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Issue: The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror #1
Publication Date: July 2001
 
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Publisher: FlagDark Horse
Brand: object(PgSql\Result)#3 (0) { }
Indicia Publisher: Dark Horse Books
On Sale Date: 09/01/2021
Volume: 1
Pages: 220
ISBN: 150672115X9781506721156
UPC/EAN: 978150672115651999
Price: $19.99 USD
Indicia Frequency:
Content Items: 75 (32 stories, 2 covers)
Editor(s):  
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Publication Type: Comic Book
Color: color
Dimensions: 8 3/16 in. x 10 15/16 in.
Paper Stock:  
Binding: trade paperback
Publishing Format: collected edition
Format Notes:  
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There is currently no data for this Issue being reprinted anywhere.
Disclose Reprinted From6
Some/all of 6 other Issues reprinted as/in this Issue:
FlagVault of Horror #12 published April 1950
FlagVault of Horror #13 published June 1950
FlagVault of Horror #14 published August 1950
FlagVault of Horror #15 published October 1950
FlagVault of Horror #16 published December 1950
FlagVault of Horror #17 published February 1951
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Cover, Front
Subject Matter
horror
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Miscellaneous
1
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[untitled]

Blank Page(s)  on  Interior Page(s)
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Miscellaneous
1
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Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
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Miscellaneous
1
Illustration of a skull on the ground.
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
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)
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Enlargement of panel 1 from the story "The Werewolf Legend".
Miscellaneous
1
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The Vault of Horror

Credits  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
typeset
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Miscellaneous
2
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[untitled]

Table of Contents  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
typeset
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Miscellaneous
2
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Introduction

Foreword, Introduction, Preface, Afterword  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (illustration)
? (illustration)
? (illustration)
typeset
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2
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Foreward

Foreword, Introduction, Preface, Afterword  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (illustration)
? (illustration)
? (illustration)
typeset
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Miscellaneous
1
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
adventure, horror
Reggie and Eric Smythe; Viktor Zorak; Edna and John Farnum; Jan Bodzla
Reprinting
Enlargement of the last page of the story "Werewolf".
Miscellaneous
1
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Portrait in Wax

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
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Miscellaneous
1
Cover title taken from first interior story from which the cover is based.

Colorist and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

Marie Severin colors credit is disputed on the basis of evidence that Severin was not yet working at EC (Cassell 2012, 33–34 and 171).
_________
Reference:

Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan. 2012. Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics. Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing.
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[untitled]

Advertisement  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
?
?
typeset
Subject Matter
Jay Turner
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Miscellaneous
1
Advertisement for harmonica lessons. Includes indicia at the bottom of the page.
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Portrait in Wax!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault Keeper (host); Robert [aka Jules Vendette] (artist, death); unnamed art buyer; Lord James Cherringwood; Henry (villain, Robert's friend, death)
Ah, we meet again, dear reader!
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.
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Miscellaneous
8
Colorist credit by Craig Delich.

Marie Severin colors credit is disputed (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).

This story features Craig's first depiction of the Vault-Keeper.

Inspired by the story "The Mystery of the Wax Museum" by Michael Curtiz.
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The Werewolf Legend

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
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)
My name is Walter Mallory.
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!
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Miscellaneous
7
"Came the Dawn" forward by Bill Mason credits Fox as the writer, so Fox is added and Harrison is given a ?. Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Marie Severin colors credit is disputed (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).
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Fingers of Death!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (1 panel art)
? (1 panel art)
?
typeset
Subject Matter
mystery
His fingers relaxed and he felt the body sliding away from him, toward the floor.
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, the killer then broke into Montrose's coffin and there was the gold chain in the corpse's hands. He tried to pry the chain from those stiff fingers, but 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...
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Miscellaneous
1
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Horror in the Night

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror, mystery
Another SuspenStory From The Vault of Horror!
Tom Hawkins; Jim; John Smith (in flashback, death); Emily Smith (John's wife, in flashback, death)
Never had Tom Hawkins known such fear before...
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 fears that death is stalking her and kills a cat, believing it was death coming for her. The couple get into a fight he kills her, then shoots himself! Jim tells Tom it was just a nightmare 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!
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Miscellaneous
6
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion. Previous indexer had Al Feldstein ?

Although drawn after Kurtzman drew "House of Horror" in The Haunt of Fear #15 (#1) (1950), the story in this issue was Kurtzman's first EC story to appear in print.

Marie Severin colors credit is disputed (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).

Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers...” (1995) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
_________
References:

Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan. 2012. “The Artists of EC Comics” (reprinting Severin 1995). In Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics. 46–47. Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing.

Severin, Marie (John Province, transcriber [uncredited]). 1995. “Mostly About Color.” In CFA-APA 36, January.
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[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
typeset
Subject Matter
The Vault-Keeper (head shot)
Contains letters from readers Grace Calmesi, Cleo Gruner and Shirley Johnson.
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Miscellaneous
1
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Tooth and Fang!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (2 panels art)
? (2 panels art)
?
typeset
Subject Matter
crime
The knife slashed down!
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 large 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!
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Miscellaneous
1
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Terror Train

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
Vault of Horror
Gloria; Ralph
He was trying to kill me!
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!
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Miscellaneous
7
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
Stephen Crane; Alec; Count Alvar Cabeza (villain, death)
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Enlargement of panel 1, page 1 of the story "Island of Death" without script or lettering.
Miscellaneous
1
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The Curse of Harkley Heath

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
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Miscellaneous
1
Cover title taken from the second story, from which it is based.
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SuspenStory Fans

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
various
various
?; typeset
Subject Matter
horror
The Crypt of Terror
House ad for The Crypt of Terror #17 (with the cover by Johnny Craig) and other art.
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Miscellaneous
1
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The Dead Will Return!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault Keeper [cameos]
So... we meet again, dear reader!
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!
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Miscellaneous
8
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
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The Curse of Harkley Heath

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
Sybil Harkley (death); Hagers (Clayton Harkley's lawyer); Charles Harkley (villain, death); Edgar Harkley (villain, death)
What is the terror surrounding this once splendid home?
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.
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Miscellaneous
7
Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion. Previous indexer had Harry Harrison.
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The Diamond of Death!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (2 panels art)
? (2 panels art)
?
typeset
Subject Matter
horror
Silas Morgan; Crandall
The glitter of the huge diamond in Crandall's upturned palm...
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!
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Miscellaneous
1
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Doctor of Horror

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (adaptation)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
Dr. Finch (retiring school Dean, new school Governor); Dr. Cranshaw (death); Professor (later Dean) Alfred LeMonet (villain, death)
In the seventeenth century, when Alfred Lemonet was anatomy instructor...
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. LeMonet 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 LeMonet's body is among the other corpses!
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Miscellaneous
6
Ingel's first horror story.

Story was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Body Snatcher", which was itself inspired by the real-life Burke and Hare case of 1828.
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[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
typeset
Subject Matter
The Vault Keeper
Letters are printed from Jim Long, Barbara Nelson and Richard Morland. There is a gag letter from "A. Stiff" and the "Vault-Keeper's Book Selection" listing.
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Miscellaneous
1
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[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
various
various
?
typeset
Subject Matter
Comprised of house ads for Picture Stories From American History #1-4; Picture Stories From Science #1-2; Pictore Stories From World History #1-2; the Complete Old Testament; the Complete New Testament; Picture Stories From the Bible: Old Testament #1-2; and New Testament #1. All have the covers reproduced.
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Miscellaneous
1
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Island of Death

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
Stephen Crane; Alec; Count Alvar Cabeza (villain, death)
High in the empty sky...
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.
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Miscellaneous
7
This story by Kurtzman is inspired by Richard Connell's short story, "The Most Dangerous Game."
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper [cameo]
Reprinting
Enlargement of the first panel of the story "The Strange Couple!"
Miscellaneous
1
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Voodoo Vengeance!

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
typeset
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
The cover title is taken from the first story, from which the cover scene is based.
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SuspenStory Fans!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
various
various
?; typeset
Subject Matter
horror
The Crypt of Terror
Promotional house ad for The Crypt of Terror #18 (with the cover by Johnny Craig) and other art.
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Miscellaneous
1
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Voodoo Vengeance!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault Keeper (host); Caleb Standish; antique store owner; Sally Standish (death); Don (Sally's lover)
Welcome, once again, to the Vault of Horror!
Caleb visits an antique store to get a gift for his wife Sally. The weird proprietor eventually interests him in a voodoo doll made in Sally's image after Caleb sees Sally with her lover. 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!
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Miscellaneous
8
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[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
typeset
Subject Matter
The Vault-Keeper
Comprised of letters sent in by Merline Moore, Donald Bowman and a gag letter from the Crypt-Keeper, plus the "Vault-Keeper's Literary Selections" list.
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Miscellaneous
1
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Werewolf

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
adventure, horror
Reggie and Eric Smythe; Viktor Zorak; Edna and John Farnum; Jan Bodzla
The tingling air and the gleaming snow-capped peaks of the Carpathian mountains...
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!
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Miscellaneous
7
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Rats Have Sharp Teeth!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
Abner Tucker
They lay in their coffins...
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!
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Miscellaneous
6
This story is an uncredited adaptation of Henry Kuttner's classic short story, "The Graveyard Rats".
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Escape!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
typeset
Subject Matter
adventure, crime
Brent
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 suddenly, 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!
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Miscellaneous
1
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[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
various
various
?
typeset
Subject Matter
Picture Stories From American History; Picture Stories From the Bible; Picture Stories From Science; Picture Stories From World History
Same house ad that was featured in Vault of Horror #13 for Picture Stories From American History #1-4; Picture Stories From Science #1-2; Picture Stories From World History #1-2; the Complete Old Testament; the Complete New Testament; Picture Stories From the Bible: Old Testament #1-02 and New Testament #1....with covers.
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Miscellaneous
1
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The Strange Couple!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper [cameo]
This tale is one of my favorites!
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!
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Miscellaneous
7
Disclose
[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Warren Lake; Fred Coombes
Reprinting
Enlargement of the first panel from the story "Report from the Grave"
Miscellaneous
1
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Report from the Grave

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (inset)
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
The cover title was taken from the 3rd story in the issue, on which the cover scene was based.
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SuspenStory Fans!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
?
?
?
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Promo ad for Crypt of Terror #19.
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Horror House!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
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)
Welcome, readers... welcome to the Vault of Horror!
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.
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
7
Colorist credit by Craig Delich.
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Voodoo Vendetta

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (spot illos)
? (spot illos)
?
typeset
Subject Matter
horror
Helena Krivenston; Andor Krivenston
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!
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Miscellaneous
1
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Terror in the Swamp!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Witch's Cauldron
The Old Witch (cameo); Professor Carl Ward; Marie Ward; Robert Colby
Allow me to introduce myself!
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
7
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.
Disclose
SuspenStory Fans!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
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Subject Matter
Crime SuspenStories
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
0.5
Promo ad for Crime SuspenStories #15.
Disclose
Crash!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (spot illo)
? (spot illo)
?
typeset
Subject Matter
horror
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
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.
Disclose
[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
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?
typeset
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
0.5
Promo ad for comics versions of the Old and New Testament.
Disclose
[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
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typeset
Subject Matter
The Vault-Keeper
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.
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Disclose
Report from the Grave

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Warren Lake; Fred Coombes
This is the story of a strange club.
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
6
Disclose
Buried Alive!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Paul; unnamed servant; Sam [aka "Zobo, the Living Corpse"] (death); Rita (death)
Come now, to a carnival...
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.
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
7
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.
Disclose
[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Witch's Cauldron
The Old Witch (cameo); Pete Luger
Reprinting
Enlargement of panel 1 from the story "Escape!".
Miscellaneous
1
Disclose
Escape!

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault-Keeper; The Old Witch
The Vault-Keeper [inset]; The Old Witch [inset]
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Miscellaneous
1
The cover title is taken from the 4th story in this issue, on which the cover is based.
Disclose
Look For This Seal...

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
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?
typeset
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Disclose
Werewolf Concerto!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (host); Hubert Antone (villain, a werewolf, hotel manager, death); Madamoiselle Michelin (villain, a vampire, concert pianist)
Ha! Ha! Ha!
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
8
Colorist credit by Craig Delich.
Disclose
Fitting Punishment!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper [cameo]; Stanley (Flint's nephew, death); Ezra Flint (villain, undertaker)
Here is a chilling tale concerning a miserly old undertaker and the horror of his...
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
7
This story is loosely based on H. P. Lovecraft's 1925 short story, "In the Vault."
Disclose
Science Fiction Fans!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
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?
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
0.5
Promo ad for Weird Fantasy #16.
Disclose
Business

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (spot illo)
? (spot illo)
?
typeset
Subject Matter
crime
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
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.
Disclose
[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
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?
typeset
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
0.5
Promo ad for comics versions of the Old and New Testament.
Disclose
[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
typeset
Subject Matter
The Vault-Keeper (cameo)
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.
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Disclose
The Grave Wager

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Pirro, the Wax Man
Here is a ghastly yarn designed to terrorize you!
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
6
Disclose
Escape!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Witch's Cauldron
The Old Witch (cameo); Pete Luger
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
7
Disclose
[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Andrew Kellogg; Tom Kellogg; June (villain, Andrew's fiance)
Reprinting
Enlargement of panel 1, page 1 from the story "The Beast of the Full Moon!".
Miscellaneous
1
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Colorist credit by Craig Delich.
Disclose
The Beast of the Full Moon!

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
Vault-Keeper (head view); the Old Witch (head view); the Crypt-Keeper (head view)
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Cover title taken from third story, on which this cover is based.
Disclose
Look For This Seal...

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
?
typeset
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Disclose
Terror on the Moors!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (host); Jim Ryan (American tourist); Andrew Clymore (estate owner, death); Evers (Clymore's servant, death); Clymore's child/beast (villain, death)
Heh, heh, heh! It's nice to see so many of you readers back again...
Jim Ryan is driving his car through dense fog and seeks 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. Evers later tells Ryan that Clymore is dead and sought to be cremated on a funeral pyre, but he was now too old to build it....so Ryan agrees to do it. Sounds in a barred room lead Evers to tell Ryan that Clymore's beast child resides within. It breaks out, consuming his father's flesh, and dies in a fire.
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
8
Colorist credit by Craig Delich.
Inspired by the story "The Nameless Offspring" by Clark Ashton Smith.
Disclose
Baby -- It's Cold Inside!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Witch's Cauldron
The Old Witch (cameo); Barton Gordon (new building superintendent); Mr. Font (tenant); Marcus Kingsley (landlord, death); Kingsley's unnamed friend
Well, well! Hee, hee!
Barton Gordon is making his way through a blinding snowstorm to answer a want ad for a superintendent and he comes to the rundown 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, finding a yellow-skinned man living in an air conditioned apartment. One day, the AC unit burns itself out and Kingsley demands its repair. But it can't be fixed for days. When Gordon approaches the Kingsley's apartment, he notices an oozing, decaying flesh flowing out from under the door!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
7
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Story based on H. P. Lovecraft's piece, "Cool Air", published in the March, 1928 issue of "Tales of Magic and Mystery".
Disclose
Science Fiction Fans!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
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?
?
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
0.5
Promo ad for Weird Fantasy #17.
Disclose
Heat

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
? (spot illo)
? (spot illo)
?
typeset
Subject Matter
crime, horror
Fox Hilton (villain)
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
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.
Disclose
[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
?
?
typeset
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
0.5
Promo ad for comics versions of the Old and New Testament.
Disclose
[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
typeset
Subject Matter
The Vault-Keeper (cameo)
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Below the VK's Corner, is the Statement of Ownership, listing Editor Gaines, as well as the Business Manager, Frank D. Lee.
Disclose
The Beast of the Full Moon!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Andrew Kellogg; Tom Kellogg; June (villain, Andrew's fiance)
Come with me to a peaceful village disturbed only at night by the piercing howls and maddened screams of...
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. Tom vows to watch Andrew's every move that evening, and decides to lay a trap for the werewolf, armed with a gun loaded with silver bullets. The werewolf falls into his trap and a hairy hand reaches out and grabs his leg. He 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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
6
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Colorist credit by Craig Delich.
Disclose
Voodoo Horror!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
Subject Matter
horror
The Crypt of Terror
The Crypt-Keeper (cameo); George Barker
Welcome, dear reader, to the Crypt of Terror!
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!
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
7
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
Inspired by the story "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde.
Disclose
[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
?
?
typeset
Subject Matter
EC Archives
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
3
Promo ad for Dark Horse EC Archives series.
Disclose
[untitled]

Blank Page(s)  on  Interior Page(s)
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Disclose
[untitled]

Illustration  on  Cover, Front
Credits
?
?
?
?
typeset
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Rear cover with inset reprints of the covers of The Vault of Horror issues reprinted inside.

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