Beware 9, from May 1954 (if in doubt, there's always the rather awesome Grand Comics Database).
It's pre-code all right. The absence of a certain Comics Code Authority stamp in the top right corner also confirms that. Plus the mention of a vampire, a skeleton driver, the words "weird" and "eerie" on the cover, etc. all definitely verboten post-code (well, until the early 1970s at least).
Thank you. I bought it with no research outside of looking at the cover and thinking it looked pretty cool.
It's a pretty good title, and no serious PCH collector would ignore this series (and the Youthful run of three issues). I have the complete set, and I'd rate at least a third of the books as classics.