Before the superhero boom of the 1960s, comic companies often produced books with horror themes. Marvel was one of the best at making horror-themed comics, and they started meshing their horror themes with the superhero books to make some new adventures for readers who like a little scare in their comics.
While not all theMarvelhorror-themed characters stood the test of time, the trend allowed the company to dust off some earlier characters and give them new life. These comics have allowed for some classic horror characters to interact with other well-known Marvel characters and create more fun and excitement.
10Absolute Carnage
Carnage is the perfect villain for a horror story, as theAbsolute Carnagestoryline demonstrates. A cult that worships Knull resurrects the symbiote and Carnagegoes on a rampage, hunting everyone who ever bonded with a symbiote.
Carnage’s hunt is brutal, with many casualties left in his wake. It’s filled with graphic violence and many deaths. Plus, many popular Marvel characters make an appearance to try to stop Carnage. It’s a story that has made many horror fans happy.
9Curse of the Mutants
In the 2010X-Menreboot, the mutants faced a threat not usually considered for the superhero stories. The mutants' island home is invaded by vampires. Led by Dracula’s son, Xarus, the new Vampire King plans to infect the mutant population and build a super-powered army.
Cyclops is now leading the mutants and rises to the challenge by sending mutants that can’t be bitten to the frontline and havingordained priest Nightcrawlerbless Iceman turning all of his ice constructs into Holy Water. It’s a simple premise that Marvel’s experience writers turn into an excellent story.
8Journey Into Mystery
TheJourney Into Mysteryanthology started under the Atlas Comics banner in 1952 before the company was rebranded as Marvel Comics in 1961.Journey Into Mysteryfeatured chilling stories tackling monsters, witches, and bloody murders.
The title was perfect for the Halloween season, especially with stories like the popular “One Foot in the Grave.” The story features a man stealing flowers from graves to resell them, but the dead return to take back their flowers. It’s just one of many scary tales for this series.
7Damnation
Damnationfocuses on what would happen if Sin City literally went to Hell. In this 1990s comic book story, Dr. Strange assembles a new lineup of the Midnight Sons in an attempt to fight Mephisto and save the souls of everyone in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, demons possess the Avengers, turning them into an evil teamof Ghost Riders. One of the standout moments of this story features Wong and the ghost of Dr. Strange’s dog, Bats. It’s one of the best cases of bombastic superheroes meeting the supernatural.
6Rise of the Midnight Sons
With so many supernatural superheroes, it was only natural for Marvel to pair some of them up for a truly chilling story.Rise of the Midnight Sonsbrings together the Nightstalkers,Morbius the Living Vampire, and the Spirits of Vengeance to battle the Mother of all Demons, Lilith.
When Lilith is resurrected and teaming with her demon children to take over the Earth, the Midnight Sons form to answer the call. The series mixes classic Marvel superhero action with a number of creepy characters for the perfect horror-themed story.
5Franken-Castle
The Punisher’s vigilante past catches up to him, and Frank Castle has both his arms and his head severed in a gruesome battle. However, the Legion of Monsters won’t let this anti-hero’s journey end that way. They reawaken him in an homageto Frankenstein’s Monster, turning him into “Franken-Castle.”
While it starts out like a terrible joke that shouldn’t have made it to print, it turns into one of the bestPunisherstories Marvel has ever told. It’s an original take on one of the least evolved characters Marvel has ever created. Frank Castle is, ironically, his most human when he’s physically his least human.
4Chamber of Chills
Marvel published theChamber of Chillsanthology series in the 1970s, after the Comics Code Authority loosened its rules. In this series, Marvel took some featured horror stories from the 1950s and reprinted them for a new audience. Some of the most iconic writers and artists took part in the series.
The most popular story fromChamber of Chillswas the Stan Lee and Russ Heath work, “They Wait In Their… Dungeon.” The story focuses on a sadistic warden and the prison inmates who revolt following a gas chamber execution. It’s a horrifying tale where the warden realizes his only two options both result in death.
3Inferno
This Marvel Comics crossover from 1989 put the X-Men at the center of a demon invasion from the Limbo dimension. When Cyclops' estranged wife is revealed to be Jean Grey’s clone, she is also transformed into the evil Goblyn Queen while new mutants are fighting demonic corruption.
Infernowould expand beyond just the mutants as Hobgoblin is possessed by a demon and becomes the villain, Demogoblin. This is often cited as one ofthe greatestX-Menstorylines, but its horror themes carry it further into the entire Marvel Universe.
2Masters of Terror
This anthology series from 1975 only lasted two issues, but it featured adaptations of some of the greatest classic stories of all time. Some of the greatest writers and artists of the 1970s worked on the ill-fated series calledMasters of Terror.
One of the issues features the psychological thriller adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Terrible Old Man.” Readers learn about a man’s entire life up to that point and then what will happen in the future right up to his terrifying death. Another story covers the tale of the Invisible Man. It’s truly frightening.
1Marvel Zombies
This comic has been receiving a lot of love after one of the best episodes of theanimated seriesWhat If…?on Disney+.Marvel Zombiesintroduces a horrific reality where many of the greatest Marvel heroes of all time are turned into zombie versions of themselves.
The series also takes a unique look at zombie lore by allowing the heroes to retain their original memories and personalities. While it was an out-of-the-box approach, the series became an unexpected success that led to dozens of spin-offs.
