- Script
- ?
- Pencils
- ? (illustration)
- Inks
- ? (illustration)
- Letters
- typeset
Appearing on the inside front cover is a promotional ad for the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers and their Code-Seal, which guarantees quality entertainment. Includes a list of six E.C. Comics which carry the Code-Seal and mentions William Gaines as a member of the board of directors.
- Script
- ?
- Pencils
- various
- Inks
- various
- Letters
- ?
- Synopsis
- Promotional house ad for Weird Science #14 (with cover by Al Feldstein) and other art.
- Script
- Johnny Craig (signed as )
- Pencils
- Johnny Craig (signed as )
- Inks
- Johnny Craig (signed as )
- Colors
- ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Welcome, readers... welcome to the Vault of Horror!
- Genre
- horror-suspense
- Characters
- The Vault-Keeper (host); Henry Davidson (writer); Henry's editor; real estate agent; Ted (Henry’s friend, death); Roger (Henry’s friend, death); Jean (Henry’s friend)
- Synopsis
- Henry is called on the carpet by his editor for always being late getting his stories in on time, and when his friends bother him so he can't write his stuff, Henry packs and heads for the country, and finds a nice, secluded house in which to work, and he buys Millford Manor, a home considered haunted. But his friends find him and later set up a spooky reception for him when he returns from the city. Scared to death, Henry flees, but the friends soon discover the truth about Millford Manor.
- Reprints
- Keywords
- Millford Manor
Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).
- Script
- Bill Gaines
- Pencils
- ? (spot illos)
- Inks
- ? (spot illos)
- Colors
- ?
- 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
- Script
- Al Feldstein
- Pencils
- Al Feldstein (signed as )
- Inks
- Al Feldstein (signed as )
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Allow me to introduce myself!
- 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
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.
- Script
- Bill Gaines
- Pencils
- ? (spot illo)
- Inks
- ? (spot illo)
- Colors
- ?
- 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
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.
- Script
- ?
- Pencils
- Johnny Craig (spot illo)
- Inks
- Johnny Craig (spot illo)
- Colors
- ?
- 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
- Script
- ?
- Pencils
- Jack Kamen (signed)
- Inks
- Jack Kamen (signed)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- This is the story of a strange club.
- 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
Cover story.
- Script
- Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)
- Pencils
- Graham Ingels
- Inks
- Graham Ingels
- Colors
- ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Come now, to a carnival...
- Genre
- horror-suspense
- Characters
- The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Paul; unnamed servant; Sam [aka "Zobo, the Living Corpse"] (death); Rita (death)
- Synopsis
- At a two-bit carnival, patrons paid 10 cents to see Zobo the man who stays buried under six feet of earth for 8 hours, able to accomplish it due to shallow breathing. His girl Rita digs him up, then off she goes to see her lover, Paul. Sam is mad when he finds out, but Rita convinces him that the love bit is a sham to drain the guy of his money. Rita convinces Sam to do his burial routine as a part of the plot, but really planning on keeping Sam buried for all time. When Sam catches wind of this, he plans his own surprise for Rita.....a plan that backfires big time.
- Reprints
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
The Vault Keeper image on the splash is actually by Johnny Craig, taken from an earlier story that Craig did.
Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).