Horror of Horrors is an uncommon five mana black enchantment card from Magic: The Gathering. At the time of this noding, it has four printings in three sets: Legends (LEG), Ninth Edition (9ED), and Salvat 2005 (PSAL). As part of the Salvat 2005 reprint set, it was included in the zombie typal deck. The original printing was illustrated by Mark Tedin, Collector #106, the other three by Simon Bisley; #140, #140 (foil), and #F26. The upside? The name could have been penned by either Poe or Lovecraft and the initial illustration is reminiscent of Giger. The downside? It is not a Horror lord, it's an Enchantment. Either way, it is an example of a card fitting the Vorthos psychographic.
As of 2023-10-22, it is legal in the following formats: Modern, Vintage, Legacy, Commander, Oathbreaker, and Penny.
Springing from the same set that also, ultimately, sowed the seeds for the Commander format, Horror of Horrors can be cast by a player for three generic and two black mana. It allows its controller to sacrifice a Swamp to regenerate a target black creature as long as it remains on the battlefield. This is an example of creature protection for black decks, and strictly better in decks that also contain green. The ability to regenerate black creatures can be a game changer in certain situations, especially when facing decks that rely on combat damage and/or direct damage. It does, of course, require a commitment to black mana sources and the willingness to sacrifice swamps to be useful. As with almost all Magic cards, its effectiveness will depend on the context in which it is used and the specific deck it's included in. Not a choice for optimization, but it does synergize with cards that care about what's in the graveyard as well as how they got there, e.g.: The Gitrog Monster; Muldrotha, the Gravetide; or Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest.
“And a horror of outer darkness after,
And dust returneth to dust again.”
-- Adam Lindsay Gordon, The Swimmer.
horrorquest
In the month of All Hallow's Eve, it would be an Abomination (or at least a Blight upon my Lost Soul) not to go through the Darkness of the Nether Void to node about at least one Magic: the Gathering card from the Legends set for the Horrorquest, as it and many of its cards remain influential (and thematic) to this day. And not just a light Touch of Darkness either. Oh, no.
To be clear, The Wretched Fallen Angel and the Ghosts of the Damned would Spirit Shackle me with the Chains of Mephistopheles for Demonic Torment to at least one of three walls: the Wall of Putrid Flesh, the Wall of Shadows, or the Wall of Tombstones. Once secured, an Infernal Medusa, Hell's Caretaker, cackling with Jovial Evil and with the aid of the Walking Dead would begin the Transmutation of their Underworld Dreams into a Quagmire of Cosmic Horror through the Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore, torn from a Cyclopean Mummy, and meant for me, only me. The Glyph of Doom, branded upon a Giant Slug and aglow with Hellfire, would oversee a Hell Swarm of Vampire Bats and Carrion Ants as they corpse consume and Syphon Soul my mortal remains with Greed and glee. As the crumbs of my self are carried off into The Abyss by a Takklemaggot, a lone Lesser Werewolf wails with misery at a missing moon while a Mold Demon munches on a Pit Scorpion to the chagrin of a Shimian Night Stalker.
After conversing with the Headless Horseman I just couldn't let this come to pass, now could I? No, I could not.
Thus, the Horror of Horrors with hard links to the names of all 42 monoblack cards that are still playable in constructed formats.
Sources:
https://scryfall.com/search?q=c%3Db+set%3Dleg&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name
https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Default.aspx
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/depictions-racism-magic-2020-06-10