House of Slaughter (comic series)

**House of Slaughter** is an ongoing horror comic book series created by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera, who wrote and illustrated the series respectively. It is a spinoff of the *Something Is Killing the Children* comic series, and therefore, all issues are published by Boom! Studios.

## Synopsis

Discover the inner workings of the House of Slaughter in this new horror series exploring the secret history of the Order that forged Erica Slaughter into the monster hunter she is today.

You know Aaron Slaughter as Erica's handler and rival. But before he donned the black mask, Aaron was a teenager training within the House of Slaughter. Surviving within the school is tough enough, but it gets even more complicated when Aaron falls for a mysterious boy destined to be his competition.

## Issues

### Volume 1: *The Butcher's Mark*

#### *House of Slaughter* #1

Discover the inner workings of the House of Slaughter in this new horror series exploring the secret history of the Order that forged Erica Slaughter into the monster hunter she is today.

You know Aaron Slaughter as Erica's handler and rival. But before he donned the black mask, Aaron was a teenager training within the House of Slaughter. Surviving within the school is tough enough, but it gets even more complicated when Aaron falls for a mysterious boy destined to be his competition.

#### *House of Slaughter* #2

Erica Slaughter isn't the only member of the House of Slaughter to have made sacrifices in order to become the monster hunter she is today. As a teenager, her handler and rival Aaron finds himself with a new roommate, the mysterious "transfer student" Jace Boucher. To initiate his training, Jace must prove his loyalty to the House of Slaughter through a binding ritual... a ritual that few survive.

#### *House of Slaughter* #3

As the House leaders discuss the fate of "the Last Butcher," Aaron and Jace escape the watchful eye of Helen and the White Masks and sneak into the forbidden outreaches of Chicago. Then, in the present-day, Aaron finally comes face-to-face with the monster that he's been tracking... which is much more powerful than expected.

#### *House of Slaughter* #4

Jace embarks on the life or death trial that all White Masks must undergo... the Ritual Hunt. Meanwhile, Aaron is torn between his burgeoning feelings for Jace and his duty to the House, but not for long—if Jessica Slaughter has anything to say about it.

#### *House of Slaughter* #5

The first arc of House of Slaughter comes to a close as Jace finally enacts his secret plan. As chaos fills the halls and the Order members fight off legions of monsters, will Aaron be able to intervene in the battle between his love and the House? And in those final moments, what will he choose?

### Volume 2: *Scarlet*

#### *House of Slaughter* #6

Edwin Slaughter is one of the Scarlet Masks, the secret bookkeepers of the Order of St. George. He's enamored with stories of ancient hunters, as well as those in his midst. He only gets to write the stories and never live them himself though. That is, until what starts out as standard reconnaissance for the Order turns Edwin's world upside down. There's a legendary monster in America, one long thought extinct... It's taken the lives of countless children, bringing Edwin into the field for the first time... and into real danger.

#### *House of Slaughter* #7

After his shocking discovery of what is actually lurking in the town, Edwin is faced with a choice that will change his life forever: wait for a Black Mask to arrive and risk losing the monster, or take on the creature himself... Discover Edwin's story and dive even deeper into the expanding world of Something is Killing the Children with the SCARLET arc of House of Slaughter!

#### *House of Slaughter* #8

The SCARLET arc of House of Slaughter continues as Edwin's search for a legendary monster goes horribly amiss. Adrift on Lake Michigan, can Edwin survive with only the torn pages of his journal as makeshift S.O.S. notes? And what memories of his past cases will surface as he clings to life?

#### *House of Slaughter* #9

Edwin finally comes face-to-jaws with the legendary monster he's been hunting—against all odds, will he be able to survive the encounter? Meanwhile, we return to the past, where a young child faces a very different kind of watery terror...

#### *House of Slaughter* #10

After journeying through a watery hell, Edwin finally returns home to the House of Slaughter, but his problems might be just beginning... New horrors loom in the next chapter of the epic adventure from the world of Something is Killing the Children!

### Volume 3: *The Butcher's Return*

#### *House of Slaughter* #11

No longer the monster hunter he once was and unaware of Aaron's fate, Jace's new mission is to protect the orphans under his care. Can he save them from not just the monsters, but his own rage and guilt? One of these children may be in even worse danger than Jace knows, as a strange pair of eyes watches him from the woodland shadows...

#### *House of Slaughter* #12

Alone after barely surviving a monster’s massacre, Sunny is elusive to Jace–but not the White Masks! Caught up in the business of the White and Black Masks, will Sunny join Jace's former house, or be left in the woods to face the same horrors again?

#### *House of Slaughter* #13

As Jace wanders the streets of New Orleans, his mind drifts between his youth and the present, bringing light to his and Jolie's past, and revealing that she's not all that she seems... Meanwhile, a mysterious message carried by a crow holds the key to Jace saving his child. But right now, Sunny is alone, and unprotected from what prowls in the dark...

#### *House of Slaughter* #14

Terrified and without a prayer, Sunny faces a deadly hazing ritual; can he survive on his own, or will the monster emerging from the dark be his end? Meanwhile, a long-awaited conversation between Jace and a woman with strange but familiar eyes reveals a past of interwoven fates and new revelations...

#### *House of Slaughter* #15

In the final issue of the third story arc, Jace will have to make a difficult choice between vengeance and rescuing Sunny from the White Masks! But just as Sunny has to deal with the monster within, Jace unleashes his rage in a more terrifying way than the children have ever witnessed...

### Volume 4: *Alabaster*

#### *House of Slaughter* #16

There is nothing the ruthless White Masks won't do to eliminate a nest of monsters. Nothing is apparently unthinkable or off-limits, as a special and infamous member of their ranks is dispatched to finish the job in Erie, Pennsylvania. Bait, the fan-favorite White Mask (a young boy with amputated arms and a tendency to survive suicidal odds), is dispatched with a mission more malicious than imaginable at hand. Something (or someone) else is killing the children now, and however unexpected... the children will find the one that hunts them viciously familiar...

#### *House of Slaughter* #17

While Bait does his best to ignore the cruelty of the children in the home with him, a monstrous assault leaves him with more questions than answers. What does Nannette, the mysterious girl who's been one of the only ones to show Bait kindness and keep the monsters indoors at bay, have to do with the monsters on the outside?

#### *House of Slaughter* #18

In the depths of routine, Paris and Tybalt fear that Bait may be losing his edge, and warn that failure could lead to his loyalty facing scrutiny, all while a new look at Bait's dysfunctional family-The White Masks-comes to light as he drifts into memories of his origins. As Bait wrestles with the current situation, it also becomes clear that something is shockingly wrong with Nannette...

#### *House of Slaughter* #19

Bait is burdened with the unbearable truth of Nannette's condition and what it could mean if she learns of her connection to the monsters. To save her and the children, Bait will have to make an impossible choice... But with new revelations about his true origins, will what he has to do truly be the worst of his actions?

#### *House of Slaughter* #20

Bait and Nannette are cornered during the final hour, trapped in a veritable haunted house of monsters as Bait fights against impossible odds, even for him. And if help does come... what price will Bait have to pay for revealing the Order's secrets?