My Rating
The Eye Of Beauty
Claude was the finest painter that France had produced in the last century. His work hung next to other masterpieces in the Louvre gallery. Art collectors around the world fought for the chance to bid on Claude’s portraits, especially those of Lucienne Benoit. She was his favorite model.
Overtime Lucienne fell in love with Claude, but it was not for his looks. The Parisian socialite had no Idea what her artist looked like. For you see, Claude kept his identity a secret. He viewed his models through a hole cut into a floor length purple curtain. No one knew what the man looked like. If one could catch a glimpse of Claude Lumier they would go screaming from his studio!
What is the secret that Claude Lumier is too scared to expose to the world? Where does all of Claude’s money go when he hides from the public? Will Lucienne finally catch a glimpse of her love?
The Hounds Of Hell
Belinda lived with her aunt in a small cottage next door to the old Hartley place. It was a three story Victorian in disrepair. The yard looked like a jungle with overgrown shrubbery, rampant tiger-lilies, and a rotting fence. Several townsfolk commented that it looked like a scene from an old Hitchcock movie. So, when retired author, Jasper Conn, bought the place Balinda and her aunt were ecstatic.
Over the next few months Belinda and Jasper became good neighbors and swapped stories of their past and of the previous owner. Jasper had found one of Hartley’s old diaries and it began to consume his interest. Ever since Jasper had moved into the house the sounds of howling dogs began to wake Belinda and himself at random hours of the night. What the two neighbors would discover would bind their souls for life!
What lies under the wooden hatch inside the Victorian basement? Did the Hartleys really die of natural causes? Where did the three Doberman Pinscher run off to?
House Of Fear!
The ghosts of Abel Trevaney screamed in tormented rage at the young Lisabeth Marlowe, for no woman shall rest inside the Trevaney mansion! The wife of the late Abel bore two of his children, then ran off with another man, taking a huge portion of the family fortune in the process. Abel swore a curse upon the house and its surrounding lands. The Trevaney bloodline will end with his sister Clara.
Will the ghost of Abel Trevaney stop his nephew Peter from fulfilling the terms of the last will and testament? Can Lisabeth Marlowe survive one night in the house of pure evil? Why has Clara Trevaney never been affected by the curse?
My Dream Lies Here!
Kathy Brenner had retreated from life ever since her love died. Her days became an unchanged ritual of work, cleaning her apartment, and visiting Peter’s grave on the weekends. Her devotion to the man never faltered.
Then one day while talking to a framed picture of Peter, Kathy noticed the smile on his face was slowly changing. It wasn’t by much, but it was definitely different. She came back to the portrait three days later and the smile was no more. A frown had replaced the once charming grin.
Is there something supernatural at work in apartment 3B? Has Kathy begun losing her mind? Why did Peter never mention a cousin who lived in the area? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
In 1973 Haunted Love started as quarterly, then readers received only one issue in 1974, and finally in 1975 five issues would reach the newsstands. Issue number seven Landa in this group. I have to imagine a Horror and Romance hybrid must have been a tough sell even in an age of Dark Shadows and Hammer Films productions.
The stories found within these pages are entertaining but, barring the “My Dreams Lie Here!” plot, the romance is almost nonexistent. It’s like the writers took some of their horror scripts and tacked on a romance angle in the last couple of frames. The romance comic market must have been in its final throes of popularity.
There are some really neat scenes with overhead angles and the splash pages were my favorite in the series (up until this point). I had to laugh as the Jasper Conn character seemed modeled after the actor Robert Stack of the Unsolved Mysteries television series, and the Airplane movie. To me, it’s an identical match.
In the “House of Fear” story do we get a precursor look at the Michael Keaton character Beetlejuice? Don’t say Abel Trevaney’s name three times as he hates women! Those conniving gold diggers! Even though Haunted Love seems to be morphing into their “Haunted” title, the art keeps getting better and better. Issue number seven is a four star book. Now off to burn all my wall art. There may be ghosts inside!
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