's the premise, the poster, and really the title alone, that sold this movie. The very idea of a disembodied skull, appearing in the night over your bed, was enough to return you to your younger days of bedwetting. Too bad the movie didn't live up to it.

But another one was coming, that would. We'll talk about that one soon.

The image and title probably sold this book too.

Here's the story that the above book headlines.
It's has little in common with the movie, which is a good thing: it could actually give you goosebumps if you read it late at night with most of the lights off. The only thing it has in common is the title, which someone in Hollywood obviously thought would make a good poster.