# House of Mystery
**House of Mystery** is a horror and mystery anthology comic book series published by [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics), running for 321 issues from December 1951-January 1952 to October 1983, and later revived by DC's Vertigo imprint from 2008 to 2011. Over its three-decade run the title moved through horror, science fiction, and superhero features before settling into the horror-anthology format hosted by Cain the Caretaker, one of DC's most enduring horror hosts.[1](https://www.comics.org/series/791/) • [2](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/House_of_Mystery_Vol_1)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Publisher and run | DC Comics; 321 issues, December 1951-January 1952 through October 1983[1](https://www.comics.org/series/791/) |
| First issue | Cover-dated November-December 1951, edited by Whitney Ellsworth, positioned as a horror anthology[3](https://mbc1955.wordpress.com/2021/04/23/old-houses-arent-safe-house-of-mystery-part-1/) |
| Mid-run features | Science fiction and weird mystery stories with recurring features Martian Manhunter and Dial H for Hero through issue #173[2](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/House_of_Mystery_Vol_1) |
| Horror revival | Joe Orlando became editor in 1968; horror returned with #174, and Cain debuted as host in #175 (July-August 1968)[4](https://kleinletters.com/Blog/logo-study-house-of-mystery-part-1-of-2/) • [5](https://dcuguide.com/Cain_Chronology) |
| Vertigo revival | 2008 ongoing series by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham, art by Luca Rossi; five characters trapped in a supernatural bar where stories are currency[6](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-1) |
| Notable alumni | Bernie Wrightson's first published work appeared in House of Mystery #179; the Bronze Age issues gathered artists including Neal Adams, Alex Toth, Gil Kane, and Sergio Aragonés[6](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-1) • [7](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-2019/house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-vol-1) |
## Origins and the 1950s
The company that would become DC Comics, then operating as National Comics, launched The House of Mystery with a December 1951/January 1952 cover date as a comparatively restrained horror anthology, which nevertheless became one of its longest-running and most influential titles.[8](https://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2013/05/28/tales-from-the-house-of-mystery/) The first issue, edited by Whitney Ellsworth, carried stories about marrying a witch, a female werewolf, and a murderous Frankenstein-style monster.[3](https://mbc1955.wordpress.com/2021/04/23/old-houses-arent-safe-house-of-mystery-part-1/)
The [Comics Code Authority](https://www.edgepedia.org/comics-code-authority), the industry's self-regulatory code adopted after the 1954 Senate juvenile-delinquency hearings, effectively removed horror from the book. House of Mystery shifted toward science fiction and fantasy adventure, and later became a split book carrying costumed features: the [Martian Manhunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/martian-manhunter) and the original [Dial H for Hero](https://www.edgepedia.org/dial-h-for-hero), in which the boy Robby Reed transformed into heroes by dialing the letter H on a dial.[8](https://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2013/05/28/tales-from-the-house-of-mystery/) • [9](https://comicspectrumbackissue.wordpress.com/2016/07/20/house-of-mystery-174-dc/) A 1965 issue such as #149, featuring a Martian Manhunter story, was typical of this period: an uncredited science-fiction anthology in the post-EC, Comics Code era.[10](https://bleedingcool.com/comics/bkk-unzine-and-bleeding-cool-pick-apart-house-of-mystery-149/)
## The Joe Orlando era and Cain
In 1968 DC gave the title to editor Joe Orlando, formerly one of the artists of EC's horror comics, with the hope that he could revitalize it.[4](https://kleinletters.com/Blog/logo-study-house-of-mystery-part-1-of-2/) Orlando evicted the failing features, restored the mystery theme, and pursued a quality upgrade by employing first-rate artists and encouraging a gothic mood.[11](https://theslingsandarrows.com/the-house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-volume-1/) Issue #174, cover-dated May-June 1968, announced the change with the banner "Do You Dare Enter The House of Mystery?"[12](https://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2010/10/29/showcase-presents-house-of-mystery-volume-1/)
Beginning with issue #175, Cain introduced all the stories as the resident of the House, and occasionally appeared within them; his brother Abel hosted the companion book [House of Secrets](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-secrets-dc-comics).[4](https://kleinletters.com/Blog/logo-study-house-of-mystery-part-1-of-2/) Cain first appeared in House of Mystery #175, cover-dated July-August 1968.[5](https://dcuguide.com/Cain_Chronology) Orlando also introduced recurring features, including the gag-cartoon page "Cain's Gargoyles" and "Room 13", which encouraged readers to cut up their comic; the feature had begun under Orlando as "Page 13", invariably running on the comic's thirteenth page.[13](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2020/07/04/house-of-mystery-188-sept-oct-1970/)
**The Filipino artists.** The Orlando era brought a wave of Filipino artists into American comics. Tony DeZuñiga's first DC story published in the United States appeared in House of Mystery #188 (September-October 1970); after establishing himself, he suggested to Orlando that DC look to the Philippines, where skilled illustrators worked at lower page rates than their American peers. DeZuñiga joined Orlando and DC's editorial director Carmine Infantino on a scouting trip to the Philippines, and artists including Nestor Redondo and Alfredo Alcala followed, reshaping DC's horror and fantasy lines through the [Bronze Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/bronze-age).[13](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2020/07/04/house-of-mystery-188-sept-oct-1970/) • [14](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/03/26/house-of-mystery-202-may-1972/)
The format proved successful enough that DC applied it to other titles, revamping House of Secrets and Tales of the Unexpected and launching new horror anthologies such as The Witching Hour and Ghosts.[14](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/03/26/house-of-mystery-202-may-1972/) The series ran to issue #321 in October 1983.[1](https://www.comics.org/series/791/)
## The Vertigo revival (2008-2011)
In 2008 DC's Vertigo imprint reinvented the concept as a new ongoing series written by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham, the co-writers of Jack of Fables, with framing-story art by Luca Rossi and covers by Sam Weber.[6](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-1) The series focuses on five characters trapped in a supernatural bar outside normal dimensions, trying to solve the mystery of how and why they are imprisoned. With no books, newspapers, or television allowed, stories become the new currency, and the House attracts only the finest storytellers.[6](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-1)
The trapped regulars include the newest arrival Fig Keele, an architecture student whose house burned down; the bouncer Ann Preston, a pirate; the self-announced "charming rogue" Poet; the waitress Cress; and bartender Harry Bailey. Each issue of the first storyline also included a short tale told by one of the customers, written by Willingham and drawn by guest artists including Ross Campbell, Jill Thompson, and [Bernie Wrightson](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernie-wrightson), whose own first published work had appeared in House of Mystery #179 in 1969.[6](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-1) • [15](https://comicsworthreading.com/2008/10/26/house-of-mystery-room-and-boredom/) The first five issues were collected as *House of Mystery Vol. 1: Room and Boredom* in January 2009.[16](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-vol-1-room-and-boredom) The series ran at least through issue #42, published October 5, 2011, in which three travelers find the ruins of the House and hear three different versions of how its story ended.[17](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-42)
## Collections
DC began collecting the Bronze Age horror run in *House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1* (2019), a 792-page hardcover collecting issues #174-200 with work by Bernie Wrightson, Alex Toth, Gil Kane, Marv Wolfman, Wally Wood, Neal Adams, Sergio Aragonés, and others; a new printing went on sale October 28, 2025.[7](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-2019/house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-vol-1) • [18](https://penguinrandomhouselibrary.com/book/?isbn=9781799502968) Earlier, the black-and-white *Showcase Presents The House of Mystery* paperbacks reprinted the Orlando-era stories, and DC's DC Finest line has collected horror stories from the title alongside House of Secrets and The Witching Hour.[11](https://theslingsandarrows.com/the-house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-volume-1/) • [19](https://www.milehighcomics.com/html/DC_CONNECT_0525.pdf)
## Legacy
The title's horror-host formula shaped DC's wider 1970s line: the House of Mystery approach led to similar revamps of House of Secrets and Tales of the Unexpected and to the launch of the new anthologies The Witching Hour and Ghosts.[14](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/03/26/house-of-mystery-202-may-1972/) Cain and Abel also occasionally hosted the anthology Plop!, and scholarship on DC's horror hosts records the House of Mystery brand itself as running 1951-1983, briefly in 1986-1987, and again from 2008.[20](https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34726/1/Horror%20Hosts%20-%20corrected%20proofs.pdf) The 2008 Vertigo series carried the House concept into a continuing narrative, opening with a two-page cameo by [Cain and Abel](https://www.edgepedia.org/cain-and-abel) before moving to an all-new cast.[15](https://comicsworthreading.com/2008/10/26/house-of-mystery-room-and-boredom/)
## References
1. [GCD :: Series :: House of Mystery (1951 series), Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/series/791/)
2. [House of Mystery (1951-1983), DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/House_of_Mystery_Vol_1)
3. [Old Houses aren't safe: House of Mystery - Part 1, Martin Crookall - Author For Sale](https://mbc1955.wordpress.com/2021/04/23/old-houses-arent-safe-house-of-mystery-part-1/)
4. [Logo Study: House of Mystery Part 1 of 2, Todd's Blog (Todd Klein)](https://kleinletters.com/Blog/logo-study-house-of-mystery-part-1-of-2/)
5. [Cain Chronology, DCU Guide](https://dcuguide.com/Cain_Chronology)
6. [House of Mystery #1, DC Comics](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-1)
7. [House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1, DC Comics](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-2019/house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-vol-1)
8. [Tales from The House of Mystery, Now Read This!](https://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2013/05/28/tales-from-the-house-of-mystery/)
9. [House of Mystery #174 (DC), ComicSpectrum Back Issue Reviews](https://comicspectrumbackissue.wordpress.com/2016/07/20/house-of-mystery-174-dc/)
10. [BKK Unzine and Bleeding Cool Pick Apart House of Mystery #149, Bleeding Cool](https://bleedingcool.com/comics/bkk-unzine-and-bleeding-cool-pick-apart-house-of-mystery-149/)
11. [The House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus Volume 1, Slings & Arrows](https://theslingsandarrows.com/the-house-of-mystery-the-bronze-age-omnibus-volume-1/)
12. [Showcase Presents House of Mystery volume 1, Now Read This!](https://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2010/10/29/showcase-presents-house-of-mystery-volume-1/)
13. [House of Mystery #188 (Sept.-Oct., 1970), Attack of the 50 Year Old Comic Books](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2020/07/04/house-of-mystery-188-sept-oct-1970/)
14. [House of Mystery #202 (May, 1972), Attack of the 50 Year Old Comic Books](https://50yearoldcomics.com/2022/03/26/house-of-mystery-202-may-1972/)
15. [House of Mystery: Room and Boredom, Comics Worth Reading](https://comicsworthreading.com/2008/10/26/house-of-mystery-room-and-boredom/)
16. [House of Mystery Vol. 1: Room and Boredom, DC Comics](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-vol-1-room-and-boredom)
17. [House of Mystery #42, DC Comics](https://www.dc.com/comics/house-of-mystery-2008/house-of-mystery-42)
18. [House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (New Edition), Penguin Random House Library Marketing](https://penguinrandomhouselibrary.com/book/?isbn=9781799502968)
19. [Collected Editions - DC Connect, Mile High Comics](https://www.milehighcomics.com/html/DC_CONNECT_0525.pdf)
20. [Horror Hosts (corrected proofs), Bournemouth University eprints](https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34726/1/Horror%20Hosts%20-%20corrected%20proofs.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Illustration and illustrators › Comic books and characters › Comic book series and storylines*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license