'House Of Mystery' turning darker

Vertigo's House Of Mystery is heading for darker territory in its third year, according to writer Matt Sturges.

October sees the release of a special Halloween annual, featuring cameos from John Constantine, Madame Xanadu and Merv Pumpkinhead. Following the book's release, the comic series will head in a darker, more layered direction.

"This storyline, I knew that I wanted it to be kind of grizzly," Sturges told Newsarama. "The previous story had been more talky and less horrorish. I wanted to bring it back around to a more horror sensibility. That's why it's a little bloodier than things have been recently. I really wanted it to be as brutal as possible."

The horror series began in May 2008. Each issue features a different story told by people trapped in a "purgatory-like" house. Sturgess is planning to revamp the book from issue #21.

"I'm writing issue #21 to be very new-reader-friendly because it's sort of a new start for a lot of the characters in the series and for the house itself," he added. "If you've been wanting to start the series but have been leery about jumping in in the middle, this would be a great place to pick it up."