Ghostly Haunts #41
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeGhostly Haunts #41 is a solid mid-run entry in one of Charlton's most durable Bronze Age horror anthology titles — a series notable for pushing EC Comics-style macabre storytelling within the constraints of the Comics Code Authority, partly because Charlton's lower-profile operation sometimes flew beneath the CCA's radar. The issue showcases the full creative ecosystem that made the series tick: prolific writer Joe Gill, the distinctively moody cover and interior art of Tom Sutton, multi-talented artist Sanho Kim, and the series' blue-skinned host Winnie the Witch, a co-creation of Gill and Steve Ditko who was one of the more unconventional horror hosts of her era. Several of its stories proved durable enough to be reprinted across multiple Charlton anthology titles through the early 1980s, attesting to the series' internal vitality even at a publisher known for modest production values.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Ghostly Haunts was born from the direct continuation of Ghost Manor Vol. 1 — the title took over that book's numbering at issue #20 in September 1971, inheriting Winnie the Witch as hostess. By the time issue #41 was published with a cover date of November 1974 (on-sale August 1974, per The Comic Reader #109), editor George Wildman had stabilized the title's creative roster around a tight circle of Charlton regulars. Joe Gill, arguably the most prolific writer in American comics history, scripted the lead story 'The Sand Devils' here — sometimes signing work under pseudonyms like 'Jim Beam,' as he does in the issue's 'Scourge of the Dover Road!' — while Tom Sutton, who signed horror work under the alias 'Grisly,' provided both the cover and interior art contributions.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Published by Charlton Comics with a cover date of November 1974; on-sale date was August 1974 according to The Comic Reader #109.
- Cover art and interior art contributions are by Tom Sutton, who regularly signed his horror work under the pseudonym 'Grisly.'
- Writer Joe Gill scripted at least two stories in the issue, signing one ('The Sand Devils') under his own name and 'The Scourge of the Dover Road!' under the pseudonym 'Jim Beam.'
- The issue contains four stories: 'The Sand Devils' (art: Sanho Kim), 'The Woman in the Painting' (art: Tom Sutton), 'The Scourge of the Dover Road!' (pencils: Charles Nicholas, inks: Wayne Howard), and 'A Lovely Night in Paris!' (art: Tom Sutton) — all hosted by Winnie the Witch.
- Series host Winnie the Witch is a blue-skinned occultist character co-created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, who first appeared in Ghost Manor Vol. 1 #13 before the title became Ghostly Haunts.
- At least three stories from this issue were later reprinted: 'The Sand Devils' in Beyond the Grave #16 (August 1984); 'The Scourge of the Dover Road!' in Haunted #75 (September 1984); 'A Lovely Night in Paris!' in Ghostly Tales #135 (May 1979) — all Charlton publications.
- An exact reprint of the entire issue was published circa 1978 under the Modern Comics imprint (a Charlton-affiliated reprint label), with updated ads and a 35-cent cover price replacing the original 25-cent price.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Ghostly Haunts #4 (1978), Ghostly Haunts #41 (1978), Ghostly Tales #135 (1979), Beyond the Grave #16 (1984), Haunted #75 (1984), The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics! #9 (2014), Fantômes Échos du Monde du Spiritisme #19
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