History:
BART CREEL
Real Name: Bart Creel
Identity/Class: Human (Post-World War II Era)
Occupation: Building owner
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Ghouls
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: An office building on Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York, USA
First Appearance: Adventures into Terror I#12/4 (October, 1952)
Powers/Abilities: Bart Creel was an experienced real estate dealer.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 170 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Adventures into Terror I#12/4) - One evening, Bart Creel was at work in his office on Madison Avenue when a group of ghouls entered the office. The ghouls informed Creel they wanted to rent the 13th floor of his building. Creel replied that the building had no 13th floor (that is, no floor with that number) and that he was rather particular about who he rented office space to. The leader of the ghouls insisted that Creel give him a lease for one month or else he would kill him. When Creel insisted that due to superstition there was no floor named 13, the ghouls said they would kill him in five minutes unless he changed his mind. As the ghouls surrounded him, Creel gave in and agreed to lease the 13th floor to them. The leader of the ghouls paid Creel $500 as the month's lease.
The next day, Creel watched as the ghouls brought a variety of furniture (including at least one coffin) and transported them to the 13th floor by taking the elevator. Creel accompanied the ghouls and the elevator operator on one of the trips and both he and the elevator operator were surprised that the elevator stopped on a 13th floor. Later, Creel asked the elevator operator to take him to the 13th floor, but the operator found he couldn't do it; somehow the 13th floor only existed when the ghouls wanted to get off there. One day Creel asked the ghouls' leader to explain himself, the ghoul replied that the 13th floor was only open to people who had business there - it didn't exist for ordinary people.
After a month of leasing the 13th floor to the ghouls, Creel informed the ghouls' leader that since the lease was up it was his responsibility to take him to the 13th floor so he could perform an inspection. The ghouls' leader reluctantly agreed and took Creel to the 13th floor, warning him again that the 13th floor didn't exist for orindary people. Creel now doubted that the ghoul was a supernatural being, claiming he was just a human like himself and wanted to scare him. Creel came to the 13th floor and inspected it; he was overjoyed to discover there was an entire extra floor to his building and believved he could now make a great profit from it. The ghouls' leader returned to the elevator, warning Creel again that the 13th floor didn't exist for orindary people but Creel wanted to measure the floor. Once the elevator door shut, the 13th floor went out of existence - leaving Creel caught between the 12th and 14th floors, fusing him into the partition and killing him.
Comments: Created by Paul S. Newman and Dick Ayers.
By today's terminology, "ghouls" are usually called "zombies."
The superstition of not having a 13th floor is a true one (even though, as many have observed, that means everyone on the "14th" floor would really be on the 13th). I know of one building which doesn't have a 13th floor, but does have a "12A" floor that was narrower than the other floors of the building - it was used as a storage space.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Bart Creel should not be confused with:
The ghouls were supernatural beings, evidently reanimated corpses. The ghouls wanted to rent the 13th floor of Bart Creel's office building and when he repeatedly refused to, saying he had no such floor and was particular about whom he chose to lease space to, the ghouls threatened to kill him unless he complied. Creel rented them the 13th floor for $500 for one month and they moved in the following day. Whenever they told the elevator operator to bring them to the 13th floor, the elevator would somehow arrive at the 13th floor, which would magically appear between the 12th and 14th floors. The ghouls warned that the space only existed for people who had business there and wouldn't exist for ordinary people. When the month was up, Creel insisted on an inspection and the ghoul's leader brought him to the 13th floor. When Creel insisted on staying on the 13th floor to measure it, the ghoul's leader returned to the elevator and departed; once he left, the 13th floor ceased to exist and Creel died a gruesome death.
--Adventures into Terror I#12/4
images: (without ads)
Adventures into Terror I#12/4, page 4, panel 2 (main)
Adventures into Terror I#12/4, page 1, panel 2 (face)
Adventures into Terror I#12/4, page 5, panel 7 (death)
Adventures into Terror I#12/4, page 2, panel 5 (ghouls)
Appearances:
Adventures into Terror I#12/4 (October, 1952) - Paul S. Newman (writer), Dick Ayers (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 03/13/2026
Last updated:
03/13/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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