The Vault of Horror #1

(1982)

[Portrait in Wax] (Table of Contents: 1)

Vault of Horror / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

horror-suspense

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

Indexer Notes

Cover title taken from first interior story from which the cover is based.

Notes and Comments (Table of Contents: 2)

text article / 7 pages (report information)

Script

John Benson; Bill Mason

Letters

typeset

Editing

John Benson

Portrait in Wax (Table of Contents: 3)

Vault of Horror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault Keeper

Synopsis

Henry was jealous of his artist friend Robert for not selling his etchings. One day Henry began selling Robert's work to an art buyer. Robert found out and confronted Henry, who threw acid in his face then dumped the body into an acid vat. Henry almost used up the wealth of Robert's drawings until he met a wax statue maker and opened a museum with him. When one of the statues' arms was damaged Henry found a human hand beneath it. Henry confronted the sculptor, who removed a wax mask from his face, revealing himself as Robert.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

The Werewolf Legend (Table of Contents: 4)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox; Harry Harrison ?

Pencils

Harry Harrison (signed as Harrison)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Pobb's (a butler); Tom Faversham (death); Walter Mallory; Sir Gregory Mallory (villain, a werewolf); Edmund Mallory (villain, a werewolf, flashback); Dennis Mallory (villain, a werewolf, Baron of Munscrief, flashback); Arthur Mallory (villain, a werewolf, flashback)

Synopsis

Walter Mallory believes that he is a werewolf, committing murder after murder, and is convinced when he uncovers the Mallory family's werewolf legend. He tells Scotland Yard about this and they agree to help capture the creature, but Walter is determined to end the string of killings, and is about to shoot himself when Scotland Yard enters and tells him that it was actually Sir Gregory (an accomplished hypnotist) who killed the people because they were blackmailing him. He had hypnotized Walter and put werewolf makeup on him to make Walter think he had committed the crimes... as a werewolf!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

Keywords

monsters; Moors of Devon; Scotland Yard

Fingers of Death (Table of Contents: 5)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Genre

detective-mystery

Synopsis

At last he had done it: he had killed Montrose to get a valuable gold chain, but someone was coming and he had to get away....he could return for the chain later. Later, after the burial, the killer broke into Montrose's mausoleum, into his coffin, and there was the gold chain in the corpse's hands. Much as he try to pry the chain from those stiff fingers, he couldn't budge it.....until finally, the fingers moved ever so slightly to release that chain. As the man bent forward to examine the chain in the light, the fingers of the corpse began to close again.....this time around the man's throat.....tighter and tighter and tighter until...........

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

Horror in the Night (Table of Contents: 6)

Vault of Horror / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Ivan Klapper ?

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

detective-mystery; horror-suspense

Characters

Tom Hawkins

Synopsis

At the Hawkin's Tourist Colony, Tom is hitting the bottle as his friend Jim walks in, and explains that he is doing so because of a terrible dream he had the night before. In it, a couple come in to take a room for the night....but the woman appeared to be very strange. As it turns out, the woman believes that death is stalking her at every turn, and kills a cat, believing it was death coming for her. Her husband locks her in the room, but that night she attempts to escape, they get into a fight and he kills her, then shoots himself to death! After hearing the story, Jim tells Tom it was just a nightmare and not to pay any attention to it, and leaves. A few moments later, a car pulls up and the same couple Tom had seen in his dream were standing before him wanting a room!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion. Previous indexer had Al Feldstein?

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7)

The Vault-Keeper's Corner / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Al Feldstein (illustration)

Inks

Al Feldstein (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (head shot)

Synopsis

Letters from: Grace Calmesi, Cleo Gruner, Shirley Johnson.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

Tooth and Fang! (Table of Contents: 8)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Pencils

? (2 panels art)

Inks

? (2 panels art)

Letters

typeset

Genre

crime

Synopsis

A knife flashes down and the owner of a circus falls to the floor, dead. The killer then saw the shadows of the roustabouts just outside the tent, so he shoved money he had just stolen into his pockets, then looked for another way out. He spied a barred door at the back of the tent, opened it and hid there. Suddenly there was a snarl behind him and he could see the eyes of a panther. He tried to escape, but the barred door wouldn't open. He thought of screaming to alert the roustabouts, who were leaving the area, but he couldn't be heard over the roars of the cat as it killed him!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

Terror Train (Table of Contents: 9)

Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Inks

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Gloria; Ralph

Synopsis

Gloria was in a cab, running away from her husband Ralph...heading toward the train station and the train that would take her away from this man whom she thought was trying to poison her. Seated on the train, she kept imagining him at every turn and remembering the $25,000 insurance policies Ralph had taken out on them both...then she remembered that poison bottle he had brought home. Asleep in her berth, Gloria suddenly awakens at what she thinks is a scream, and goes to wake the conductor...but he is dead in his berth. In fact, everyone is dead in their berths! She jumps off the train and locates a farmhouse that has a freshly-dug grave outside. She enters the house and spies a coffin in it....then sees Ralph behind her, who grabs Gloria, puts her in the coffin, nails it shut, drags it to the grave and buries it. Suddenly, she awakens in her berth on the train.....sees Ralph with an attendant in a white coat, who takes her off to a nice house with bars on it so that Ralph can never get to her again!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #12 (April-May 1950)

[The Curse of Harkley Heath] (Table of Contents: 10)

Vault of Horror / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

Johnny Craig

Letters

?

Genre

horror-suspense

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

[SuspenStory Fans] (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

The Crypt of Terror / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

The Dead Will Return! (Table of Contents: 12)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Inks

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault Keeper [cameos]

Synopsis

Florence and Bert had just finshed dumping her husband's body in the ocean and made their way back to the lighthouse on the beach. She knew that her husband had a large sum of money somewhere around the house or on the property, and while she was searching outside for it, Bert heard a scream. Rushing to the beach, he saw that the body of Flo's husband has just washed ashore, so he took it and dumped it off the highest cliff in the area.....only to wash ashore again a few days later. Bert decided to take the body this time far up the coast, dump it and return. But Flo was worried and asked him to go back up the coast to make sure the body didn't wash ashore there. While he was gone, Flo remained in the lighthouse....then she saw water seeping under the door, figured it was her dead husband and began climbing the stairs to the top to get away from him. Just as Bert drove up, he heard a horrific scream from the top and the light go out on the lighthouse. He entered the structure, and saw a trail of water leading up the stairs, followed it, and then we hear a scream again. The next day, as government inspectors came to the lighthouse to investigate why the light was out, they found both bodies, covered in seaweed...then they notice a rotted corpse lying on the beach!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

The Curse of Harkley Heath (Table of Contents: 13)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox

Pencils

Harry Harrison

Inks

Wally Wood

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Sybil Harkley (death); Hagers (Clayton Harkley's lawyer); Charles Harkley (villain, death); Edgar Harkley (villain, death)

Synopsis

Clayton Harkley had died from a mortal wound inflicted by his brother and left a dying man's curse upon the money he will inherit. The last members of the Harkley clan gather in the house to celebrate their new found wealth, until their late uncle's lawyer informs the three that his money goes to Miss Sybil, a cousin....not to the brother! The two males decide to kill Miss Sybil with the same morphine that Uncle Harkley had once used, and succeed in a roundabout way. But she returns from the dead to seek revenge.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

Keywords

Harkley Heath (a mansion)

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

The Diamond of Death! (Table of Contents: 14)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Pencils

? (2 panels art)

Inks

? (2 panels art)

Letters

typeset

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Silas Morgan; Crandall

Synopsis

Crandall was holding a huge diamond in his hand when the door behind him swung open and Silas Morgan entered, his eyes focusing on the bright gem, and he warned Crandall to put it away before danger befell him, just as it had for every previous owner....owners who simply vanished off the face of the earth! As Morgan leaped at Crandall, Crandall dodged and grabbed the cane from Morgan and killed him with it. Crandall took Morgan's body down to the furnace room and threw the body in the furnace, then went into rare tropical plant room to look around. Suddenly, something rubbery grabbed Crandall's neck and he turned to see the "Man-Eater" plant pulling him toward its gaping mouth and enveloping him. As the screams stopped, a shiny object fell to the floor at the plant's feet: the diamond of death!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

Doctor of Horror (Table of Contents: 15)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

un-named retiring school Dean; Professor (later Dean) Alfred LeMonet (villain, death)

Synopsis

At the Hampshire Surgeon School, Professor LeMonet is told that attendance in his classes must increase if he is to remain as a teacher there, so he digs up cadavers for use in his anatomy classes, and enrollment suddenly blossoms, to the Dean's delight. LaMonet decides to kill his competition to get Dean's job, then sees an opportunity to become Governor as well. LeMonte hires men to go out and kill people along the waterfront area, and bring their cadavers to the school to impress the royal surgeon, but the men make a grievous error, for LeMonte's body is among the other corpses!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

Keywords

Hamshire Surgeon School

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 16)

The Vault-Keeper's Corner / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Feldstein (illustration)

Inks

Al Feldstein (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Characters

The Vault Keeper

Synopsis

Letters from: Jim Long, Barbara Nelson, Richard Morland. There is a gag letter from "A. Stiff" and the "Vault-Keeper's Book Selection" listing.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 17) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Island of Death (Table of Contents: 18)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman (adaptation); Richard Connell

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Stephen Crane; Count Alvar Cabeza

Synopsis

Steve Crane, along with his partner Alec, are flying over a small island, when the plane develops engine trouble and crash lands....Crane drags himself out of the water, spots a huge castle atop a mountain and manages to crawl up and knock on the door before he passes out. When he awakens several days later, he meets his benefactor, Count Cabeza, who provides a delicious meal before taking him into his trophy room. The Count shows him his animal trophy heads, but notes that he has yet to match wits with another type of animal: man! And Steve Crane is to be that man. The next morning, Crane is given a head start before the Count leaves to hunt him down with a crossbow. The Count uses his dogs to track Crane through the jungle, but loses the dogs when they fall into a pits with spikes! Crane lies in wait for the Count and charges at him when all of a sudden, a shot rings out, wounding the Count. The bullet comes from a gun held by Crane's pal, Alec, who was thought lost in the crash. The Count, now the hunted, accidently walks into the nest of jungle wasps, which attack him from all sides, stinging him to death. Steve and Alec make their way to the coast, find a boat and sail away.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #13 (June-July 1950)

Keywords

terror

Indexer Notes

This adaptation by Kurtzman is based on Richard Connell's short story, "The Most Dangerous Game."

[Voodoo Vengeance!] (Table of Contents: 19)

The Vault of Horror / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

horror-suspense

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

[SuspenStory Fans!] (Table of Contents: 20) (Expand) /

The Crypt of Terror / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Voodoo Vengeance! (Table of Contents: 21)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault Keeper; Caleb Standish

Synopsis

Caleb left work early for a change, but on his way to the parking garage, he notices an antique shop he had never seen before....so he drops in to get something for his wife Sally, The weird proprietor tries to interest him in a voodoo doll, but Caleb refuses....but the owner insists that if he ever wants to kill someone, that he should get a voodoo doll from him. Shaken, Caleb arrives home only to find Sally in the arms of someone else, and both are scheming to get his money.....so Caleb returns to the antique shop and the owner makes a doll in the image of Sally for him. After paying for the doll and being told that whatever happens to the doll will happen to Sally, he takes the doll hom, where Sally sees it the next morning, really falling for it. But Caleb warns her it is delicate and not to touch it....ever, and he puts it up on a shelf. When Sally goes into another room, Caleb takes the doll and pokes it a few times with a pin....and he hears screams from the other room, so he knows what the shop keeper told him is true. Later, Sally tells her husband that she is going to see an old girlfriend, but he knows where she is going....so he grabs the doll by the head and breaks its leg....and the same happens to Sally. After her recovery, Caleb confronts Sally about her lover and a fight takes place. In her rage, Sally grabs the doll and throws it at Caleb....he ducks and it smashes against the back wall of the fireplace and the pieces are consumed by the fire. And what of Sally? Well, Caleb can only gasp in horror when he turns and looks at her!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 22)

The Vault-Keeper's Corner / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Al Feldstein (illustration)

Inks

Al Feldstein (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Characters

The Vault-Keeper

Synopsis

Letters from: Merline Moore, Donald Bowman and a gag letter from the Crypt-Keeper, plus the "Vault-Keeper's Literary Selections" list.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

Werewolf (Table of Contents: 23)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harry Harrison

Pencils

Harry Harrison

Inks

Wally Wood

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

adventure; horror-suspense

Characters

Reggie and Eric Smythe; Viktor Zorak; Edna and John Farnum; Jan Bodzla

Synopsis

Viktor Zorak is on a mountain-climbing expedition in Transylvania with the Smythe's and the Farnum's, all of whom are closely following their guide, Jan Bodzla. They reach the lodge they will stay in that evening, but the members are warned by Bodzla that he thinks Zorak is a werewolf and to be careful. Laughing it off, all go to bed.....but later Bodzla visits the Farnums and Smythes, giving them silver crosses and wolfsbane for their windows, since the next night would be the full moon. After completing the next day's climb and setting up camp, the full moon rises and Bodzla shows the others that Zorak's eyes have turned red and to be wary. Soon after all have retired in their tents, a blood-chilling scream is heard....discovering Zorak and Edna Farnum missing, they search and find her body torn to pieces. Then they spot the werewolf, which jumps at them....causing injury to all the men [but Bodzla] before it falls to its death. But Bodzla informs them that having been scratched and bitten by the werewolf means.....but he can't finish his thoughts as three werewolves bear down on him!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

Keywords

monsters

Rats Have Sharp Teeth! (Table of Contents: 24)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Henry Kuttner; Gardner Fox (adaptation)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Abner Tucker

Synopsis

Abner was the local historian who knew everything there was to know about everyone else in town...dead or alive. One night he visited the graveyard to dig up a corpse for the jewels a woman had been buried in, and as he opened the coffin, and saw the jewels, he also saw a rat....an animal he detested more than any other. He re-inters the coffin after getting the jewels and scurries away to his house, where he discovers, with more research, that some Revolutionary War tunnels exist under the graveyard from a cellar. So he decides to use them to get to the coffins of certain people from under the ground, where he cannot be seen as easily. Unfortunately, as he makes his way along in those tunnels, hundreds of rats scurry about, and follow him to a grave where he finds the moneybelt of Marcus Lee. Coming back the next evening, he discoverss the belt gone.....and figures the rats must have carried it off. That's too much for Abner....he goes back home and builds a wire barrier to keep the rats away from the digging he is doing. And while digging one evening, the rats find a way to escape his wire trap and gnaw the timbers he has erected to keep the ceiling from collapsing. Suddenly, Abner finds that the tunnel is caving in on him.....and he has left his shovel behind.....and slowly he suffocates to death!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

Indexer Notes

This story is an adaptation of Henry Kuttner's classic short story, "The Graveyard Rats".
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Escape! (Table of Contents: 25)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure; crime

Characters

Brent

Synopsis

Brent has just finished burying Frantz in the Arctic ice....in a place where no search party could ever find him. He turned and left, treking out across a huge ice field when, all of a sudden, a crack in the ice formed below his feet and the ground began to crumble. When he came to his senses, it was pitch black....on all sides the ice pressed against him and knew he couldn't dig his way out.....and he realized, that like Franz, no one would ever find his body!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

[untitled] (Table of Contents: 26) (Expand) /

E.C. Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

The Strange Couple! (Table of Contents: 27)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Pencils

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Inks

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper [cameo]

Synopsis

A man is driving on a stormy night along a road when he is stopped by a state trooper, who tells him that the bridge ahead is washed out and he needs to take a side road instead to his destination, He does, but the car's engine stalls....but then he sees lights coming from a house and goes to it to phone for help. A weird couple inhabit the place....the man tells him that his wife is a crazy ghoul and she tells him that her husband is a vampire! The husband sends his wife to her room and he explains that she killed their dog and partially ate the body.....while later she tells him that he husband killed the dog and drank its blood. Un-nerved, the man heads for bed....but pushes the headboard against the door and retires...fully dressed! He falls asleep, but is awakened by a panel in the room opening, and the eerie pair coming at him! Then....he awakens in his car, believing this to be a strange dream......then he drivess his car on until it stalls, and he sees a light coming from a house, which looks strangely familiar. And when the door opens, he sees.....the same weird couple that he had dreamed about a few hours earlier!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #14 (August-September 1950)

[Report from the Grave] (Table of Contents: 28)

The Vault of Horror / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (inset)

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)

Keywords

graves; premature burial; shovels; tombstones

[E.C. Fans!] (Table of Contents: 29) (Expand) /

Weird Science / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Horror House! (Table of Contents: 30)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper; Henry Davidson

Synopsis

Henry is called on the carpet by his editor for always being late geeting his stories in on time. Having an idea for a new story, he heads for his apartment....just as he gets down to work, a gang of friends shows up and literally takes over the place. He packs and heads for the country, and finds a nice, secluded house in which to work, and he buys Wilford Manor.....a home considered haunted. As he finishes his story, his gang of friends show up....and he leaves them there while he takes his manuscript into the city. His friends set up a scary reception for him when he comes back....the noises, screams and so on literally scare Henry to the point of death, and he flees the place. Meanwhile, his friends are celebrating, having carried off this ruse....when, suddenly something appears and scares them. A few hours later, Henry returns with the Police and they find a man dead in the drive, another hanging inside and a lady who has become a babbling lunatic. Deciding he has had enough of the country and solitude, Henry returns to his city apartment and a new set of friends....never to be alone again!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)

Voodoo Vendetta (Table of Contents: 31)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Helena Krivenston; Andor Krivenston

Synopsis

A father, bent on having his daughter marry another wealthy plantation owner instead of the man she really loves, mysteriously dies....with a voodoo doll lying on his chest!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)

Terror in the Swamp! (Table of Contents: 32)

The Witch's Cauldron / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Inks

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (cameo); Professor Carl Ward; Marie Ward; Robert Colby

Synopsis

As two men paddle their way up the Okefenokee Swamp, they spot a man onshore asking them to go no further unless they never want to be seen again. They enter the man's cabin and he tells them about three people: Professor Carl Ward, Marie Ward and Robert Colby, who built a laboratory in the area, and who were trying to discover the "spark of life." They tested element after element without success, and finally the professor threw the beaker of matter into the swamp. However, the matter mixed with the elements in the swamp and began to live and grow, uncontrolled, devouring creatures left and right. Colby confessed what they were trying to do was wrong and as he stormed out of the lab, the mysterious matter attacked and devoured the entire cabin, with the professor and his daughter still inside! The story finished, the man the two way-farers not to continue on....but they did, and soon they came face to face with the living matter, which devoured them as the old man had warned!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)
which is reprinted
• from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #15 [1] (May-June 1950)

Indexer Notes

This story was originally titled in The Haunt of Fear #15, "The Thing in the Swamp," was not narrated by the Old Witch, had a different splash and a different last panel.
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Crash! (Table of Contents: 33)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Genre

horror-suspense

Synopsis

A man parachutes from a plane over a vast jungle, lands in a tree, loses consciousness, and awakens paralyzed. Trying to figure out a way to survive until help arrived, he allows ants and maggots, already crawling over his body, to enter his mouth, so that he could eat them for nourishment. Unfortunately, as the masses of ants and maggots increase, and realizes that THEY are eating HIM instead, he prays that his end will come swiftly!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)

Indexer Notes

This text story is found on the inner halves of the two pages, with houses ads all around it, one for Crime SuspenStories #15 (with a Johnny Craig cover), and ads, with covers, for the Picture Stories From the Bible: the complete Old Testament, the Complete New Testament, Old Testament #1-2 and New Testament #1, with coupons for ordering them.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 34)

The Vault-Keeper's Corner / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Johnny Craig (illustration)

Inks

Johnny Craig (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Characters

The Vault-Keeper

Synopsis

In this edition of the Vault-Keeper's Corner, the Vault-Keeper spends half the column tearing down the Old Witch for having a story in this issue, talks about the Crypt-Keeper changing the title of his comic from the Crypt of Terror to Tales From the Crypt, and discusses the most popular stories from the previous issue and gives the credits for the stories in this issue.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)

Report from the Grave (Table of Contents: 35)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Jack Kamen

Inks

Jack Kamen

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Warren Lake; Fred Coombes

Synopsis

The town undertaker, Fred Coombes, convened the session of the Vault-Keeper's Club in order to initiate a new member, Warren Lake. In order to be sworn in, he must exhume the body of the recently departed member, note the time on his wristwatch and report back to the club President. He does as he is told, but reports back that this whole thing must be a joke because the coffin contained nothing but rags and bones. Not believing him, all the members return to the cemetery.....but discover the corpse inside the coffin had to have been buried 50 years ago. One of the members, Vardy, had originally protested the digging up of the coffin in the first place, and since he had once roomed with the deceased, the members accuse Vardy of having killed his roommate. Vardy laughs and tells the members that they cannot prove anything....just try and find the deceased member's body! Just then, a muffled explosion is heard and a large gravestone topples over, and the members discover the body of Willie Balm, the deceased member, and Vardy quickly confesses. When asked why the explosion had occured, the undertaker mentions that he had forgotten to drill holes in the casket to allow the gases from the body to escape!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)

Buried Alive! (Table of Contents: 36)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein (co-plot, script); Bill Gaines (co-plot)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo); "Zobo, the Living Corpse"

Synopsis

At a two-bit carnival patrons were asked to ante up 10 cents to see Zobo the man who stays buried under six feet of earth for 8 hours, but the crowd walks away, believing the guy is a phony. Later, his girlfriend Rita digs him up....then goes off on a walk and meets an illicit boyfriend. But Zobo follows her and has it out with her when she returns....but she convinces Zobo that it is all a sham to rake in dough from the guy she is seeing. The plan is for Zobo to break into this guys' house while he is romancing Rita....the guy will slug Zobo and Zobo will begin his shallow-breathing routine [that he uses underground], and the guy will think Zobo is dead. Then, he'll be blackmailed by Rita to prevent the "murder" from becoming known. Zobo agrees and the plan works out perfectly and Zobo is buried, awaiting Rita to come back and exhume him. She doesn't return...but a stranger comes along and digs him up in time. Then Zobo confronts Rita.....but then quietly tells her to pack all their stuff, for the carnival is moving on. Once packed, Zobo suddenly grabs Rita, nails her into the coffin and takes the coffin to a pool of quicksand, and dumps it in. Unfortunately, Zobo learns too late that he nailed his coat inside the coffin lid and he goes down with Rita!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #15 (October-November 1950)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

[Escape!] (Table of Contents: 37)

The Vault-Keeper; The Old Witch / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper [inset]; The Old Witch [inset]

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #16 (December 1950-January 1951)

The Complete Crypt (Table of Contents: 38) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Werewolf Concerto! (Table of Contents: 39)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Madamoiselle Michelin

Synopsis

Guests at a Hungarian hotel are murdered. Guests decide to leave and the owner is upset. In order to get business, he provides famous pianist Mademoiselle Micheline free accommodations. One night, after her arrival guest is horribly murdered, by a werewolf some say. Later that evening, the owner greets Miss Micheline, who heads up to her room. The owner then turns into a werewolf and follows her, but he can find no trace of her. He opens the lid of her piano and finds dirt. As he ponders this, Mademoiselle Michelin, revealed as a vampire, springs out of the darkness and attacks him!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #16 (December 1950-January 1951)

Keywords

monsters; vampires; werewolves

Fitting Punishment! (Table of Contents: 40)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein (adaptation)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper [cameo]; Ezra Flint; Stanley

Synopsis

On the death of his mother, young Stanley is placed in the care of his uncle, Ezra the town undertaker. Soon, Stanley discovers that his uncle takes jewelry and other valuables from the corpses before burial. Discovered, Ezra kills Stanley and puts him in an available coffin. However, Stanley is too long for it and Ezra shorten him. After the interment, Ezra hears a knock at the door and discovers only Stanley's bandaged foot on the step. Later, another knock leads to Stanley's other foot. A third and final knock brings Ezra face to face with Stanley -- on crutches!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #16 (December 1950-January 1951)

Indexer Notes

This story is loosely based on H. P. Lovecraft's short story, "In the Vault."

Business (Table of Contents: 41)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Genre

crime

Synopsis

A man stakes out the city subway platform for a week, hoping to see the man he is supposed to kill. One night he spots him, and the two have a furious struggle. Both go over the platform onto the tracks below, where the victim collapses on the third rail and is electrocuted. Unfortunately for his murderer, the victim's hand grasped the killer's ankle, and the volts paralyzed him as he watches a subway train bearing down on him!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #16 (December 1950-January 1951)

Indexer Notes

This text story is found on the inside halves of each page. To the outside are house ads, one featuring a promo for Weird Fantasy #16 [with a cover by Al Feldstein], the other featuring ads, with covers, for Picture Stories From the Bible: the Complete Old and New Testaments, as well as Old Testament #1-2 and New Testament #1.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 42)

The Vault-Keeper's Corner / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Johnny Craig (illustration)

Inks

Johnny Craig (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo)

Synopsis

The VK discusses last issue's stories in popularity, as voted on by the readers, then informs the readers that the Old Witch will become a permanent feature in the Vault of Horror.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #16 (December 1950-January 1951)

The Grave Wager (Table of Contents: 43)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Pirro, the Wax Man

Synopsis

Paul and Clyde bet $50 that Roger won't spend the night with a corpse. The two secretly for Pirro, the Wax Man, from a local freak show to play the part of a corpse to better scare Roger. The "body" is delivered to Roger's apartment, and Roger kicks back thinking everything will go smoothly. Suddenly the sheet over the corpse moves and the body gets up and walks toward Roger. The next morning, Paul and Clyde make their way to Roger's apartment to have a laugh. They enter the room to find Roger a raving maniac and the REAL corpse of Pirro -- beaten to a pulp!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #16 (December 1950-January 1951)

Escape! (Table of Contents: 44)

The Witch's Cauldron / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Inks

Al Feldstein (signed as Feldstein)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (cameo); Pete Luger

Synopsis

Convict Pete Lugar he devises a scheme to somehow switches places with a corpse being taken out of the prison, in order to make good an escape. Following the next execution at the prison, Lugar switches places with the corpse, expecting a confederate to free him from the executed man's grave. However, inmates come into the morgue, nail the coffin shut, and take it to the prison's new crematorium!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #16 (December 1950-January 1951)

[The Beast of the Full Moon!] (Table of Contents: 45)

The Vault of Horror / cover reprint (on interior page) / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Vault-Keeper (head view); the Old Witch (head view); the Crypt-Keeper (head view)

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Terror on the Moors! (Table of Contents: 46)

The Vault of Horror! / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Johnny Craig

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Jim Ryan; Andrew Clymore

Synopsis

Jim Ryan is driving his car through dense fog along the bumpy moors, but decides to stop for safety sake and seek refuge in an estate he spots. The owner, Andrew Clymore, lives alone with his servant, Evers, and agrees to give him a room for the night. While at dinner, Ryan hears a scream, but Clymore says he heard nothing....and Ryan thinks maybe he needs to get some sleep. As Ryan climbs the stairs, Evers is coming down with a covered platter that reeks of rotting human flesh. Ryan is shown to his room, across from a room whose door is barred. Curious about it, Ryan gets up in the night and listens outside the door to a strange scratching from his....and he also hears moans coming from Clymore's room. Later, Evers appears and tells Ryan that his master is dead.....looking at Clymore's body, Ryan thinks the poor man had been frightened to death. Anyway, Evers tells Ryan that the master wanted to be cremated on a funeral pyre, but he was now too old to build it....so Ryan agrees to do it....that is, after the pouring rain ceases. Meanwhile, mysterious sounds keep emanating from the barred room, and Evers finally reveals that Clymore's wife had been subject to catalepsy, dies and was buried.....but when Clymore visited the tomb, he heard sounds from the coffin and discovered that his wife had given birth to a creature of some kind, and it was in that barred room. Suddenly, the thing broke out of the room. Ryan tried to shoot it, but the pistol mis-fired, and he was flung against the wall. As he awakened, he saw the room afire and the creature flitting wildly around the corpse of Clymore, snatching pieces out of his face with its teeth. As the flames grew more intense, Ryan made his way out of the house before it burned to the ground and drove off.

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Keywords

monsters

Baby -- It's Cold Inside! (Table of Contents: 47)

The Witch's Cauldron! / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein (co-plot, script); Bill Gaines (co-plot)

Pencils

Graham Ingels

Inks

Graham Ingels

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (cameo); Barton Gordon

Synopsis

Barton Gordon is making his way through a blinding snowstorm to answer a want ad for a superintendent and he comes to the run-down apartment house mentioned in the ad. He is told by a resident that the new owner, Marcus Kingsley, doesn't supply heat to the tenants, so Gordon decides to visit him. He is shocked by the gaunt, yellow-skinned man who owns the place, and Gordon is told that the man hates furnaces.....but he will be well paid and must do the man's shopping for him. A day later, Gordon is once again talking to Kingsley, when he notices a ring on the man's finger, and reaches out to touch it....but Kingsley screams at him not to touch him. Gordon leaves to do some errands, when he notices a refrigeration truck outside, there to install frozen-food locker compressors in the owner's apartment. Deciding the man to be mad, Gordon decides to leave his employment and seek another job. But, on that sweltering day, Gordon notes the machinery upstairs has stopped, and Kingsley calls for Gordon to come up to his place. Kingsley tells Gordon to fix the electrical system quickly....but can't do so. As a vistor arrives at the apartment, they hear a shriek and the sound of a body falling. Heading for the apartment, the visitor explains that Kingsley had cancer of the heart, was operated on to remove that heart, but Kingsley remained mysteriously alive....in freezing cold temperatures. But now.....as they approach the man's apartment, they note an oozing, decaying flesh flowing out from under the door!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Heat (Table of Contents: 48)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Genre

crime; horror-suspense

Characters

Fox Hilton (villain)

Synopsis

After committing a crime, "Fox" Hilton took refuge in an iron-smelting plant, which the Police had surrounded. After a thorough search, the Police decide that he has escaped, and give word to the plant to resume its operations. As soon as "Fox" knew the Police had left, he prepared to get out of the tank he had taken refuge in.....that it until he heard the sound of machinery, looked up, and saw the huge bucket of molten metal pouring its contents down upon him!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Indexer Notes

This text story is found on the inside halves of the two pages, with EC house ads to either side. One ad promotes Weird Fantasy #17 [with an Al Feldstein cover], while the other promotes [with covers] Picture Stories From the Bible: the Complete Old and New Testaments, Old Testament #1-2 and New Testament #1.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 49)

The Vault-Keeper's Corner / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Johnny Craig (illustration)

Inks

Johnny Craig (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo)

Synopsis

In this column, the Vault-Keeper first details the best stories of last issue as voted on by the readers, then provides subscription information, and finally discusses the fact that the Old Witch had her picture taken recently, so VK announces his picture is now available for 10 cents in coin!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Indexer Notes

Below the VK's Corner, is the Statement of Ownership, listing Editor Gaines, as well as the Business Manager, Frank D. Lee.

The Beast of the Full Moon (Table of Contents: 50)

The Vault of Horror / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein (co-plot, script); Bill Gaines (co-plot)

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Andrew Kellogg; Tom Kellogg

Synopsis

A werewolf has killed again and Tom Kellogg heads to his brother's residence with his girl June, noting strange animal-like footprints outside his door. Inside, Andrew wants to avoid his brother, but Tom vows to watch Andrew's every move that evening, following him outside at night, hearing a scream, then being attacked by a werewolf. Tom is able to pull out his knife and stab the creature in the hand before he faints. When he awakes, June is there but the werewolf is gone....and he heads back to Andrew's home, where he finds his brother inside, with an injured hand! Tom decides to lay a trap for the werewolf and lay in wait with a gun loaded with silver bullets. Tom watches as Andrew jumps out the window of his room and follows, seeing the werewolf fall into his trap....but as he nears the pit, a hairy hand reaches out and grabs his leg. He is pulled in, without his gun, but is saved by a silver bullet fired from above, which kills the werewolf. Climbing to the top of the pit, Tom sees Andrew....and as he looks back into the pit, he sees the body of his girlfriend, June!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Keywords

monsters

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Voodoo Horror! (Table of Contents: 51)

The Crypt of Terror / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein (co-plot, script); Bill Gaines (co-plot)

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed)

Letters

Jim Wroten

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (cameo); George Barker

Synopsis

On the island of Haiti, George Baker seeks out a certain shop that will make him a voodoo bust of himself. The owner obliges Baker and begins to work on the bust. Later, Baker has a change of heart and wants to cancel the order, but when he arrives again at the shop, the bust is finished and paid for....and as Baker walks out of the shop, it disappears, replaced by a brick wall! Returning home, Baker places the bust on his fireplace mantel.....and as the years go by, the bust begins to age...but not Baker, who remains youthful, and George hates to even look at it any longer. One day, a girl comes to his door, asking the whereabouts of another person, and George directs her down the hall....but secretly, he wants her. Later he discovers that this girl, Jean, is the daughter of one of his older employees, and he flatly tells the man that he wants to marry his daughter. That evening at dinner, George makes his move and she complies.....but, as the years go by and she ages, George does not, and the horrible bust over the fireplace continues to age. Jean hates it and is ready to get rid of it when George walks in, tells her to leave it alone, slapping her for good measure, and calling her an ugly old hag. While he is out for a walk, Jean gets a machette and severs the bust in two, while elsewhere a horrible scream is heard and a Policeman finds the body of George in the park....split down the middle! Back at the Barker home, Jean suddenly notices that the face of the bust now has taken on the youthful appearance of her husband!

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Russ Cochran Presents the Complete EC Library (Table of Contents: 52) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[The Beast of the Full Moon!] (Table of Contents: 53)

The Vault of Horror / illustration / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed)

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Vault-Keeper (head view); the Old Witch (head view); the Crypt-Keeper (head view)

Reprints

• from Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #17 (February-March 1951)

Indexer Notes

On back cover.
Title taken from story on which this cover is based.