In their pursuit to combat Insomnia, Deadman and Robin have ventured into the distant realms that exist between wakefulness and the Dreaming. Within this mysterious space, these heroes stumble upon a previously undiscovered landmark within the domain of the Sandman. This landmark stands as the latest counterpart to the renowned Cain’s House of Mystery and Abel’s House of Secrets: the House of Horror.
Within the pages of Knight Terrors #3 by Joshua Williamson, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, Caspar Wijngaard, Frank Martin, and Troy Peteri, Deadman and Robin navigate their consciousness to a state hovering between the boundary of sleep and wakefulness, facilitated by Wesley Dodds’ sleep-inducing gas. Within this unique state, they come across a ramshackle structure erected upon a foundation of bones.
Deadman promptly recognizes the resemblance of this place to the Houses of Secret and Mystery, leading him to christen it as the “House of Horror.” This immediate association aligns this new location with the iconic settings of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman universe.
DC Comics Introduces the House of Horror
This revelation holds significant weight: the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets have held pivotal roles in both mainstream DC and Sandman narratives. Initially serving as weird-fiction anthology series (House of Mystery (1951) and House of Secrets (1956)), these titles later underwent revamps, transforming into horror anthologies with Cain and Abel, biblical figures, respectively overseeing each house. In the Sandman series, these two brothers and their domains were unveiled as integral parts of the Dreaming, Morpheus’ realm encompassing sleep and dreams. The House of Mystery also evolved into the headquarters for the Justice League Dark.
The House of Horror has swiftly proven its significance even in its brief debut: it emerges as the repository for the Nightmare Stone, a potent artifact pursued by Insomnia throughout DC’s expansive Knight Terrors event. This Nightmare Stone is introduced as a counterpart to the Dream Stone, which the character John Dee misused to manipulate dreams. Later, the Dream Stone was unveiled as one of the foundational tools of the Endless. Positioned on the cusp between sleep and wakefulness, the House of Horror becomes one of the most accessible facets of the Dreaming, potentially carrying substantial implications for the Endless.
Deadman and Robin’s Encounter with the Abode of the Nightmare Stone
Of particular intrigue is the absence of a guardian for the House of Horror. While Cain watches over the House of Mystery and Abel tends to the House of Secrets, the House of Horror seems to remain unattended. This departure from the normative guardianship structure within the Dreaming raises questions, especially given its proximity to the waking world and its housing of a crucial artifact. The House’s apparent outreach to Deadman during the event suggests the possibility of Boston assuming the role of its caretaker in the future. At present, the House of Horror serves as the latest unveiled location within the Sandman’s Dreaming—much to the dismay of Robin and Deadman.