Okay, so it wasn't QUITE that bad, but we did go through a lot of characters.
I remember the game at a local comic/book/record/game store being that way. Maybe 1/4 or more of the party died each night and you were lucky to make it to 2nd level. For some reason I played lots of clerics there. On the plus side the clerics never had to check and open the doors like the fighters and thieves did, and the armor and hp bonus over the magic users was big at first level. I'm not sure I thought about it like that then or not. Our home games weren't nearly so lethal.