It takes quite a bit to creep me out, though I'm not particularly a horror enthusiast.

This in particular, more than any other in the Sandman, the Cereal Convention, creeped me out.  Why ?  This could happen, and it would shock but not particularly surprise me.

From Comicvine :

You’re cordially invited to a convention unlike any other. Where murder and chaos are praised and the depraved urges of psychos are openly celebrated. At this convention of serial killers, the only admission is your life. Hopefully accidental attendee Rose Walker can make it out alive.This story is set in a hotel where a group of people are coming together from all over the globe. It's the first ever annual serial killer convention. The story begins by showing us a number of "The collectors" coming off a boat, we see them come together in the hotel that has been booked for the convention as they begin to communicate.

Meanwhile waiting for news about her missing brother is Rose Walker, one of the main protagonists of the dolls house series. Unaware of her situation she goes about her business as usual and frets constantly about the lack of information on her brothers whereabouts.

We see the event organizer known only as "Mister Nimrod" searching for a guest of "honor", a killer known as "The Family Man" who is supposed to be making an appearance as well as giving a speech. We also see various conversations between "collectors" with a number of killer puns in each section.

With the convention going on in the hotel Rose tries to stay in her room but finds it unbearable, we see her go next door seeking comfort from her friend known as Gilbert, who will later be revealed as a missing dream creature "Fiddlers Green." He tells her the original story of Red Riding Hood, with the intention of calming her nerves, but in fact the grotesque nature of the story shakes her even more.

We rejoin the convention with the arrival of The Corinthian, originally a nightmare created by Dream he has become a renowned serial killer. He has also brought a guest, Roses missing younger brother tied up in the boot of his car. He checks in and to Mister Nimrods excitement agrees to appear as the guest of honor in place of the still missing Family Man. We see Mister Nimrod prepare to go on stage and see a glimpse of his real psyche, he introduces The Corinthian and the crowd goes wild.

Next we see a conversation between two "collectors" one identifies himself as The Bogeyman and converse with several others including The Doctor, we see a panel with him stood over a grotesque sewing machine, the whole room bathed in red light.

Meanwhile Rose and Gilbert are using the elevator as Gilbert convinces Rose that some fresh air would be good for them both. Outside the lift Corinthian and The Doctor are discussing The Bogey man, Corinthian states that he must be a fake as the real deal died years ago, and that something must be done. The two enter the lift with Rose and Gilbert and both party's go quiet, Gilbert hides his face from Corinthian as they go down together. The collectors leave and Gilbert and rose make it outside. Gilbert gives rose a name on paper and says to call the name should trouble arise, he then leaves her.

Corinthian invites "The Bogeyman" up to his room, and ambushes him revealing that they know his true identity, he tries to argue but is beaten badly and driven out to a nearby wooded area, there The Doctor, Mister Nimrod and Corinthian "take it in turns" until his is dead. Back at the hotel Funland a pedophile killer spots Rose and begins to stalk her, we read into some more of the collectors stories throughout the hotel before rejoining Rose back up in Gilbert's room, she finds he is still missing. Once again we rejoin Funland talking to another killer and learn his story, until Funland leaves suddenly. Back in Roses room she hears a knock at the door and a voice claiming her room service has arrived, upon opening the door she finds Funland who beats her to the floor, she calls the name on the paper "Morpheus" and Dream arrives to save her, he puts them both into a deep sleep and walks in the main convention room.

Here he confronts Corinthian who is giving a speech, Corinthian stabs into Dreams hand with a knife but to no avail. Dream undoes the Corinthian and then turns to the "collectors" and undoes their own dream. The dream in which they are righteous, he makes them see who they really are and one by one they leave.

Out in the car park Gilbert appears carrying an unconscious Jed Walker, Roses missing brother and presents him to Rose.

Nice, Dan. Give it a read when you get the chance!

The second issue, New England Gothic #2, follows in the footsteps of the first and features the same great writing and creepy artwork. But it goes into this strange story about giant hogs and a weird alien in a cave and other crazy stuff. It doesn't hold as good of a horror aspect as the first, but the story is so out there that it warrants a look if it ever turns up in the wild.

Rob - I know, that misspelling is a bit off-putting. I think the creators were basically amateurs at the time, and the only publications to ever come out of Visigoth Studio were two issues of New England Gothic. Tom Brown still draws, and last I saw he was putting out a webcomic called Hopeless, Maine. His art style has matured beautifully, and he really has a thing for the myths of Maine it appears.

Same. I saw some of these images before but didn't know where they came from. I'm not a huge manga fan, but it seems they do horror pretty well.

I agree that it fits our criteria quite well.

Nice choice!

"Herbie the Liar Said It Wouldn't Hurt"
Writer: Doug Moench
Artist: Alfredo Alcala
Published in: Tales of the Zombie #9, 1974, Marvel Comics

I guess I'm vulnerable to pathos and to stories about childhood anxiety, misery, and tragedy. This tale stuck with me from the first time I read it in 1974, and it was the first comic I thought of when I read the announcement of this CCF event.

 It's a simple story with a couple of twists that disturbed me deeply. Gregory is a monstrous-looking country boy, living in ignorance with his abusive, ashamed harpy of a mother. Gregory accidentally kills his handsome pal Herbie, the only person who can smile when looking at him. But even in death, Herbie is kind and caring: his ghost grants forgiveness, and explains to Gregory that the afterlife is a place of comfort, love and happiness, and that it is the solution to all his misery. And so Gregory decides to take this advice...only with those two disturbing twists that led to...well, Gregory's realization that Herbie was lying...

Back in 1974, I didn't appreciate the work of the troop of Filipino artists who had begun producing so much work for Marvel and DC. Alcala was no exception. Although I could recognize his masterful skills, his work somehow always bothered me, and never more so than in this job. But that was part of the magic of the story's power: the grotesque figure of Gregory, the bloody violence, the oozing, slimy, corrupt feel of the setting...all unforgettable and upsetting.

Doug Moench was always one of my favorite writers, although it took me a long time to do the math and realize that his work was the common link between so many of my favorite different series. Moench's script is quite fine in this 7-pager, but on re-reading it, the twists seem to be telegraphed more than I remember. Maybe that's inevitable, and a first-time reader would be distracted enough by Alcala's engaging ink lines and Moench's rich scripting to ride through this short without thinking past the expectations Moench was guiding us towards.

Not sure why I thought it lasted only the one ish. Dim memory tells me I found #1 among the thousands of $1 comics at a local thrift shop; normally, I'd have checked Lone Star to see if any other issues existed. Which makes me realize I'd better check to see if I own #2 after all ...