Looking back on my experience at MidSummer Scream, there was one thing that really stuck with me. Specifically, a certain comic from 1953. Tales From the Crypt; Volume I, Issue 35 to be exact. “Midnight Mess.” At MidSummer Scream, I had the pleasure of seeing this comic done as a live reading by Captured Aural Phantasty Theater.
Though I was never initially big on vampires before, I was absolutely charmed by the story of Midnight Mess. As summarized by EC Comics Wiki, “A man visits his sister in a small town where all the people get off the street and close up shop before sundown due to a recent spate of seventeen vampire killings. He scoffs at such an idea figuring it must be the work of a homicidal maniac as vampires don’t exist. He is hungry since the restaurant he was in earlier closed down before he could order something to eat and so he goes for a walk after dinner. He comes upon the same restaurant that he was in earlier and it is open now. He enters the place to get something to eat, but ends up on the menu himself, for it serves as an after-hours eatery to the local vampires.”
The plotline and unfortunate ending makes for a fun, enticing scare. Viewing the live reading of this issue for the first time was charming, exciting, and overall an excellent introduction into the realm of horror comics! Want to see for yourself? View the film adaptation here!
