Format
Debuting with a cover date of October 1951, This Magazine is Haunted was Fawcett's first successful attempt to enter the lucrative horror market with a comic devoted specifically to supernatural fiction. The book represented a break from Fawcett's more familiar product, which ranged from superheroes (Captain Marvel) to movie adaptations and teen humor. Created by Sheldon Moldoff and edited by Will Leiberson and Al Jetter, the book was loosely modeled after EC's New Trend, particularly their highly successful horror titles.
Like its better-known competitors, This Magazine is Haunted was notable for its black humor and frequent O. Henry climaxes. Drawing on the considerable creative resources of the Fawcett stable, Haunted storylines dealt with the standard horror themes of the period: vengeance from beyond the grave, macabre retribution and 'dark' justice, all of which were presented with an appropriate level of irony.
Human folly played a key role in many stories; characters were constantly led into disaster by their own greed, stupidity or outright corruption. Numerous plots revolved around violent criminals meeting grisly but entirely deserving fates, while others featured hapless bystanders trapped in bizarre or terrifying circumstances.
Comics historian Stephen Sennitt describes the Fawcett line as "genuinely eerie" in contrast to EC's more visceral approach.
Aside from the evident cinematic influences, Haunted and its companions followed at least two literary traditions derived from the pulp literature of the previous decades. The first was the Crime-Horror imagery of magazines like Black Mask or Flynn's Detective Fiction, which emphasized murder, violence, and horrific crimes. Many authorities believe that the tradition was passed down to the 50s horror genre via the Crime comics of the later forties; Haunted featured numerous stories combining the two areas.
Of course, by far the most potent influence on This Magazine is Haunted was the horror comic genre itself, which according to Watt-Evans, represented around one sixth of the comics market at its 1954 peak.
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