31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 6 | Abel

Like their biblical namesakes, Abel, caretaker of the House of Secrets, appeared sometime after his brother Cain.  According to several sources, Abel made his first appearance in the re-booted House of Secrets issue #81, cover dated August-September 1969.  

Peter Sanderson writes about Cain in Who's Who in the DC Universe: "Abel is an ineffectual coward, who cannot hope to outwit his crafty brother.  Surprisingly sensitive for a man who takes such pleasure in horror stories and agonizingly lonely, Abel is anguished by his constant torment at his brother's hands.  Yet Abel remains pathetically devoted to Cain, despite his better judgement, since Cain is the closest thing to a human friend that he has."  

The House of Secrets is located near The House of Mystery.  "Originally built by a mysterious Senator Sandsfield as a home for himself and his wife, the House of Secrets has a most bizarre history.  Constructing the building entirely from materials made in Kentucky, Sandsfield swore that no one but a pure-bred Kentuckian would ever live there.  When his wife went insane in one of the house's upper rooms, Sandsfield sold the building, but the next four owners, none of whom were of pure Kentucky stock, fled the house within three months' time.  When the house's next owner attempted to have the house moved across the state line, the house apparently rebelled, tearing itself free of the trailer and forcing its new owner over a cliff, before finally coming to rest beside a cemetery less than 200 yards from the state line" (The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #1).         

The House of Secrets comic book is perhaps best known for giving the world Swamp Thing in issue #92.  The series continued through issue #154.  Like House of Mystery, House of Secrets didn't really die after the final issue.... but we'll save that story for our next post.     



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