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Issue: The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror #4
Publication Date: February 2024
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Issues: #4 of 5 Issues
Title:
Variant: unnamed
Rating:
Publisher: FlagDark Horse
Brand: object(PgSql\Result)#3 (0) { }
Indicia Publisher: Dark Horse Books
On Sale Date: 02/28/2024
Volume: 4
Pages: 220
ISBN: 9781506736396
UPC/EAN: 978150673639651999
Price: $25.99 CAD
$19.99 USD
Indicia Frequency:
Content Items: 65 (30 stories, 1 cover)
Editor(s):  
Disclose Notes: Collects The Vault of Horror (EC, 1950 series) #30-35.
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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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Disclose Content Items (65 total)
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The Vault of Horror Volume 4

Illustration  on  Cover, Front
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset)
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Cover reprinted with new trade dress.
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[untitled]

Blank Page(s)  on  Interior Page(s)
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
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[untitled]

Blank Page(s)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
The Vault of Horror Volume 4

Credits  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (illustrations)
Inker(s): ? (illustrations)
Colorist(s): ? (illustrations)
Letterer(s): typeset
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
Disclose
Contents

Table of Contents  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
Disclose
Introduction

Foreword, Introduction, Preface, Afterword  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ? (illustration)
Inker(s): ? (illustration)
Colorist(s): ? (illustration)
Letterer(s): typeset
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
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Foreword

Foreword, Introduction, Preface, Afterword  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ? (illustration)
Inker(s): ? (illustration)
Colorist(s): ? (illustration)
Letterer(s): typeset
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
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Practical Choke

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset)
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: The cover title was taken from the 3rd story, from which the cover was based.
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[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Feature(s): Mad
Synopsis: House ad for MAD #4 [with a cover by Harvey Kurtzman] surrounded by the Severin art.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
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Split Personality!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); The Blair sisters [Amy; Susan] (villains); Ed King (villain, racketeer, death)
First Line: Heh, heh! Hello, again!
Synopsis: Ed King was a racketeer trying to find a way to bilk the Blair sisters out of their millions. When he saved their cat, he was invited into their home, and since both ladies liked him, he decided to pretend to be twins and marry both of them, using excuses to be away a week at a time in order to be with his other wife. Ed made a huge mistake while tanning one day, and the sisters soon discovered what was going on, and decided to deal with this bigamist. They took an axe and split him right down the middle, so that they each would have "half a husband"!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 8
Disclose Notes: Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
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Who Doughnut?

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Crypt-Keeper (host); Danny Hughes (reporter, death); Pat (Danny's secretary, death); various Policemen; an octopus (villain)
First Line: Heh, heh! And now, it's my turn to curdle your blood.
Synopsis: Seven women had been murdered and the Police were baffled by the doughnut-shaped wounds all over their bodies, blood drained and traces of sea brine on their skin and clothing. Danny Hughes, crime reporter, was on the scene and mocked the Police for not having a suspect. The next day, Danny's secretary was murdered in the same way, and was suspected until another killing occured. Danny remembered seeing a strange figure near Pat's home, and when he saw it again, he followed it to an aquarium, and came face to face with a blood-sucking octopus!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Reference is made to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
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Refuge

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (spot illo)
Inker(s): ? (spot illo)
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
First Line: He could hear the footsteps more distinctly now...
Synopsis: He could hear the Police chasing him as he ran inside the building, clutching the gems in his hand and looking for a hiding place. He entered a large circular room with glass enclosures all around him....then he spotted something moving behind one of the glass walls. He saw fish....so he decided to hop into the water and go under to elude the Police. It worked....until he felt a horrible pain in one leg, and looked up to see the sign hanging above the tank: PIRANHA! Quickly he was surrounded, as he felt himself being torn to shreads!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
Disclose Notes: The text story is found on the inner halves of the two pages, and EC houses ads are found to either side. One promotes Weird Fantasy #18 [], while the other side promotes, with covers, the Complete Old and New Testaments from the Picture Stories From the Bible series, Picture Stories From Science #2 and Picture Stories From World History #2.
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[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Synopsis: VK starts off his column by complaining that dealers are shipping unopened cartons of EC mags to the distributor, so he asks readers to ask their dealers for EC mags. Letters are printed from Audrey Abernathy, Hazel Wilson, George Salaita, Gary Schooley, Paul George, Michael Pecker, Frank Ray Stansbury, Carol Plumb andBill Lean. Then he lists more additions to the "Horror Hit Parade" tune list, pushes the EC Tales of Terror #3 mag and subscriptions.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
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Practical Choke!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Bill Gaines; Al Feldstein; three pre-med students (all die); various Police officers
First Line: Here's a gay tale of tingling terror.
Synopsis: Three medical students play a series of practical jokes using actual human body parts and watching the reactions of various people. The med students roared with laughter, but then seriously wondered what would happen when it was discovered parts of a cadaver was missing, so they went to get the remaining body parts and dispose of them, not noticing a pile of coiled-up intestines that were moving toward them. The next day the Police found the body parts and the students: in a refrigerated unit with the intestines coiled around their necks.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 6
Disclose Notes: In this story are cariactures of Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein in the first panel on page 2 and in many other panels throughout the story.

Script revision (from Feldstein) and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

Cover story.
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Notes to You!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Witch's Cauldron!
Character(s): The Old Witch (host); Judson Slack; Eleanor Slack (Judson's wife, death); Horton Cox; Simon Pitter (Cox's employee, death); Averill Minton (bank President, death); Bert Fields (bank employee); Mr. Popkin (candy store owner); Ambrose Baldwin (death)
First Line: Hee, hee! Well, salt my slop-stew and sling me a slug...
Synopsis: Four different people receive to what amounts to anonymous poison-pen letters, each resulting in horrendous events surrounding their families or businesses. Three of the surviving four men meet together and begin to realize that all these recent events were connected by these anonymous letters, and Poppin knew the answer, for he had given the suspect, Ambrose Baldwin, a bottle of disappearing ink, and his letter had now become blank. The men then visited Baldwin...with their own poison pens!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Script revision by Craig Delich, formerly Al Feldstein.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
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[untitled]

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset)
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: The cover MAY have been based on the 2nd story in this issue.
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Ray Bradbury

In-house Column  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (photograph)
Inker(s): ? (photograph)
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: biography
Character(s): Ray Bradbury (Photo of Ray Bradbury)
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Biography of writer Ray Bradbury.
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Easel Kill Ya!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault Keeper (host); young artist; artist's fiancee (death); art enthusiast; unnamed doctor (death)
First Line: Heh, heh! Thank Hades, you're on time.
Synopsis: The man went to a bridge he intended to jump from to his death at age 29. He was a lonely, unappreciated artist who was going to end it all when a car slammed into a barrier and from the crumpled wreck a woman staggered out. He was inspired to paint the scene, then sold it to a certain gentlemen. This scenario played out again and again as horrible accidents gave him inspiration to paint until he met a girl he was to marry. When she had a horrible accident and needed an operation, the artist killed someone for inspiration to paint the picture to sell, but inadvertently made a horrible mistake.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 8
Disclose Notes: Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Cover story, although the murderer doesn't kill his victims with a hammer.
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A Peach of a Plot!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Crypt-Keeper (host); Michael Lane; Lt. Phil Dolan
First Line: Heh, heh. And now it's's your Crypt-Keeper's turn to curdle your blood.
Synopsis: Lieutenant Dolan looked at the roots of a peach tree that held the corpse in its roots, and ordered the corpse and tree be taken in for autopsy. He turned to Michael Lane, the murderer, who now confessed to why he did the act. Her name was Sarah, young, wealthy and beautiful, and he got what he wanted from her until she realized that he didn't love her....just her money. There was a terrible fight, then talk of divorce. Finally one night, as she ate a peach, he killed her, buried her in the garden and destroyed all of her possessions, giving the impression she had left him. The problem was that she has swallowed the peach pit, and from that pit, a peach tree began to grow. Seven years passed by and finally the tree bore fruit.....Lt. Dolan came by the house, hoping to trap Lane into admitting the act he suspected him of. Then as they walked into the garden, Lane reached for a peach and bit into it....quickly spitting it out. The Lieutenant now knew where to look for Lane's wife's body, for that peach had blood inside it!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose
One Shot

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (spot illustration)
Inker(s): ? (spot illustration)
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: crime
Character(s): Metcalf
Synopsis: Metcalf hid in the bushes with a rifle, eyeing his prey standing just above him. A shot rang out and the man fell back and tumbled 1000 feet down over a sheer rock wall. Metcalf went down and viewed the body of his victim. To give the appearance that there had been an exchange of shots, he took the rifle and aimed at a solitary rock above him, and shot at it. Unfortunately, it then dislodged many rocks, all which came crashing down upon him. As he lay crumpled and broken at the base of that wall, he suddenly spied that single, last meteor of a rock heading towards his face and closed his eyes.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
Disclose Notes: The text story is found on the inner halves of the two pages. To each side are EC house ads, one for Weird Fantasy #19 [with a Joe Orlando cover], while the other page promoted, with covers, the Complete Old & New Testament editions from the Picture Stories From the Bible series, Picture Stories From Science #2 and Picture Stories From World History #2.
Disclose
[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Synopsis: Letters from Montana Lamb, Don Thompson, Peter Kroll, Ted Finch, Ronald Wade, Matt Flynn and Norman Benedict were printed. V-K thanks readers for responding to the plea to buy and ask for more EC's from their dealers, then pushed the 3rd Annual Tales of Terror volume and subscriptions.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
The Lake

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); a little boy; Margaret (the grown-up little boy's wife); lifeguard; Tally (death, in flashback)
First Line: It was September...
Synopsis: Years ago, a little boy and his young girl friend, Tally played at the beach and built sandcastles together. One day, Tally swam out into the water and drowned, leaving the sandcastle undone, and no closure for the boy. Years later, the little boy, now grown, got married and returned to the beach with his wife, and met with the old lifeguard, who showed him Tally's body in a sack. Once more, the young man returned to the beach, built an entire sandcastle and walked back to his wife, Margaret, leaving the past behind.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 6
Disclose Notes: Story was adapted from Ray Bradbury's "The October Country," which appeared in May 1944's "Weird Tales" and the anthology "Dark Carnival."

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Disclose
One Good Turn...

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Witch's Cauldron!
Character(s): The Old Witch (host); Edwin (Jennifer's husband, death); Bert (Jennifer's old friend, death); Grace (Jennifer's acquaintance, death); Sidney (a small boy, death); a blind man (death); Thelma (an old woman, death); two detectives [Steve; other unnamed]; Jennifer (villain)
First Line: Hee, hee! And now it's wind-up time in K.K.'s mag...
Synopsis: Jennifer came home in a cheerful mood and went into the bedroom to see her husband, who had been paralyzed in bed for many years. She excitedly told him just how wonderful it felt to actually be needed by other people: people who were unhappy for a variety of reasons, and how she cheered them up by killing them. When the two detectives came to the home to investigate, they found Edwin already dead by cyanide poisioning, and Jennifer happy that she could make him happy as well.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Script and letterer credits by Craig Delich.
Disclose
[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Out of His Head

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset)
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Cover title from 2nd story, from which the cover is based. This cover was censored as being much too gory for readers, as it featured a meat cleaver stuck in the ghoul's head. The Gladstone and Gemstone reprintings display the actual cover.
Disclose
[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Feature(s): Mad
Synopsis: EC House ad for Mad Comics.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Whirlpool

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); unnamed woman; three asylum employees
First Line: Well, well!
Synopsis: Her mind was whirling as three horrid creatures hovered over her, asking her her name, and she ran to escape. A series of events: thrown into boiling water, plunged into ice, poked with a hypodermic, strapped into an electric chair, and put into a small room that kept shrinking. She thought she was going insane, but the men told her everything had been in her mind and that she was an inmate in an insane asylum. She began to quiver and as they began to ask her her name, she suddenly remembered that THEY were the ones trying to persecute her!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 8
Disclose Notes: Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Disclose
Out of His Head!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Crypt-Keeper (host); Stanley (Alex's law partner, death); unnamed doctor; Alex Melton (villain, lawyer, death)
First Line: Greetings, ghouls! Let's drink blood pools!
Synopsis: Alex had murdered Stanley with an axe to his head, trying to blame the death on a maniac. It seemed, however, that the dead man kept haunting him day and night, and everywhere Alex looked, his former law partner was still there. Unable to stand it any longer, he blinded himself with an icepick. He was taken to the hospital and operated on, and when the bandages were removed, he saw someone. He figured it was Stanley again and ran to the window and jumped out to his death. The doctor looked out the window and all he could say was that the man must be mad!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Cover story.
Disclose
Crash Landing!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (spot illo)
Inker(s): ? (spot illo)
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Character(s): Brewster; Crawford
Synopsis: With the plane in the air, Brewster emerged from hiding in the back of the plane, wrench in hand, and crept to the cockpit, where he hit Crawford over the head. As the plane spiraled out of control, Brewster ran to the emergency door and jumped out, waiting to pull the ripcord of his parachute until the last second possible so that no one would see him. As he came down, he watched the plane crash into a grove of trees, splintering the ends, and burn. But a sudden shift in the wind brought Brewster closer and closer to the splintered branch limbs until he jammed into them which stopped his descent. In agony, he noted that the limbs had torn open his stomach, and as he lay dying, his body writhing on the end of a branch, he felt like some insect squirming on a needle in a science lab!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
Disclose Notes: This text story is found on the inner part of the two pages, with EC house ads to either side. One was for Weird Fantasy #20 [with an Al Feldstein cover], and the other side featured, with covers, the Complete Old & New Testament editions from the Picture Stories From the Bible series, Picture Stories From Science #2 and Picture Stories From World History #2.
Disclose
[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Synopsis: In this issue's letter column, VK prints letters from Mrs. Monroe ASdams, Terry Black, Ronnie Audet, PFC Hank Wawrzyniak, Ray Parrinello, Dennis Taplin, Robert Travieso, Martin Fishman, David McGill and Richard L. Bruch before pushing readers to buy subsciptions to EC mags.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
An Ample Sample

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Hannah (Irwin's wife, death); Bert; Irwin (villain)
First Line: Here's a sweet terror-tale with an appetizing wind-up!
Synopsis: Irwin was telling his neighbor Bert of how he and his wife Hannah fell in love and how Hannah loved expensive chocolates so much. She got fatter as he had to do without vital necessities, and he just couldn't take it anymore. Irwin admitted to killing her and asked Bert to come over to his house. As they walked in, Bert gasped in horror as he spotted a giant, hand-made chocolate box, marked with different types of candy, and pieces of Hannah in each part!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 6
Disclose Notes: Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Some of the story is told in flashback.

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

The visages of the Vault-Keeper on pages 1 and 6 are a photostat by Johnny Craig, taken from his story, "Werewolf Concerto".

Evans drew himself in as neighbor Bert throughout the story.
Disclose
Funereal Disease!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Witch's Cauldron!
Character(s): The Old Witch (host); Jasper Milliken (gardener, death); Niles Fairchild (villain, Jasper's employer, death); Tom Kelton (villain, Jasper's accountant)
First Line: Hee, hee! So it's wind-up time in V.K.'s mag again...
Synopsis: Jasper went to his cottage on the Fairchild Estate and counted up the $4,970 he had been saving and knew as soon as Mr. Fairchild paid him the last $30 he owed him, he'd be set: set to have the funeral that was denied to his parents. Unfortunately, Niles Fairchild was bankrupt, and desperately needed $5,000 to get him out of the trouble he was in. When Jasper refused to lend him the money, Fairchild and his accountant murdered Jasper and took the money. Jasper's corpse killed Fairchild, removed him from the man's coffin and took his place, and got the funeral he wanted.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Title correction, script and letterer credits by Craig Delich.

Some of the story is told in flashback.
Disclose
[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset)
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: The cover title was taken from the 2nd story in the issue, from which the cover was based.
Disclose
[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Feature(s): Mad
Synopsis: House ad for MAD Comics.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Together They Lie!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Agnes Wheatley (death); Mr. Horton (Agnes’s boss, death); Alex Fairchild (Horton's attorney)
First Line: Heh, heh! Hello again, little horror fiends.
Synopsis: Agnes and her boss's attorney decided to create a major hoax on her employer, Mr. Horton, as she implied to him that his wife was having an affair with his attorney. Distraut, Horton went to his attorney, had his will changed making Agnes the heir instead of his wife, and then committed suicide. As Agnes and Alex Fairfield celebrated the success of their hoax, the pair were suddenly interrupted by the corpse of Horton crashing in. The next morning, the dead bodies of Alex and Agnes were found on top of the Horton grave, and his tombstone carefully restored to what it had been!
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 8
Disclose Notes: Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Partly influenced by Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" (1938) per John Benson.

Much of the story is told in flashback.
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Let the Punishment Fit the Crime!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Crypt-Keeper (host); Clara Cootes; Edwin Cootes; Herbert Draper (mortician); Dr. Stacey; Frank Bundage (store owner); George Sparkman (electrician); Mathilda Priddy (schoolteacher); Sye Shusters (lawyer); Judge Delaney; Mrs. Philips; Freddy Philips (death)
First Line: heh, heh! Find felicitations, fiends.
Synopsis: Children in town had questioned people about various things regarding death and funerals, and were fascinated about a man dying in the electric chair. But they really wanted to know what the punishment for robbery and kidnapping would be, and a lawyer informed them it wouldn't be death. As the kids came down the street carrying a coffin, a mother came up screaming to townsfolk, telling them that her son was missing and that he had stolen another child's doll and had refused to give it back. Then they all looked in horror as they gazed over at the kids, who had just finished burying the coffin!
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Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Script revision by Craig Delich, adding Feldstein's script credit.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Cover story.
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Wrecker!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (spot illo)
Inker(s): ? (spot illo)
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Character(s): Carlson; Jaffery
First Line: Carlson squinted through the tiny cab window...
Synopsis: Carlson was at the controls of a wrecker-crane after working over a troublesome wall, and he watched Jaffery working on that partially demolished wall. All Carlson could think of was to bring down that wall with Jaffery still clinging to it......Jaffery would be dead and Carlson would claim the derrick got away from his control. Carlson swung the ball closer and brought down the wall, and he could hear Jaffery's screams. He jumped out of the cab and peered down at the wreckage, unaware that the derrick was still in operation, and he didn't see the steel cable come at hom until it was too late. Later, Carlson's co-workers stood over his body, remarking that they had never seen anyone beheaded so quickly before!
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Pages: 2
Disclose Notes: The text story is found on the inner halves of each pages, w/EC house ads to each side. On one side is an ad for Weird Fantasy #21 [cover by Al Williamson & Frank Frazetta], while the other side had ads, w/covers, for The Complete Old & New Testaments from the Picture Stories From the Bible series, Picture Stories From Science #2 and Picture Stories From World History #2.
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[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Synopsis: The entire column, given over by VK to the editors, promoted the new E.C. Addict Fan Club, and how to become a member.
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Pages: 1
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A Slight Case of Murder!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Doc Sam Swanson; Phil Ingram (newspaper editor); Sheriff Moulton (villain, actually a deformed baby, death); Amelia Bates (Moulton's mother)
First Line: The newspaper stories and word-of-mouth rumors ...
Synopsis: Doc Swanson gazed up at the abandoned mansion on the hill and knew it was the answer to all of the killings, and told the Sheriff who he thought responsible for the crimes, but the Sheriff said the murders had to have been committed by something inhuman, and explained how each of the bodies were found, throats slashed, and door locked. Sam figured that a woman's deformed baby born in the mansion was the murderer. The Sheriff suddenly lunged at Doc, wanting to kill him, but the townsfolk entered and took care of the Sheriff, whose body was an artificial framework housing that deformed child!
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Pages: 6
Disclose Notes: Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

The visage of the Vault-Keeper on page 1 was a photostat taken from the Johnny Craig illustrated story, "Werewolf Concerto".

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
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Strung Along!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Witch's Cauldron!
Character(s): The Old Witch (host); Tony Zargono (puppet maker, death); Nora (Tony's wife, death)
First Line: Hee, hee!
Synopsis: Tony once was a famed puppeteer, performing shows all over and becoming quite wealthy. Although he loved his puppets, he needed a human love interest and that was Nora, whom he married. Soon Tony was diagnosed with a bad heart condition, forcing him to retire. It was then that money troubles began and his wife finally told him that she married him for his money. He gave her once last kiss before he died, and the next day, they found their bodies, side-by-side.......but Nora's had been dismembered and reconnected by strings.....strings tied to the marionettes' hands!
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Miscellaneous
Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Script revision by Craig Delich, adding Feldstein script.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

Much of the story is told in flashback.
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
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Pages: 1
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Star-Light, Star-Bright

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset)
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Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: The cover title is taken from the 1st story, from which the cover was based.
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[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Feature(s): E.C. Fan-Addict Club
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Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: EC house ad for the new EC Fan-Addict Club and providing a membership coupon for readers to use to join.
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Star Light, Star Bright!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Hartley Quimb
First Line: Heh, heh! Hello there, you crazy mixed-up kid!
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!
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Pages: 8
Disclose Notes: Cover story.
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While the Cat's Away...

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Crypt-Keeper (host); John Younger; Frank Weston
First Line: Heh, heh! So vacation time is over... eh, kiddies?
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!
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Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
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Sudden Death!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (spot illo)
Inker(s): ? (spot illo)
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Character(s): Curt Benbow
First Line: He slipped the gun into his pocket...
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!
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Pages: 2
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[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
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.
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Pages: 1
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Smoke Wrings

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Hubert Tillings (death); Lorna Jackson (villain, death)
First Line: Here's a warming little terror-tale.
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!
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Pages: 6
Disclose Notes: Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.

Letterer credit verified by Al Feldstein, added by Craig Delich.
Disclose
Where There's a Will...

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Witch's Cauldron!
Character(s): The Old Witch (host); Dr. James Crotty; Millard Walker (lawyer)
First Line: Hee, hee!
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!
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Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion.
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[untitled]

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
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Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
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Pages: 1
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...And All Through the House...

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (inset); The Crypt-Keeper (inset); The Old Witch (inset)
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Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: The cover title was taken from the 1st story, from which the cover was based.
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[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Feature(s): EC Fan-Addict Club
Synopsis: Illustrated ad, w/coupon, for the EC Addict Fan Club.
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Pages: 1
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...And All Through the House...

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Santa Claus
First Line: Ho, ho, ho! And what would you like for Christmas?
Synopsis: A terrific thud w/the fireplace poker and her husband Joseph lay dead on the floor. But then she heard her little girl upstairs, who asked her mommy if Santa Claus had come yet, and was told no and to go back to sleep. The wife then returned downstairs, cleaned off the poker, turned on the radio and heard an announcement of a maniac woman-killer dressed as Santa on the loose in the area. She wondered how she would be able to get rid of Joseph's body, when there was a knock at the door. She looked outside and saw a Santa at her door, the woman-killer, and paniced knowing she couldn't call the Police w/her husband's body there on the floor. Quickly she ran to every door and window, locking them, putting Joseph into a closet and then trying to board up windows from the inside. Going upstairs to check on Carol, her daughter, the woman was terrified when she found the little girl gone.....but more terrified when she went downstairs to see Carol having let in "Santa Claus"!
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Pages: 8
Disclose Notes: Cover story, although the art doesn't quite match up. The murderer is not the victim's husband, was dressed as Santa Claus, and there was no coffin under the Christmas tree.
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Tombs-Day!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Crypt of Terror
Character(s): The Crypt-Keeper (host); Prof. Burton; Melody Allen
First Line: Heh, heh! For a while, I thought the Vault-Keeper...
Synopsis: The expedition, led by Professor Burton, neared the Pyramid of Khafra, the scene of the disappearance of a previous expedition. As they passed by the Sphinx, in legend called the "Father of Terrors", he told the accompanying journalist, Miss Allen facts about the previous expedition. Reaching the entrance to the pyramid, all entered to make a preliminary investigation when suddenly the massive stone panel they had entered through closed behind them, and a booby-trap killed of one the explorers. The group headed down some passages to find a possible exit, and as they proceeded, one by one members of the group were killed, leaving only Burton and Allen alive. As they made their way deeper into the pyramid, Burton told her that legend said the sphinx actally lived at one time, but Allen pooh-poohed the idea. Suddenly they came upon King Khafra's tomb, crawled through a passage and reached the interior to find all of Khafra's wealth and some hieroglyphics stating the legend of the sphinx was true.....just before the living sphinx sprang out and killed them!
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Pages: 7
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Space to Breathe!

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ? (spot illo)
Inker(s): ? (spot illo)
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Character(s): Lionel Blivet
First Line: Lionel Blivet stamped down on the brake...
Synopsis: Lionel reached the top of the Waraiji Mountain range on a deserted dirt road, stepped out of his car and then turned on the radio. Up here, he could breathe....relax in the open air, and as he readied himself to scale a crude path to the top, he mused that he should flip off the radio in the car so that the battery wouldn't run down. But before he could do so, a large blur flew past him into a cave, so he decided to explore, and forgetting to turn the radio off. As he entered the cave, something brutally hit him and knocked him down, so he moved out of the cave only to be attacked again by many of the creatures who savagely ripped at his body: huge, horrible man-killing BATS! And as he tasted the blood in his mouth and as his last ounce of consciousness ebbed away, all he could think of was the car radio and that he had left it on.....and that the battery was going to ..........!
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Pages: 1
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[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: humorous
Feature(s): Mad
First Line: Do people laugh at you for reading comic books?
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Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Promo ad for Mad Magazine.
Disclose
[untitled]

Letters Page  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Synopsis: VK starts off his column touting EC's newest mag, Panic, then prints letters from Rosemary Cage, Richard Gunst, Allan Katz and Jerry Simonetti, plus some "Perverted Poetry" from Michael Reynolds, Larry Tucker, Arnold Hageman, Kreda Freeman and Paul H. Cox. He closes out the column pushing subscriptions for the Vault of Horror and memberships in the EC Fan Addict Club.
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Pages: 1
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Beauty Rest

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Vault of Horror!
Character(s): The Vault-Keeper (host); Helen Curtis; Joyce Noble
First Line: Here's a horrible yarn about a girl who got her...
Synopsis: Helen gazed out the window of the room she shared w/Joyce as the latter bid goodnight to a Mr. Boxer, the man she told Helen would help her to win a beauty contest the next day: "Miss Corpse of 1954"! Helen decided to play a trick on her roomie: she'd drug Joyce's drink w/sleeping pills, take a note Boxer had given to Joyce and appear in her place the next day. Helen gave the note to the man in charge, got into her suit and won the contest, being told to report that evening to an address for the award presentation. Arriving home, Helen found Joyce dead in bed [from an overdose of those pills], she called the Police and reported it as a suicide. Later Helen reported to the address she was given, but told the people there she had taken Joyce's spot.....a bad move, since she discovered that the wonner had to ACTUALLY be a corpse to win. That's the last she knew as the men came at her with scapels, rubber tubes and embalming fluid!
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Pages: 6
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Shoe-Button Eyes!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Feature(s): The Witch's Cauldron!
Character(s): The Old Witch (host); Billy (young blind boy, death); Billy's mother (death); Billy's father (death); Jed (Billy's step-father, death)
First Line: Hee, hee! Well it's time for me to brew my goo...
Synopsis: The little boy celebrated the best Christmas he ever had because he could now see! Born blind, all he ever knew was the love of his mother, and the companionship of his teddy bear. His father died, so Mom remarried a cruel and vicious man who mistreated her. He always said that the little boy had "shoe-button" eyes, just like his teddy. One day, the little boy's mother became deathly ill, and he asked his step-dad to help her. He abused her, took the boy's bear and ripped the eyes off of it. Mom sewed on new button eyes before she died. Jed killed the boy, who regained his sight in heaven.
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Pages: 7
Disclose Notes: Most of the story is told in flashback.
Disclose
[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
First Line: Look out for more EC Archives from Dark Horse in 2024!
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Pages: 3
Disclose Notes: Promo ad for upcoming and back issues in the EC Archives series of titles.
Disclose
[untitled]

Blank Page(s)  on  Interior Page(s)
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Pages: 1
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[untitled]

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
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Penciller(s): ?
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Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
First Line: The Vault of Horror Volume 4 comes to you courtesy of Dark Horse as a new value-priced paperback!
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Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Promo ad for the issues reprinted in this volume; appears on the back cover.

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