My Rating
“Richard…”
Terese had heard stories about the miracles performed at 128 Brower Street in the Irish section of London, but she never considered visiting Madame Toulrose until Michael died. Now, desperate for closure with her one true love, Terese travels through a maze of cobblestone streets to attend a séance scheduled thirty minutes after dusk.
For some reason, the streetlamp outside Madame Toulrose’s brownstone never burns consistently. The old medium blames vengeful spirits, though Terese has never witnessed anything supernatural herself. That changes tonight. As she approaches the arched doorway, a carriage races past the house at an alarming speed. It is almost as if the horses sense something unnatural lurking nearby.
Later that evening, Terese sits at a large oak table in the center of Madame Toulrose’s parlor. The oil lamps have been extinguished and replaced with blood-red candles. Terese notices the rich smell of cinnamon drifting from the melting wax. As Madame Toulrose begins calling upon the spirits, a thin fog slowly fills the room.
Then the old woman’s voice changes.
Gone is the soft, elderly voice Terese heard only moments earlier. In its place comes the unmistakable voice of a man. A familiar man. Michael! It has to be! Then, several feet behind Madame Toulrose, the ghostly image of Terese’s dead husband materializes within the swirling mist. Tears fill her eyes as Terese begins asking questions of the man she thought she had lost forever.
Can Madame Toulrose’s assistant, Richard, continue the séance ruse? Does the old woman know that Richard is actually Michael’s brother? Has Richard made the ultimate mistake by falling in love with Madame Toulrose’s latest mark?
“I’ll Never Let You Go”
Jill always loved dating bad boys. Oh, the adventures they would take her on! Surfing, scuba diving, nightclubs—Jill couldn’t get enough. Then she fell for the baddest one of them all: Burt Carlin. Burt lived fast, drove faster, and apparently believed tomorrow was somebody else’s problem.
Unfortunately, Burt also had a nasty temper and reckless driving habits. He was a speed freak behind the wheel. One night, after another argument, Burt abandoned Jill on the side of the road and tore away in his Corvette. It would be the last time she ever saw him alive. Burt wrapped his car around a telephone pole in Pasadena.
Time passed, and eventually Jill met Arthur. He existed on the opposite end of the spectrum from Burt. Arthur might have been a little boring, but he was sensible, dependable, and genuinely loved Jill for who she was. The couple married that April in a quiet Los Angeles church.
As Jill says, “I do,” she catches a glimpse of a strange figure standing behind Arthur. One moment he is there; the next he is gone. Later, while family and friends celebrate the newlyweds, Jill hears a faint voice whisper into her ear.
“Enjoy your honeymoon, darling Jill…I will be waiting when you get back.”
Jill spins around and sees the ghostly figure of Burt Carlin staring back at her. The look in his eyes contains none of the affection she once knew. There is only hatred.
Why can no one else see Burt Carlin? Will Arthur abandon his new bride to face the voices alone? Has Burt really returned from the grave? And who poured the fuel from the can?
“Want Your Fortune Told?”
An uncredited author—possibly Nicola Cuti or Joe Gill—takes a break from fictional ghosts and turns toward their real-world counterparts in this exposé-style article about psychic mediums, tarot card readers, fortune tellers, and other self-proclaimed paranormal spiritualists.
Rather than embracing supernatural claims, the article examines the tricks, weaknesses, and potential dangers behind the fortune-telling business. It is an interesting addition to a comic devoted to ghosts, séances, and supernatural romance. After two fictional stories about the paranormal, Charlton essentially turns around and tells its readers: “By the way, don’t believe everything you hear.”
It was a surprisingly thoughtful and informative read.
Reviewer Notes
Well, it only took one issue for the stories to start slipping. Don’t get me wrong—I love horror, and I understand Haunted Love was aimed primarily at young women reading romance comics during the 1970s. I’m also willing to forgive plenty of supernatural nonsense if the story entertains me. Unfortunately, the two main features in issue #2 left me feeling a little blah.
“Richard…” has a cool concept. A fake séance involving a man impersonating his dead brother could have gone in several creepy directions, especially once real emotions enter the equation. Unfortunately, the payoff didn’t do much for me. What eventually happens to Michael’s brother felt less like gothic horror and more like a mediocre episode of The Twilight Zone. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but after the atmosphere established at the beginning, I expected something darker and more haunting.
“I’ll Never Let You Go” works a little better. A jealous dead boyfriend returning to torment his former lover is exactly the kind of wonderfully melodramatic nonsense I expect from a comic called Haunted Love. Burt Carlin certainly makes for a nasty ghost, but the ending raises more questions than it answers. The story seems to change the rules surrounding Burt whenever the plot needs him to do something. Why can Jill see him when nobody else can? How does he apparently interact with the physical world? Most importantly, who poured the fuel? I can accept a supernatural explanation, but at least give me enough information to understand the supernatural explanation.
For me, editor George Wildman dropped the ball on this issue. Both stories contain good ideas, but neither sticks the landing. A few additional panels or another page of explanation might have made a big difference. The artwork still delivers that wonderful Charlton horror atmosphere I enjoy, but good artwork can only carry a confusing ending so far.
Oddly enough, “Want Your Fortune Told?” may have been my favorite part of the entire issue. The article is well written and takes a surprisingly skeptical look at mediums, tarot readers, fortune tellers, and other people claiming access to the supernatural. I only wish Charlton had credited the author. If only John Edward had read this article, maybe we could have avoided Crossing Over.
I’m giving Haunted Love #2 three out of five stars. It isn’t terrible by any means, and there are enough ghosts, séances, doomed relationships, and vintage Charlton artwork to keep me entertained. Unfortunately, after such a promising first issue, this one feels like a step backward. Hopefully issue #3 can put a little more “haunted” back into Haunted Love.