TOMB OF THE TRUMPS #18 - Dracula Pack II

Welcome dear friends to another of our strange voyages through the realm of vintage Horror Top Trumps! Once again we shall be rooting through obscure tomes and old magazines in search of the images and stills that inspired these delightfully lurid and frequently demented cards. And first up, we have a real tough one...

Now I'm guessing that several of you are bouncing up and down and shouting 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space'! But sadly, despite the uncanny resemblance to those fabled celestial circus psychos, these decks of cards were made many years - in fact about a decade by my reckoning - before the Chiodo Brothers' kult klassic was unleashed on an unsuspecting world. And before you mention him, the same goes for the shape-shifting cosmic horror that is Pennywise from Stephen King's It too.

Now this is a card that is naggingly familiar, and yet has proven very hard to identify. Indeed it's got all us Horror Top Trumpologists completely stumped! I've looked through countless stills from circus-based horror flicks, I've leafed through a myriad of horror comics, but sadly, to no avail! So if you recognise this nightmare in greasepaint, please do get in touch!

However in the meantime, here's the afore-mentioned Killer Klowns...

Fortunately though our next card is far easier to identify! Indeed it is the title trump of this pack, and obviously needs no introduction....

Now not only is Dracula instantly recognisable, but here we quite clearly have his celebrated incarnation on screen in Hammer movies, with the immortal Count being played by the late great Sir Christopher Lee! If memory serves, this particular image is modeled on a publicity still from the very first Hammer Dracula way back in 1958. Directed by the great Terence Fisher, Dracula or Horror of Dracula as it is known in the US, is rightly regarded as one of the great movie versions of Stoker's immortal tale, and it would spawn nine sequels, although Lee only starred in seven of those, bowing out of the first follow-up Brides of Dracula (1960) and the last entry Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1973). 

We don't normally remark on the often contentious figures bandied about on the stats, but as the star of one of the most frequently adapted horror novels, one of the most recognisable monsters in the world, and indeed the role model for nearly all fictional vampires, Dracula certainly deserves his horror rating of 100!

TOMB OF THE TRUMPS #12 - Devil Priest Pack Part XII

Well it's been a while folks, but once again the becobwebbed door is creaking open, allowing us entry into the strange and dank realms where gaudily coloured drawings with dubious titles gleefully splash blood an gore across the history of horror! Yes, it's time for another trip to Tomb of the Trumps! 

Now first up we have a truly shocking revelation! Stone me, if it isn't actually a card that firstly bears an accurate representation of a famous monster, and what's more, it even has the correct ruddy name! Completely the opposite of what we've come to expect from these vintage Horror Top Trumps decks! But hey, credit where credit's due - for accuracy aside this is a wonderfully atmospheric portrait of eveyone's favourite ancient Egyptian undead - the Mummy! 

But before we break out the Tana leaves for a celebratory brew-up, which Mummy actually is this? For there have been countless movies featuring the bandage-swathed walking dead, and contrary to the received wisdom (and luckily for me) they don't all look exactly alike! So whose Mummy is this? 

Well, first we can rule out many low budget efforts as this Mummy features some fairly elaborate wrapping. And it's very distinctive too! Secondly, unlike many movie mummies, this one has no visible mouth, and that too really narrows down the field. Sadly the background is too shadowy and composed of generic old skool temple/ruins to be much use. But luckily we do have enough to go on... 

...Yes, this card is based on the classic first Hammer Mummy movie made back in 1959.  And although you can't tell from the card, it's the late great Sir Christopher Lee under all that the wrapping! 

However after that tour de force of art and accuracy, perhaps inevitably the next card would see a drastic reversal of fortunes...

Oh Slime Creature where are you? Yes, this is one of those rare cards that has all aficionados of the Horror Top Trumps completely stumped! Many have tried and failed to identify this somewhat melancholy looking creature, and I must confess it has defeated your faithful scribbler here too! Now most commentators have concluded that the Slime Creature is a rare wholly original escapee from the deranged imagination of the unknown Horror Top Trumps' artist. But judging by the big googly eyes and the large metal girdle the beast is wearing, I'm guessing this was possibly lifted from the pages of some forgotten '50 SF comic...

However I can make a positive id of his/its victim! The fellow on the receiving end of the oddly angled spear has been teleported in from another Hammer movie! This unfortunate chap is Christopher Matthews, playing a rakish young gentlemen called Paul Carlson. Paul has taken shelter in an old castle, he encounters the delectable Tania, played by Anoushka Hempel. And being a red-blooded young fellow, he can't resist seducing Tania, unfortunately (for him) immediately after making love, she gets a bit peckish... 

Now if you thinking, getting bit by Anoushka and maybe spending eternity in undeath with her might not be so bad, sadly that's not Paul's fate. For the master of the castle returns - it's Dracula, Prince of Gooseberries! I mean, Prince of Darkness! And the Count is not pleased... But that's another story! 

MICROGORIA 17 - Lee-viathan 99

In a stop-gap episode, Mr Jim Moon raids the archives of the Great Library of Dreams to uncover the tale of Leviathan '99 - a 1960s experimental radio play. This space age sonic drama was a riff on Moby Dick penned by the late great Ray Bradbury and starred Sir Christopher Lee as an obsessed comet-hunting captain on a space vessel...


DIRECT DOWNLOAD - Leeviathan 99

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MICROGORIA 15 - A Tribute to Sir Christopher Lee - the Intermission

This episode we take a little sidestep in our journey through the life and works of the late great Sir Christopher Lee.  Mr Jim Moon takes a back at the tradition of having hosts with our horror stories, and explores the various volumes of weird fiction that Sir Christopher Lee hosted and co-edited with Peter Haining and Michael Parry.


DIRECT DOWNLOAD - A Tribute to Sir Christopher Lee - the Intermission

Find all the podcasts in the HYPNOGORIA family here -

HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

HYPNOGORIA on iTunes

HYPNOGORIA on STITCHER

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS