Classic Creepy Comics - Midnight Mystery

 Welcome back to Classic Creepy Comics! All the comics I'll be talking about are legally available for free on Comic Book+. You can read them online or, if you create a free account, you can download them. The site navigation may take some getting used to but I'll be providing links to the specific titles featured.

  

Our subject this week is Midnight Mystery from American Comics Group which had a short run of seven issues from January to October in 1961. This is a bit of a departure from previously covered comics as I'm pretty sure this is the first post Comics Code book I've featured. As such, it leans a little more toward the supernatural and fantastical than monsters and violence. Each issue also has one story that's got a sci-fi bent to it.

 

 And it's another title where I wasn't able to find a lot of info so let's bask in some cover art and random stuff I plucked from various issues.

 

 Issue 2 starts off with Spacemen Against the Supernatural! This is weird one, kids. It starts off with a Nazi scientist that escapes the end of WWII in a rocket and crash lands on an alien planet where he convinces them that Earth is coming for them. Then the B-story kicks in about a guy that's really bad at science that inherits a magic amulet who ends up summoning spirits to fight off the alien invasion. I'd say you can't make this stuff up...but somebody did!

 

 Issue 3 has this swell ad for a bicycle windshield. I don't know about you, but I don't think I ever rode a bike at such speed that I needed a windshield. If anything, this has got Bully Magnet written all over it.

 

 Issue 6's cover story, Chain Reaction, is about scientists creating an atom smasher (maybe an early Hadron Collider?) that misfires and sends Earth back to the Ice Age.

  

The final issue has Revolt of the Robot, which is another odd one. An autonomous robot is turned into a carnival attraction for people to throw baseballs at. Naturally, it's not happy about its great scientific mind being wasted on such humiliation and, well, he revolts.

 

 If you'd like to explore some Midnight Mystery, head over to ComicBook+ where you can read every issue (complete with ads!) online for free.

 

Be sure to check out all the Countdown bloggers by clicking the link below. 

 

Now Hear This - Halloween 2026 in 3D!

Every Tuesday, we'll be comin' at ya with a Now Hear This Halloween post featuring some spooky sounds to get your coffin rockin'. They may not all be new releases but hopefully they'll be new to you.

Click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free. I am not affiliated with Bandcamp or any of the artists, just spreading the word on good music.  

 

Minnie The Moocher At The Morgue is a 130 (!) track collection of eerie instrumentals, spooky swing, monster rock, jolting jazz, comedy skits, and more that is its own Halloween party playlist! It's got plenty of classics plus probably a few tunes you haven't heard before.

 

 If those 130 tracks weren't enough to satisfy your classic Halloween novelty itch, let Jack and the Lanterns take you for a spin with their 2023 album Killing Time. They do a great job of capturing the vibe of the Halloween novelty song era.

 

The Cadabra Tapes gathers together a trilogy of albums to bring you 22 sonic vignettes ranging from abstract, eldritch noise to compositions in the vein of classic horror movie scores. You might want to keep the lights on for this one!

 

Witch Haunt's The Believer's Guide to Hallows Eve promises within the aged pages of this guide, passed down from generations of costumed dreams and pumpkin spirits, you will be shown glimpses into the wondrously wicked worlds of many Halloweens gone by.

This collection of cozy pumpkin synth is perfect for waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive.

 

Throwing in a bonus for your audio treat bag this week!

 

 Growler Music has tons of albums featuring all sorts of samples for those of you that like to Frankenstein your own tracks. This particular collection has over 170 dialog lines from classic horror movies.

 

 Click the witch to see the list of participating Countdown blogs!

 

Disney Doorables - Squish'Alots Poppin Pinball

 I wasn't expecting to have another Doorables post this month but I ran into these Squish'Alots Pinball sets and here we are!

 

 I'm not so big on the Squish Doorables, I prefer the regular, non-squishy ones. But here, they aren't the main focus. As with most Doorables, these are blind boxed but I keep the cheat code website bookmarked on my phone for cases just like this!

 

Each box has one of 8 mini-pinball machines and I grabbed the Nightmare Before Christmas one.

 

 

The set comes with one regular size Squish that goes on top of the scoreboard. 

The machine stands about 4.5" tall so it's not a good fit as a prop for your 6" or 3.75" figures...unless you want to have your 3.75" figures pretend this is a Hercules machine. All of the "cabinet art" is stickers that come with it. I love that they included the coin box detail on the sticker. It just helps sell it more for me.

 

It comes with four balls. Three of them have itty-bitty squishy characters and the fourth has a couple additional stickers to decorate your machine.

 

 And yes, it actually works! To release a ball, you press the back button and then you can use the flippers to hit it into the hole in the center. The ball then rolls out a chute right to you.

 

 The score 10,291,993 is an Easter Egg for when the movie was originally released: 10/29/1993. The other sets aren't really any I'm interested in, maybe Alice in Wonderland, but I'd definitely pick up a Wreck-It-Ralph or Tron one if they made them. It may not get much play, but it's a really fun display piece!

 

What's the cat looking at? The full list of Countdown to Halloween blogs!

Give a click to see for yourself.