In the mid 1950’s an overzealous witch hunt took place in the United States focused on the corrupting effects of comic books on young people, which ended in horror comics being banned from the shelves by a draconian comics code. But why? What did those comics contain that got people so riled up? Well, it depends on who you ask.  

WE asked Dr. Dan Yezbick, a comics scholar, and he sparked a lively discussion. If you’re only vaguely aware of this chapter of horror history, strap in, because pre-code horror is one of the more fascinating areas of the history of the genre. 

Comics mention in this episode:

Adventure into Darkness, Adventures into the Unknown, Amazing Mysteries, Archies, Beware, Black Cat Mystery, Boris Karloff’s Tales of Mystery, Boris Karloff’s Thriller, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Chamber of Chills, City of the Living Dead, Creepy, Crypt of Terror, Dark Shadows, Dead of Night, The Dead That Walk, Eerie Comics, Eerie, Grimm’s Ghost Stories, Haunt of Fear, Horrific, House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Judgement Day, Master Race, Mister Mystery, Morbius, The Occult Files of Dr. Spector, Ripley’s Believe It or Not True Ghost Stories, Shock Suspense Stories, Skeleton Hand, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Tomb, Tales Too Terrible to Tell, Terror Tales, Tomb of Dracula, Tower of Shadows, Twilight Zone, Vault of Horror, Werewolf by Night, Witch Doctor