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October 1, 2005
The 1970s were the Haunt of Horror
The 70s were the haunt of horror. That’s how I remember them, growing up in Alaska from 1970-75. The whole country was on a horror kick. Was it a backlash against the Vietnam War, or was it a reaction to the changing roles of women, or the open sexuality that was driven by the 60s? Hard to say, but monsters were everywhere…lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on people as they walked to their car at night.
The Exorcist was a popular novel by William Peter Blatty (published in 1971) before it became a hit movie in 1973. The story of a child possessed by a demon (and supposedly based on a semi real event) had people everywhere taking about Satan. That he was real, that his minions possessed people. It was all over various news paper stories and talk shows.
In 1972, horror came to television when the Night Stalker movie premiered on ABC. I was definitely into the story, when Carl Kolchak, bumbling reporter, goes into Seattle’s “underground city” to confront the vampire that he is certain exists and is killing people. Years later I would go to Seattle and be disappointed to find that the underground city is just a few cellars and rooms underground.
Classic horror films were shown over and over on TV. We only had three stations in Anchorage. One of them showed the original black and white versions of Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man. I sat up at night (Alaska has the blackest nights in the winter you will ever find) and watched these until 12:30am.
The world was ripe for horror, especially in comics. For over a decade they had been driven out—vampires, werewolves, zombies—from four color comics. In the 60s, Jim Warren started a line of black and white magazines featuring some: Vampirella, Creepy, and Eerie. But in Marvel and DC, there weren’t allowed. Until the comics code was altered and then Stan Lee seized the opportunity to bring them back.
Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and a horde of talented creators unleashed the monsters upon us. Dracula lived, Frankenstein lived. The Wolf Man became a teenager in the Marvel style: Werewolf By Night. Satan exerted his influence, creating Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, and Satana. A swamp monster called Man-Thing saved reality several times over. Voodoo was represented by the Zombie and Brother Voodoo. Their adventures were chronicled in color comics and then they made the jump to black and white magazines.
Morbius was a prime example. He debuted in Amazing Spider-Man 101, and after a while got his own series in Adventures Into Fear. At the same time he appeared in Vampire Tales, where his exploits were more graphically detailed.
They were frightening, but also unique. They were cursed and doomed and somehow strove onward. Being a nerd in a land full of lumberjacks, I could relate to them. As far as I was concerned, these characters were the first anti-heroes in literature. Dracula was a downright villain who successfully had his own series for 70 issues—not to mention the black and white magazines. This is a feat that Doctor Doom couldn’t pull off.
I will be revisiting my favorite Marvel horror characters for the entire month of October. Halloween is the only holiday that I like. Nuff said.
