“The Ghoul of the North” is a classic of the horror comics. You would think many strange Northerns would feature sasquatch (or Bigfoot) but “The Ghoul of the North” and its sequel were the first, though as you will see not much of the sasquatch legend is used.
“The Ghoul of the North” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #113, May 1952) was written and drawn by Jay Disbrow. Blue Bolt had been a superhero comic for Novelty, the comic book arm of Curtis Press until 1949. Star Publications, run by artist L. B. Cole, bought the name for recognition and switched the subject matter to horror. Blue Bolt would be singled out by Fredric Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent and would not survive the change to the Comics Code in 1954. Star Publications was a short-lived company but it gave us some classic creepers.
Larry Davis is a reporter. He is given an assignment to look into a man who was brought into hospital, who claims he was attacked by a monster. Larry is sure the thing is gag. He interviews the patient, a man wrapped in bandages. The man had gone to Alaska because he had heard about an Indian burial ground that contained a fabulous deposit of gold. When he blasts the ground in search of the gold, the monster appears. The man runs away to the local army base and is taken to hospital.
While still at the hospital, another man comes in. He was in Alaska trapping furs. He had a big haul and decided to cross the burial ground… The monster attacks him too, changing as it does so. It looks to have horns, bat wings and ape-like limbs.
Scientists from the university, led by Professor Kruger, have heard the trapper’s story. They are excited because the tale supports Dr. Grom’s theory of structural retrogression. Larry calls his editor and tells him he thinks it is all a stunt for a Science Fiction movie. The editor sends him to Alaska with the scientists.
The party hikes up to the burial ground where the Professor Kruger finds a plaque. It is written in an old form of Arabic. A sorcerer named Tokoma placed an ogre to guard the spot. It was made of animals parts: the wing of an eagle, the heart of a wolf, the blood of a bat. Professor Kruger and his colleagues decide to leave. Larry refuses to go. He knows it he doesn’t get a story he will be out of job. He follows the monster to its cave. He expects to find a man in a suit when he pulls open the door. He learns the terrible truth as he dies… Jay Disbrow packs a lot into only four pages.
The story was short enough that a sequel was fairly easy to do. Two issues later: “The Return of the Ghoul” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #115, October 1952). This time the ghoul will get six pages and a conclusion.
The story begins with explorer, Jeff Charteres reading the story of the scientists and Larry Davis. He visits Professor Kruger to learn more. Kruger tells of Larry’s fate. After being torn apart, his body was found by an Eskimo trapper, who returned it to the army base. Jeff asks Kruger if he actually saw the monster. Kruger admits he did not but believes the monster is real.
The explorer heads out for Alaska. He hires an Eskimo guide named Punda. They walk for many hours and camp near the burial ground. Jeff finds the plaque that Kruger translated. Punda sees the lurking monster. He wants to follow but Jeff decides to track the animal in the morning, for fear of ambush. Punda doesn’t want to wait. He wants to solve the mystery of his people. He goes alone into the dark. Jeff hears him cry out. Taking his rifle and his dog, he finds Punda dead.
Jeff will wait no longer. They continue in the dark. They find the monster near a slope of boulders. The monster attacks but the dog leaps at it. The creature changes shape as Jeff shoots it. The monster keeps changing shape. The dog buys Jeff enough time to get his knife. He stabs the ghoul until it turns back into its component parts. Jeff returns home to see Kruger. He doesn’t have all the answers but he knows the valley must remain a secret. Another sequel anyone? No? Okay.
Jay Disbrow (1926-2017) was only twenty-six when he drew these two comics. He specialized in pre-Code monster stories. These tales of the Ghoul of the North were fun. He borrowed the image of the sasquatch but didn’t really write about them. I have to assume the creator of the monster was a Arab because ghouls come from Arabian mythology. We could have hoped for some Lovecraftian ghouls but there is no evidence of that here. It strikes a very strange chord in a Northern. But hey, why not? Strange is what were are going for.
