10 Greatest Horror Comics You NEED To Read
9. Locke And Key
Locke and Key is an ongoing horror comic series created by Joe Hill and drawn by Gabriel Rodriguez, and is published by IDW Publishing. A group of rebels in the American Revolution discovered a portal to another dimension filled with demons. When the demons attempted to cross over, they were transformed into “whispering iron.” Young metal smith Benjamin Locke turned these forces into a variety of magical keys that performed different functions or granted their users different abilities.
Keyhouse was built on the land over the portal. In 1988, a group of teenagers discovered the keys and attempted to trick a demon to cross over to get more iron to make more keys. When Rendell Locke’s brother followed them through the Black Door, he is possessed by Dodge, and Rendell was forced to kill him. Dodge’s spirit got free many years later and possessed Sam Lesser, who killed Rendell. His widow Nina and their three children - Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode - moved to Keyhouse, where they discovered the keys.
Joe Hill has crafted a complex world of dark fantasy, murder, demon possession, and alternate dimensions. His strongest protagonist is the youngest member of the Locke family and his antagonist may well be something straight out of H.P. Lovecraft. This modern horror classic is a perfect example of how to build a world from the ground up, chronologically setting the stage for the horrors to come.