| Issue | #15 |
| Published | October-November 1950 |
| Cover Price | 0.10 USD |
| Pages | 36 |
| Editing | Al Feldstein; William M. Gaines (managing) |
| Notes | The cover title was taken from the 3rd story in the issue, on which the cover scene was based. |
| Characters | The Vault-Keeper (inset) |
| Genre | horror |
| Pencils | Johnny Craig (signed) |
| Inks | Johnny Craig (signed) |
| Notes | The cover title was taken from the 3rd story in the issue, on which the cover scene was based. |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1; in Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #4 (July 1993) |
| Synopsis | Promotional house ad for Weird Science #14 (with cover by Al Feldstein) and other art. |
| Pencils | (various) |
| Inks | (various) |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1 |
| Characters | The Vault-Keeper; Henry Davidson |
| Synopsis | Henry is called on the carpet by his editor for always being late geeting his stories in on time. Having an idea for a new story, he heads for his apartment....just as he gets down to work, a gang of friends shows up and literally takes over the place. He packs and heads for the country, and finds a nice, secluded house in which to work, and he buys Wilford Manor.....a home considered haunted. As he finishes his story, his gang of friends show up....and he leaves them there while he takes his manuscript into the city. His friends set up a scary reception for him when he comes back....the noises, screams and so on literally scare Henry to the point of death, and he flees the place. Meanwhile, his friends are celebrating, having carried off this ruse....when, suddenly something appears and scares them. A few hours later, Henry returns with the Police and they find a man dead in the drive, another hanging inside and a lady who has become a babbling lunatic. Deciding he has had enough of the country and solitude, Henry returns to his city apartment and a new set of friends....never to be alone again! |
| Genre | suspense |
| Script | Johnny Craig |
| Pencils | Johnny Craig (signed) |
| Inks | Johnny Craig (signed) |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1; in Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #4 (July 1993) |
| Characters | Helena Krivenston; Andor Krivenston |
| Synopsis | A father, bent on having his daughter marry another wealthy plantation owner instead of the man she really loves, mysteriously dies....with a voodoo doll lying on his chest! |
| Genre | occult |
| Script | William M. Gaines |
| Pencils | ? (spot illos) |
| Inks | ? (spot illos) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1 |
| Characters | The Old Witch (cameo); Professor Carl Ward; Marie Ward; Robert Colby |
| Synopsis | As two men paddle their way up the Okefenokee Swamp, they spot a man onshore asking them to go no further unless they never want to be seen again. They enter the man's cabin and he tells them about three people: Professor Carl Ward, Marie Ward and Robert Colby, who built a laboratory in the area, and who were trying to discover the "spark of life." They tested element after element without success, and finally the professor threw the beaker of matter into the swamp. However, the matter mixed with the elements in the swamp and began to live and grow, uncontrolled, devouring creatures left and right. Colby confessed what they were trying to do was wrong and as he stormed out of the lab, the mysterious matter attacked and devoured the entire cabin, with the professor and his daughter still inside! The story finished, the man the two way-farers not to continue on....but they did, and soon they came face to face with the living matter, which devoured them as the old man had warned! |
| Genre | horror |
| Script | Al Feldstein? |
| Pencils | Al Feldstein [as Feldstein] (signed) |
| Inks | Al Feldstein [as Feldstein] (signed) |
| Notes | This story was originally titled in The Haunt of Fear #15, "The Thing in the Swamp," was NOT narrated by the Old Witch, had a different splash and a different last panel. |
| Reprinted | from Haunt of Fear (EC, 1950 series) #15 (May-June 1950) |
| Synopsis | A man parachutes from a plane over a vast jungle, lands in a tree, loses consciousness, and awakens paralyzed. Trying to figure out a way to survive until help arrived, he allows ants and maggots, already crawling over his body, to enter his mouth, so that he could eat them for nourishment. Unfortunately, as the masses of ants and maggots increase, and realizes that THEY are eating HIM instead, he prays that his end will come swiftly! |
| Genre | horror |
| Script | William M. Gaines |
| Pencils | ? (spot illo) |
| Inks | ? (spot illo) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | This text story is found on the inner halves of the two pages, with houses ads all around it, one for Crime SuspenStories #15 (with a Johnny Craig cover), and ads, with covers, for the Picture Stories From the Bible: the complete Old Testament, the Complete New Testament, Old Testament #1-2 and New Testament #1, with coupons for ordering them. |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1 |
| Characters | The Vault-Keeper |
| Synopsis | In this edition of the Vault-Keeper's Corner, the Vault-Keeper spends half the column tearing down the Old Witch for having a story in this issue, talks about the Crypt-Keeper changing the title of his comic from the Crypt of Terror to Tales From the Crypt, and discusses the most popular stories from the previous issue and gives the credits for the stories in this issue. |
| Pencils | Johnny Craig (spot illo) |
| Inks | Johnny Craig (spot illo) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1 |
| Characters | The Vault-Keeper (cameo); Warren Lake; Fred Coombes |
| Synopsis | The town undertaker, Fred Coombes, convened the session of the Vault-Keeper's Club in order to initiate a new member, Warren Lake. In order to be sworn in, he must exhume the body of the recently departed member, note the time on his wristwatch and report back to the club President. He does as he is told, but reports back that this whole thing must be a joke because the coffin contained nothing but rags and bones. Not believing him, all the members return to the cemetery.....but discover the corpse inside the coffin had to have been buried 50 years ago. One of the members, Vardy, had originally protested the digging up of the coffin in the first place, and since he had once roomed with the deceased, the members accuse Vardy of having killed his roommate. Vardy laughs and tells the members that they cannot prove anything....just try and find the deceased member's body! Just then, a muffled explosion is heard and a large gravestone topples over, and the members discover the body of Willie Balm, the deceased member, and Vardy quickly confesses. When asked why the explosion had occured, the undertaker mentions that he had forgotten to drill holes in the casket to allow the gases from the body to escape! |
| Genre | horror |
| Pencils | Jack Kamen |
| Inks | Jack Kamen |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1; in Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #4 (July 1993) |
| Characters | The Vault-Keeper (cameo); "Zobo, the Living Corpse" |
| Synopsis | At a two-bit carnival patrons were asked to ante up 10 cents to see Zobo the man who stays buried under six feet of earth for 8 hours, but the crowd walks away, believing the guy is a phony. Later, his girlfriend Rita digs him up....then goes off on a walk and meets an illicit boyfriend. But Zobo follows her and has it out with her when she returns....but she convinces Zobo that it is all a sham to rake in dough from the guy she is seeing. The plan is for Zobo to break into this guys' house while he is romancing Rita....the guy will slug Zobo and Zobo will begin his shallow-breathing routine [that he uses underground], and the guy will think Zobo is dead. Then, he'll be blackmailed by Rita to prevent the "murder" from becoming known. Zobo agrees and the plan works out perfectly and Zobo is buried, awaiting Rita to come back and exhume him. She doesn't return...but a stranger comes along and digs him up in time. Then Zobo confronts Rita.....but then quietly tells her to pack all their stuff, for the carnival is moving on. Once packed, Zobo suddenly grabs Rita, nails her into the coffin and takes the coffin to a pool of quicksand, and dumps it in. Unfortunately, Zobo learns too late that he nailed his coat inside the coffin lid and he goes down with Rita! |
| Genre | horror; suspense |
| Pencils | Graham Ingels |
| Inks | Graham Ingels |
| Reprinted | in Vault of Horror, The (Russ Cochran, 1982 series) #1; in Vault of Horror (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #4 (July 1993) |