King of the Living Dead

Golden Age Origin
The King of the Living Dead was an ancient man condemned because he practiced black magic. He was buried alive, but caverns where he was buried had fumes from the pit with the blue flames which kept him alive for eons.

After being freed from an earthquake, he made use of a mortal victim's body to observe modern man and began to build his army. He would sends his undead servants to collect victims, some would be killed and others thrown into "an underground pit filled with sulfurous smoke and a strange flickering blue flame" that changes the bodies into pale, transforming them into undead slaves.

One of his captives was a ballerina whose fiance Walter Austen followed into the King's underground caverns. As the couple fled the King and his hordes, Walter triggered a cave-in which flooded the caverns with water and filth, seemingly destroying the undead and their master for good.

Public Domain Appearances

 * Eerie (1951 series) #1,15
 * Eerie Tales (1963 series) #12