Chamber of Chills facts for kids

Chamber of Chills is the name of two different horror comic books. One was published by Harvey Publications in the 1950s. The other was released by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Both comics were anthologies, meaning they featured different short stories in each issue.

Harvey Comics' Chamber of Chills

The first Chamber of Chills was a horror comic from Harvey Publications. It cost 10 cents and came out every two months. This version ran for 26 issues, from June 1951 to December 1954.

Artists and Changes

Many talented artists worked on the comic. These included Bob Powell, Lee Elias, and Warren Kremer. The comic stopped being published after 1954. This was because of special hearings in the Senate. These hearings looked into whether comics were good for young people. After this, Harvey Comics started making comics for younger children. Some of these popular comics were Little Dot and Richie Rich.

Chamber of Chills actually started as another comic called Blondie Comics. It took over the issue numbering from that comic, starting with issue #21. Later, the numbering was reset to #1. The comic then changed its name to Chamber of Clues in February 1955. It stopped publishing completely after just two more issues.

Marvel Comics' Chamber of Chills

A completely separate comic series also called Chamber of Chills was published by Marvel Comics. This version came out in the 1970s. It ran for 25 issues, from November 1972 to November 1976.

New Horror Comics from Marvel

Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Roy Thomas started this comic. He wanted to create a new line of science fiction and horror anthologies. These new comics would tell stories based on classic tales. They were different from Marvel's earlier horror comics, which mostly had new stories.

Chamber of Chills was one of four new titles. The others were Journey into Mystery vol. 2, Supernatural Thrillers, and Worlds Unknown.

Stories and Creators

The first issue of Marvel's Chamber of Chills had exciting stories. One was by science fiction writer George Alec Effinger. Another was an adaptation of a story by Harlan Ellison. It also included a reprinted story from the 1950s. This older story was by Stan Lee and Russ Heath.

For the first few issues, the comic mostly featured new stories. Later, it started reprinting older horror stories from the 1950s. These older stories were sometimes called "pre-Code" horror. This meant they were made before the Comics Code Authority set strict rules for comics. The rules became less strict in 1971, allowing these older stories to be reprinted.

Many famous writers and artists worked on this series. These included John Jakes, Gardner Fox, Steve Gerber, and Don McGregor. Artist Frank Brunner also contributed. Even editor Roy Thomas adapted a story by Robert E. Howard. Other artists included Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr. who drew some of the covers.