Vault of Horror #34

(December 1953-January 1954)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

E.C. Fan-Addict Club / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Star Light, Star Bright! (Table of Contents: 2)

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

Script

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Pencils

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Inks

Johnny Craig (signed as Johnny Craig [circle])

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! Hello there, you crazy mixed-up kid!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); Hartley Quimb

Synopsis

As the rain fell in sheets, Hartley stood over the open coffin as he nervously and sickenly watched people run up to the corpse and do terrible things to it. Hartley discovered that was the only way the understaffed guards at the facility could keep the inmates in line. At dinner, the guards told him that this man [whom he was replacing as head master] was killed by the inmates for vowing to take this privilege away from them.....and he nervously looked at the dining inmates as they stared at him. Hartley excused himself from dinner and went to his room, fearing the inmates hated him and would kill him. He layed back on his bed and gazed up at the skylight. Out of a deep sleep, Hartley was suddenly awakened by the inamtes, who grabbed him, stuffed rags into his mouth and placed him in a coffin and placed a lid over it that had a window cut out so that he could see. One pinched his nose and then they carried him out of the facility and to the cemetery....things got blurry and he "woke up" back in bed, still staring at the skylight, nervously believing it had all been a bad dream. That is, until he saw an inmate's face suddenly appear over head and a shovel full of dirt hit him in the face!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Ballantine Books, 1965 series) (August 1965)
• in Les Chefs-d'œuvre de la bande dessinée (Planète, 1967 series) (1967)
• in EC Horror Library of the 1950's (Nostalgia Press, 1970 series) (1970)
• in Der beste Horror aller Zeiten (BSV - Williams, 1973 series) (1973)
• in Den store skrækbog (Williams, 1974 series) ([1974])
• in Horreur - une anthologie en bandes dessinées (Williams France, 1974 series) (2e trimestre 1974)
• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #4/1990 (uke 22 1990)
which is reprinted
• in Iskalde Grøss pocket (Hjemmet / Egmont, 1998 series) #7 ([mars] 1999)
• in Iskalde Grøss - Klassikerserien (Hjemmet / Egmont, 2006 series) #[nn] ([mai] 2006)
• in The Vault of Horror (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (August 1990)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #23 (April 1998)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4, #4
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #33 - Deadly Beloved and Other Stories (January 2023) [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Indexer Notes

Cover story.

While the Cat's Away... (Table of Contents: 3)

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

Script

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

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Heh, heh! So vacation time is over... eh, kiddies?

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Crypt-Keeper (host); John Younger; Frank Weston

Synopsis

John & Frank had been working their little travel agency scam for almost a year. They would book trips for wealthy clients, then clean out their homes of valuables while they were away. This time they scheduled a little trip for a Mr. Kingman, who lived alone in the suburbs, and when his plane for Ecuador took off, they went over to clean out his house. The place was a run-dwon wreck, with nothing of value they could see. They went down the cellar steps and found a metal door warning them not to enter, signed "T.C.K." They broke in and entered a library and founded a secret passage, which they entered, and came upon a group of zombies. They fled down another passage and ran into a room of vampires, then headed down yet another hall and ran into werewolves and then into another with mummies! By the time John and Frank reached the front door entrance, they were stark raving mad......and never noticed that the owner had just returned: the Crypt-Keeper!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in The Vault of Horror (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (August 1990)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #1/1993 (uke 6 1993)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #23 (April 1998)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Sudden Death! (Table of Contents: 4)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? (spot illo)

Inks

? (spot illo)

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

He slipped the gun into his pocket...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Curt Benbow

Synopsis

Curt placed the still hot gun into his pocket as he looked down at the corpse, then strolled over and picked up an axe and began chopping at the ceiling beams. He would weaken them to the point that he could leave and they'd collapse on the body making it seem as if he had died that way. Unfortunately, one of cross beams broke too soon and Benbow was buried in the rubble that fell. When he recovered consciousness, he found out he was paralyzed, with only his feet sticking out of the rubble. Then he heard them....an army of rats who began to eat at his feet, and he only hoped that his heart would stop beating before they could chew his feet off from his ankles!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5)

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

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

First off the VK presented new additions to his Horror Hit Parade, then letters from Milo Phompson, Tim Smith, Michael Reynolds, Nelson Bridwell, Bonnie Lee Warner, Michael Girage, Tony Cohen and Larry & Ricki Lobi. He finally pushed the Third Annual Tales of Terror and subscriptions.

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Smoke Wrings (Table of Contents: 6)

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

Script

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

Pencils

Reed Crandall (signed as Reed Crandall)

Inks

Reed Crandall (signed as Reed Crandall)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Here's a warming little terror-tale.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Vault-Keeper (host); Hubert Tillings (death); Lorna Jackson (villain, death)

Synopsis

Hubert told Miss Jackson about a new revolutionary billboard ad idea for the Llama Cigarette Company, an idea she said she would pass off to her superiors as "her" idea, and any monies that came in would be handed over to Hubert. Soon billboards went up, but soon found out he'd been played for a sucker and when he approached her about it, she killed him. Later, the billboard seemed to exact revenge upon poor Lorna!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in The Vault of Horror (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (August 1990)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #23 (April 1998)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #15 - The High Cost of Dying and Other Stories (February 2016) [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Keywords

B.V.D. and O. Advertising Agency; Llama Cigarettes

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Letterer credit verified by Al Feldstein, added by Craig Delich.

Where There's a Will... (Table of Contents: 7)

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

Script

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

Pencils

Graham Ingels (signed as Ghastly)

Inks

Graham Ingels (signed as Ghastly)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hee, hee!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

The Old Witch (host); Dr. James Crotty; Millard Walker (lawyer)

Synopsis

The relatives of Harold Farber were gathered in his house awaiting his certain death while Dr. Crotty and lawyer Walker went upstairs to see the old man, and tell him what vultures they really were. While old man Farber didn't believe them, he asked what they advised doing with his estate funds, and they recommended a charity. He agreed....IF they could prove what they said. They all agreed to stage Farber's death and then let him listen from inside his coffin at what his relatives were saying about him. Before the realtives arrived at the funeral home, Farber eased himself down into the casket w/a microphone to listen in, and he heard enough. When the lid was opened, he jumped up at them, told them off and signed over his estate to the Happy Home for Orphaned Children.....then fell over dead. All those assembled looked at the corpse, then began to laugh, as they greeted the President and Treasurer of that charity: the lawyer and the doctor, who thanked the "relatives" whom they had hired to play out this little scene!

Reprints

• in The Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #4 (1982)
• in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #1/1989 (uke 3 1989)
which is reprinted
• in Iskalde Grøss pocket (Semic, 1996 series) #3 ([mars] 1997)
• in The Vault of Horror (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (August 1990)
• in Vault of Horror (Gemstone, 1994 series) #23 (April 1998)
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2014 series) #4
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #29 - Accidents and Old Lace and Other Stories (January 2021) [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (Dark Horse, 2021 series) #4

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.