What is a ghost? This simple question has raised hundreds of answers across different mediums, including comic book storytelling. Yet, we keep asking it due to the dreadful condition of existence, fated to end without any certitude of what waits for us on the other side of death. That’s why ghosts are one of the most enduring supernatural creatures, born from human inability to accept that all things must end. Plague House #1, published by Oni Press, is another ghost story following a group of paranormal investigators as they visit a haunted house. However, while the subject might have been explored to exhaustion, Plague House still manages to find its voice because writer Michael W. Conrad is aware of the subgenre tropes and chooses to use them to Plague House’s favor.
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The first praiseworthy aspect of Plague House is how it manages to establish the motivations and personality of its trio of protagonists in just a few pages. First, we have Holland, the skeptic, who approaches the supernatural from their atheist worldview, dismantling the supposed evidence gathered by paranormal investigators. Holland joins the ghost-hunting expedition because they question the existence of ghosts, which means they are ready to use the scientific method to understand the weird phenomena they encounter. Then, we have Jacob, Holland’s polar opposite. Born and raised in Christianity, Jacob wholeheartedly believes that demons roam the land and are the source of all the supernatural. Holland and Jacob represent the two main lines of ghost stories, one based on faith and the other on mistrust.
The person holding the team together is Del, a man convinced of ghosts’ existence but who doesn’t dare pretend he knows all the rules of the supernatural game. Del needs Holland to keep him tethered in reality, while Jacob is a constant reminder that there are things beyond reason hiding in dark corners. Together, the trio visits allegedly haunted places, unmasking the ordinary truth of reported apparitions. Occasionally, though, they stumble on concrete evidence of the occult.
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While giving readers enough background information to understand the main characters, Plague House #1 also sets the stage for the trio’s current investigation. The issue takes place at the McCabe residence, where a quadruple homicide occurred 13 years prior to the team’s visit. On an average afternoon, Orin McCabe used a hammer to kill his wife, two children, and father, a reasonless crime that Orin never justified. The place is obviously haunted, with Plague House #1 showing how the violence of Orin’s actions saturates the stale air that infested its corridors, threatening all who dared enter.
With a tight pacing and a sleek script, Conrad manages to show Orin’s murder and give each of the paranormal investigators their own mini-adventures while roaming through the McCabe’s house. Artist Dave Chisholm brings the horrifying crime to life with unnerving precision, knowing exactly when to depict the graphic violence and when just to suggest it and leave readers’ minds to fill the gruesome picture. The ghosts present in the first issue also carry the scar of their brutal demise, with Chisholm choosing a red palette to make the pages of Plague House #1 bleed.
Despite everything that Plague House #1 manages to do in 21 pages of strict story, the issue also teases the mysterious past of Del, his history with ghosts, and how these encounters informed his current comprehension of the subject. There’s enough there to entice the reader’s curiosity. The first issue of Plague House rushes through all the main tropes of the genre, from eerie mirror reflections to objects that move by themselves. Still, it ends with the revelation that things are not like they seem, and the truth can only be found after the most trodden path has been traveled. The final page brings the tantalizing promise of shattered expectations that will undoubtedly come in the following issues. All in all, Plague House #1 is a strong first issue, well worthy of the attention of horror aficionados.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Published by: Oni Press
On: April 2, 2025
Written by: Michael W. Conrad
Art, colors, and letters by: Dave Chisholm
What did you think of Plague House #1? Will you be getting the whole story? Join the discussion in the comments!
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Image courtesy of Warner
