House of Mystery #14

In "The Crimes of the Black Cat," Joe Palmer, the last survivor of a notorious robbery gang, finds himself haunted not by guilt, but by a vengeful black cat named Damascus. As the feline begins targeting the jurors who sentenced him, Palmer panics—only to realize too late that the killings might not be the cat’s doing at all. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this chilling 1953 tale from *House of Mystery* weaves suspense and deception in a story where the line between justice and punishment blurs.

In "The Melody of Death," Alex Breska, a diner owner with a secret devotion to the Egyptian god Anubis, finds his quiet rituals disrupted by a trio of jazz musicians whose music grates on his nerves. When they ignore his warning to play only his sacred Egyptian notes, their improvisation unleashes a chilling transformation—turning them into mummies before their eyes.

In "I Hired a Ghost!" from House of Mystery #14 (1953), Jason Hawley's decision to wear the cursed Malayan moonstone to a Halloween party takes a terrifying turn when a demonic figure appears and pursues him through the house—only for the attacker to fall to his death. The shocking truth behind the haunting is far more human than supernatural, rooted in betrayal and greed.

In "The Case of the Deadly Dolls," a chilling mystery unfolds when an ingenious doll maker, Mr. Coner, begins crafting lifelike figures of people who soon meet untimely ends. Lieutenant Farragut, following a trail of eerie coincidences, pieces together a disturbing pattern that leads him to the man behind the dolls.