The Vault of Horror
Encyclopedia
The Vault of Horror was a bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics
in the early 1950s. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear
, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Vault of Horror hit newsstands with its April/May 1950 issue and ceased publication with its December/January 1955 issue, producing a total of 29 issues.
s came under attack from moralizing parents, clergymen, schoolteachers and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. In April and June 1954, highly publicized Congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the comics industry shaken. With the imposition of the highly restrictive Comics Code Authority
, EC publisher William Gaines
canceled The Vault of Horror and its two companion titles in September 1954. All three titles have been reprinted at various times since their demise and have been adapted for television and film.
Horror comics emerged as a distinct comic book genre after World War II
when young adult males lost interest in caped crimebusters and returning GIs wanted more potent themes in their reading. One-shot Eerie Comics
(1947) is generally considered the first true horror comic with its cover depicting a dagger-wielding, red-eyed ghoul
threatening a rope-bound
, scantily clad, voluptuous young woman
beneath a full moon. In 1948, Adventures Into the Unknown
became the first regularly published horror title, enjoying a nearly two decade lifespan.
In 1950, Gaines and his editor Al Feldstein
discovered they shared similar tastes in horror and began experimenting with such stories in EC's crime comic
War Against Crime and its companion title, Crime Patrol. With issue #12 of War Against Crime, the title was changed permanently to The Vault of Horror. The Vault-Keeper became the title's sardonic host and commentator, occasionally sharing duties with the Old Witch and the Crypt-Keeper. Due to an attempt to save money on second-class postage permits, the numbering, however, did not change with the title—the first issue of The Vault of Horror was #12.
and Jack Oleck
were brought in. Other contributing artists to The Vault of Horror were Feldstein, George Evans, Jack Kamen
, Wally Wood
, Graham Ingels
, Harvey Kurtzman
, Jack Davis
, Sid Check, Al Williamson
, Joe Orlando
, Reed Crandall
, Bernard Krigstein
, Harry Harrison
and Howard Larsen.
After their unauthorized adaptation of one of Ray Bradbury's stories in another magazine, Bradbury contacted EC about their plagiarism
of his work. They reached an agreement for EC to do authorized versions of Bradbury's short fiction. These official adaptations include:
Although EC's horror stable consisted of three separate magazines, there was little beyond their titles to distinguish between them. Each magazine had its titular host, but the hosting duties for any one issue were typically shared with the hosts of the other two. Thus, a single issue of The Vault of Horror would contain two stories told by the Vault-Keeper, one by the Crypt-Keeper (of Tales from the Crypt) and one by the Old Witch (of The Haunt of Fear). The professional rivalry between these three GhoulLunatics was often played for comic effect.
The Vault-Keeper was the primary host of The Vault of Horror. He was was introduced to the public in War against Crime #10, and he continued in that magazine through its change in title and format. He was a frightening presence in those early issues, an ancient inquisitor, hooded and robed, presiding over the empty dungeon of his bloody past. But he soon evolved into a more comedic horror host
, delivering an irreverent and pun-filled commentary to lighten the horrific tone of the stories he introduced.
Although The Vault-Keeper was originally designed by Feldstein, Craig is the artist most associated with the character, having drawn all his lead stories in The Vault of Horror with the exception of two. Craig also drew the Vault-Keeper in his guest appearances in the other comics, although another artist frequently drew the rest of the story. For the final four issues of The Vault of Horror, The Vault-Keeper was joined by Drusilla, a beautiful but silent co-host in the Vampira mode.
. Hearings targeted violent comic books—which fared poorly in the proceedings. While the committee stopped short of blaming the comics industry for juvenile delinquency, they did suggest it tone down the product. Publishers were left reeling.
The industry deftly avoided outside censorship by creating the self-regulatory Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA) and a Comics Code Authority
(CCA) that placed severe restrictions on violent comic book genres. Publishers were forbidden from using the words "terror" and "horror" in titles, for example, and forbidden from depicting zombies, werewolves and other gruesome characters and outrè horror fiction
trappings. Gaines was fed up; he believed his titles were being specifically targeted and realized they were doomed to future failure. He cancelled The Vault of Horror and its companion titles in September 1954. The last issue of Vault was its 29th (#40, December/January 1955). Since an issue of The Crypt of Terror had already been produced, it was published as the final issue of Tales from the Crypt (February/March, 1955).
reprinted selected Vault stories in a series of paperback EC anthologies in 1964-66. Other Vault stories were reprinted in Horror Comics of the 1950s by Nostalgia Press
(1971), edited by Bhob Stewart
and Ron Barlow. Publisher Russ Cochran
released six issues of his EC Portfolio (1971–77). East Coast Comix reprinted issue #26 in the early 1970s. The magazine was fully collected in a series of five black-and-white hardbacks by Cochran as part of The Complete EC Library in the early 1980s. Cochran also reprinted the title in a standard comic book format (out of sequence) during the early 1990s in association with Gladstone Publishing
. Cochran eventually reprinted the run in proper sequence during the later 1990s with Gemstone Publishing
. This complete run was later rebound, with covers included, in a series of six softcover EC Annuals. In 2007, Cochran and Gemstone began to publish hardcover, re-colored volumes of The Vault of Horror as part of the EC Archives
series. One volume (of a projected five) was published before Gemstone's financial troubles left the project in limbo. But the project may soon be revived under a new publisher. GC Press LLC, a boutique imprint established by Russ Cochran and Grant Geissman
, announced in a press release dated September 1, 2011 that it is continuing the EC Archives series, with The Vault of Horror Volume 2 scheduled for November 2011 release.
' Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Roy Ward Baker
's The Vault of Horror
(1973).
Vault stories were also adapted for the Tales from the Crypt television series
that aired on HBO (1989). The following stories were used in the television series: Horror in the Night (Issue #12), Doctor of Horror (#13), 99 & 44/100% Pure Horror (#23), Report from the Grave (#15), Fitting Punishment (#16), Werewolf Concerto (#16), Revenge Is the Nuts (#20), The Reluctant Vampire (#20), Dead Wait (#23), Staired in Horror (#23), Collection Completed (#25), Seance (#25), Half-Way Horrible (#26), People Who Live in Brass Hearses (#27), 'Til Death (#28), Split Personality (#30), Easel Kill Ya (#31), Whirlpool (#32), Strung Along (#33), Let The Punishment Fit The Crime (#33), A Slight Case of Murder (#33), Smoke Wrings (#34), And All Through the House (#35), Beauty Rest (#35), Surprise Party (#37), Top Billing (#39) and The Pit (#40).
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
in the early 1950s. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear
The Haunt of Fear
The Haunt of Fear was a bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in 1950. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Haunt of Fear was sold at newsstands beginning with its May/June 1950 issue...
, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Vault of Horror hit newsstands with its April/May 1950 issue and ceased publication with its December/January 1955 issue, producing a total of 29 issues.
Origin
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s came under attack from moralizing parents, clergymen, schoolteachers and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. In April and June 1954, highly publicized Congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the comics industry shaken. With the imposition of the highly restrictive Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
, EC publisher William Gaines
William Gaines
William Maxwell Gaines , better known as Bill Gaines, was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically important line of mature-audience comics...
canceled The Vault of Horror and its two companion titles in September 1954. All three titles have been reprinted at various times since their demise and have been adapted for television and film.
Horror comics emerged as a distinct comic book genre after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when young adult males lost interest in caped crimebusters and returning GIs wanted more potent themes in their reading. One-shot Eerie Comics
Eerie Comics
Eerie is a one-shot horror comic book cover-dated January 1947 and published by Avon Periodicals as Eerie #1. Its creative team includes Joe Kubert and Fred Kida. The book's contents comprise six full-length horror feature stories and a 2-page humorous tale. The title went dormant for a number of...
(1947) is generally considered the first true horror comic with its cover depicting a dagger-wielding, red-eyed ghoul
Ghoul
A ghoul is a folkloric monster associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights...
threatening a rope-bound
Bondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
, scantily clad, voluptuous young woman
Good girl art
Good girl art is found in drawings or paintings which feature a strong emphasis on attractive women no matter what the subject or situation. GGA was most commonly featured in comic books, pulp magazines and crime fiction...
beneath a full moon. In 1948, Adventures Into the Unknown
Adventures Into the Unknown
Adventures Into the Unknown was a horror and supernatural comic series from the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title was released in the fall of 1948 by B&I Publishing and enjoyed a run of 174 issues for nearly two decades, ceasing publication in August 1967...
became the first regularly published horror title, enjoying a nearly two decade lifespan.
In 1950, Gaines and his editor Al Feldstein
Al Feldstein
Albert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife...
discovered they shared similar tastes in horror and began experimenting with such stories in EC's crime comic
Crime comics
Crime comics is a genre of American comic books and format of crime fiction. The genre was originally popular in the 1940s and 1950s and is marked by a moralistic editorial tone and graphic depictions of violence and criminal activity. Crime comics began in 1942 with the publication of Crime Does...
War Against Crime and its companion title, Crime Patrol. With issue #12 of War Against Crime, the title was changed permanently to The Vault of Horror. The Vault-Keeper became the title's sardonic host and commentator, occasionally sharing duties with the Old Witch and the Crypt-Keeper. Due to an attempt to save money on second-class postage permits, the numbering, however, did not change with the title—the first issue of The Vault of Horror was #12.
Artists and writers
Like its horror companion titles, Tales from the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror had its own distinctive qualities and atmosphere—in this case, created by its main artist, Johnny Craig. Craig illustrated all the covers for the entire run and was responsible for the lead story of all but issues #13 and #33. He also wrote all his own stories (save two) in Vault, something rarely done at EC, and became editor with issue #35 (February, 1954). Gaines and Feldstein wrote almost every other story until late 1953/early 1954 when outside writers Carl WesslerCarl Wessler
Carroll O. "Carl" Wessler was an American animator of the 1930s and a comic book writer from the 1940s though the 1970s for such companies as DC Comics, EC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing....
and Jack Oleck
Jack Oleck
Jack Oleck was an American novelist and comic book writer particularly known for his work in the horror genre.The brother-in-law of comics pioneer Joe Simon, Oleck's comic book career was basically in two parts. During the Golden Age of comics Oleck wrote for EC Comics and the Simon-Jack Kirby...
were brought in. Other contributing artists to The Vault of Horror were Feldstein, George Evans, Jack Kamen
Jack Kamen
Jack Kamen was an illustrator from Brooklyn, New York. His first professional job was as an assistant to a sculptor working for the Texas Centennial. He studied sculpture with Agop Agopoff and was a student of Harvey Dunn, George Brandt Bridgman and William C. McNulty...
, Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
, Graham Ingels
Graham Ingels
Graham Ingels was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt, horror titles written and edited by Al Feldstein, and The Vault of Horror, written and edited by Feldstein and Johnny Craig...
, Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
, Jack Davis
Jack Davis (cartoonist)
Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories...
, Sid Check, Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
, Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
, Reed Crandall
Reed Crandall
Reed Crandall was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. He was best known for the Quality Comics character Blackhawk and for stories in the critically acclaimed EC Comics of the 1950s.Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early...
, Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B...
, Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
and Howard Larsen.
Influences and adaptations
As with the other EC comics edited by Feldstein, the stories in this comic were primarily based on Gaines reading a large number of horror stories and using them to develop "springboards" from which he and Feldstein could launch new stories. Specific story influences that have been identified include the following:- "Portrait in Wax" (issue 12) - Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
's The Mystery of the Wax Museum - "Island of Death" (issue 13) - Richard ConnellRichard ConnellRichard Edward Connell Jr. was an American author and journalist, probably best remembered for his short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Connell was one of the most popular American short story writers of his time and his stories appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and Collier's Weekly...
's "The Most Dangerous GameThe Most Dangerous Game"The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell. It was published in Collier's Weekly on January 19, 1924....
" - "Fitting Punishment" (issue 16) - H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's "In the VaultIn the Vault"In the Vault" is a short story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written on September 18, 1925 and first published in the November 1925 issue of the amateur press journal Tryout.-Inspiration:...
" - "Terror on the Moors" (issue 17) - Clark Ashton SmithClark Ashton SmithClark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
's "The Nameless Offspring" - "Baby It's Cold Inside" (issue 17) - H. P. Lovecraft's "Cool AirCool Air"Cool Air" is a short story by the American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in March 1926 and published in the March 1928 issue of Tales of Magic and Mystery.-Inspiration:...
" - "Voodoo Horror" (issue 17) - Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's The Picture of Dorian GrayThe Picture of Dorian GrayThe Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine... - "Daddy Lost His Head" (issue 19) - Robert BlochRobert BlochRobert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
's "Sweets to the Sweet" - "Grandma's Ghost" (issue 20) - Stephen GrendonAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
's "Mr. George" - "What the Dog Dragged In" (issue 22) - Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
's "The Emissary" - "We Ain't Got No Body" (issue 28) - Clark Ashton SmithClark Ashton SmithClark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
's "The Return of the SorcererThe Return of the Sorcerer"The Return of the Sorcerer" is a horror short story by Clark Ashton Smith, first published in Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror in September 1931. The story is set in H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and was adapted as an episode of the television series Night Gallery starring Vincent Price. The...
" - "Star Light, Star Bright" (issue 34) - Carl Theodor DreyerCarl Theodor DreyerCarl Theodor Dreyer, Jr. was a Danish film director. He is regarded by many critics and filmmakers as one of the greatest directors in cinema.-Life:Dreyer was born illegitimate in Copenhagen, Denmark...
's VampyrVampyrVampyr is a 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of supernatural stories In a Glass Darkly. Vampyr was funded by Nicolas de Gunzburg who starred in the film under...
After their unauthorized adaptation of one of Ray Bradbury's stories in another magazine, Bradbury contacted EC about their plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
of his work. They reached an agreement for EC to do authorized versions of Bradbury's short fiction. These official adaptations include:
- "Let's Play Poison" (issue 29)
- "The Lake" (issue 31)
The Vault-Keeper
The Vault-Keeper was the primary host of The Vault of Horror. He was was introduced to the public in War against Crime #10, and he continued in that magazine through its change in title and format. He was a frightening presence in those early issues, an ancient inquisitor, hooded and robed, presiding over the empty dungeon of his bloody past. But he soon evolved into a more comedic horror host
Horror host
Horror hosts are a particular type of television presenter, often tasked with presenting low-grade films to television audiences. This tradition is primarily American, though there have been a few international hosts over the years.-Film Packages:...
, delivering an irreverent and pun-filled commentary to lighten the horrific tone of the stories he introduced.
Although The Vault-Keeper was originally designed by Feldstein, Craig is the artist most associated with the character, having drawn all his lead stories in The Vault of Horror with the exception of two. Craig also drew the Vault-Keeper in his guest appearances in the other comics, although another artist frequently drew the rest of the story. For the final four issues of The Vault of Horror, The Vault-Keeper was joined by Drusilla, a beautiful but silent co-host in the Vampira mode.
Demise
In 1954, Gaines and Feldstein intended to add a fourth book to their horror publications by reactivating an earlier title, The Crypt of Terror. They were stopped dead in their tracks, however. Horror and other violent comics had come under scrutiny by moralizing parents, schoolteachers, clergymen, psychologists, and others who viewed the material as dangerous to the well-being of children and a significant contributor to the juvenile delinquency crisis in America (although the formulaic nature of the books usually resulted in truly immoral characters receiving a well-deserved, if gruesome, comeupance.) Matters came to a head in April and June 1954 with a highly publicized Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile DelinquencySenate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency
The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was established by the United States Senate in 1953 to investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency.- Background :...
. Hearings targeted violent comic books—which fared poorly in the proceedings. While the committee stopped short of blaming the comics industry for juvenile delinquency, they did suggest it tone down the product. Publishers were left reeling.
The industry deftly avoided outside censorship by creating the self-regulatory Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA) and a Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
(CCA) that placed severe restrictions on violent comic book genres. Publishers were forbidden from using the words "terror" and "horror" in titles, for example, and forbidden from depicting zombies, werewolves and other gruesome characters and outrè horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
trappings. Gaines was fed up; he believed his titles were being specifically targeted and realized they were doomed to future failure. He cancelled The Vault of Horror and its companion titles in September 1954. The last issue of Vault was its 29th (#40, December/January 1955). Since an issue of The Crypt of Terror had already been produced, it was published as the final issue of Tales from the Crypt (February/March, 1955).
Reprints
The Vault of Horror has been reprinted on numerous occasions. Ballantine BooksBallantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
reprinted selected Vault stories in a series of paperback EC anthologies in 1964-66. Other Vault stories were reprinted in Horror Comics of the 1950s by Nostalgia Press
Woody Gelman
Woodrow Gelman , better known as Woody Gelman, was a publisher, a cartoonist, a novelist and an artist-writer for animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcovers and trade paperbacks...
(1971), edited by Bhob Stewart
Bhob Stewart
Bhob Stewart is an American writer, editor, artist and film maker who has written for a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles and reviews have appeared in TV Guide, Publishers Weekly and other publications, along with online contributions to Allmovie, the Collecting...
and Ron Barlow. Publisher Russ Cochran
Russ Cochran (publisher)
Russ Cochran is a publisher of EC Comics reprints, Disney comics and books on Hopalong Cassidy, Chet Atkins, Les Paul and vacuum tubes. He has been a publisher for over 30 years, after quitting his job as a physics professor....
released six issues of his EC Portfolio (1971–77). East Coast Comix reprinted issue #26 in the early 1970s. The magazine was fully collected in a series of five black-and-white hardbacks by Cochran as part of The Complete EC Library in the early 1980s. Cochran also reprinted the title in a standard comic book format (out of sequence) during the early 1990s in association with Gladstone Publishing
Gladstone Publishing
Gladstone Publishing was an American company that published Disney comics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1998. The company had its origins as a subsidiary of "Another Rainbow", a company formed by Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran to publish the Carl Barks Library and produce limited edition...
. Cochran eventually reprinted the run in proper sequence during the later 1990s with Gemstone Publishing
Gemstone Publishing
Gemstone Publishing is a U.S. company that publishes comic books and collectors' guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi. Gemstone published licensed Disney comic books from June 2003 until November 2008. The company has...
. This complete run was later rebound, with covers included, in a series of six softcover EC Annuals. In 2007, Cochran and Gemstone began to publish hardcover, re-colored volumes of The Vault of Horror as part of the EC Archives
EC Archives
The EC Archives are a series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008....
series. One volume (of a projected five) was published before Gemstone's financial troubles left the project in limbo. But the project may soon be revived under a new publisher. GC Press LLC, a boutique imprint established by Russ Cochran and Grant Geissman
Grant Geissman
Grant Geissman is a crossover jazz, contemporary jazz and new age guitarist and an Emmy-nominated composer for network TV series and TV movies. An in-demand studio musician, he has recorded extensively for several labels since 1976, and he can be heard playing guitar on the theme for Monk and...
, announced in a press release dated September 1, 2011 that it is continuing the EC Archives series, with The Vault of Horror Volume 2 scheduled for November 2011 release.
Media adaptations
The Vault of Horror stories were adapted to motion pictures in Freddie FrancisFreddie Francis
Frederick William Francis BSC was an English cinematographer and film director.He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer, including winning two Academy Awards, for Sons and Lovers and Glory...
' Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker , born Roy Horace Baker, was an English film director, credited as Roy Baker for much of his career. His best known film is A Night to Remember which won a Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film in 1959...
's The Vault of Horror
The Vault of Horror (film)
The Vault of Horror is a British portmanteau horror film made in 1973 by Amicus Productions. Like its predecessor, Tales from the Crypt, it is based on stories from the EC Comics series written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines...
(1973).
Vault stories were also adapted for the Tales from the Crypt television series
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
that aired on HBO (1989). The following stories were used in the television series: Horror in the Night (Issue #12), Doctor of Horror (#13), 99 & 44/100% Pure Horror (#23), Report from the Grave (#15), Fitting Punishment (#16), Werewolf Concerto (#16), Revenge Is the Nuts (#20), The Reluctant Vampire (#20), Dead Wait (#23), Staired in Horror (#23), Collection Completed (#25), Seance (#25), Half-Way Horrible (#26), People Who Live in Brass Hearses (#27), 'Til Death (#28), Split Personality (#30), Easel Kill Ya (#31), Whirlpool (#32), Strung Along (#33), Let The Punishment Fit The Crime (#33), A Slight Case of Murder (#33), Smoke Wrings (#34), And All Through the House (#35), Beauty Rest (#35), Surprise Party (#37), Top Billing (#39) and The Pit (#40).
Issue guide
| # | Date | Cover artist | Story | Story artist | Host and synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | April/May 1950 | Johnny Craig | Portrait In Wax! | Johnny Craig | The Vault-Keeper A greedy man murders his roommate and dumps the corpse in a vat of acid in order to profit from his artistic work. A strange old man and his creepy wax museum enter the man's life to exact some vengeance. |
| The Werewolf Legend | Wally Wood Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he... & Harry Harrison Harry Harrison Harry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green... |
None Walter Mallory is a rich heir who believes that he is the culprit of several gruesome murders about his estate. Murders only happen on the night of a full moon. |
|||
| Horror in the Night | Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic... |
None Tom Hawkins owns a roadside motel and relates to his friend the story of his strange dream in which a man and his ghoulish wife rent a room and a night of murder ensues. But it's just a dream. |
|||
| Terror Train | Al Feldstein Al Feldstein Albert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife... |
None Gloria is convinced her husband Ralph is trying to kill her, so she runs off and boards a train. Problem is Ralph keeps popping up everywhere she looks, even in a lonely cabin that contains a single open coffin. |
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| 13 | June/July 1950 | The Dead Will Return! | Al Feldstein | The Vault-Keeper Bert and Florence have just done away with the latter's husband and dump his body into the sea next to the lighthouse he used to own, hoping to find a hidden stash of money near the place. Too bad that the ever-rotting corpse keeps washing up on the shore. |
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| The Curse of Harkley Heath | Wally Wood & Harry Harrison | None Charles, Sybil, Edgar are the last heirs to the crumbling remains of Harkley Heath which is reported to have a curse on it. When Charles and Edgar plot to get Sybil out of the way, they find out the true power of the curse. |
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| Doctor of Horror | Graham Ingels Graham Ingels Graham Ingels was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt, horror titles written and edited by Al Feldstein, and The Vault of Horror, written and edited by Feldstein and Johnny Craig... |
None Poor Doctor Lemonet must find a way to bring in more students into his anatomy classes, but there is a shortage in cadavers. So the good physician turns to grave robbing and a little foul play. |
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| Island of Death | Harvey Kurtzman | None Steve and Alec's jet crashes into a lonely island in the Pacific, Alec seeming to have disappeared. Steve then comes upon a castle where a strange count and his manservant live. The count enjoys a good game of sport, especially when it comes to hunting humans. |
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| 14 | |Aug/Sept 1950 | Voodoo Vengeance! | Johnny Craig | The Vault-Keeper A befuddled old husband realizes his beautiful wife is having an affair with a younger man and turns to a voodo priest for assistance. He is given a doll in the likeness of his wife which he uses to inflict a little payback. |
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| Werewolf | Jules Feiffer Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer is an American syndicated cartoonist, most notable for his long-run comic strip titled Feiffer. He has created more than 35 books, plays and screenplays... & Harry Harrison |
None A group of hikers take residence in a mountaintop cabin but Jan Bodzla, the Romanian guide, believes that one of them is a ravenous werewolf and will do anything to kill the beast. |
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| Rats Have Sharp Teeth! | Graham Ingels | None Abner Tucker uses his position as town historian to rob the graves of the wealthy but is pestered by the filthy rats that scuttle about the underground tunnels. He sets up traps to slay the rodents, but those furry fiends will chew through anything. |
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| The Strange Couple! | Al Feldstein | The Vault-Keeper A you-are-the-narrator story where your car has stalled on a lonely road one dark and stormy night. You decide to seek shelter in a nearby cottage where the vampire husband and his ghoul wife are just dying to let you stay the night. |
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| 15 | Oct/Nov 1950 | Horror House! | Johnny Craig | The Vault-Keeper Henry is a struggling comic book writer whose rowdy friends throw parties everyday in his apartment, so he rents a lonely house in the country which is rumored to be haunted. In an attempt to get him back, three of his friends plan to scare him out of the house with smoke and mirrors. If only they knew that something was lurking inside. |
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| Terror in the Swamp! | Al Feldstein | Old Witch An old hermit relates to two travelers the story of a group of scientists who accidentally created an amoeba that devoured anything in its path and grew with each feeding. The travelers should have heeded the tale. |
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| Report from the Grave | Jack Kamen Jack Kamen Jack Kamen was an illustrator from Brooklyn, New York. His first professional job was as an assistant to a sculptor working for the Texas Centennial. He studied sculpture with Agop Agopoff and was a student of Harvey Dunn, George Brandt Bridgman and William C. McNulty... |
The Vault-Keeper As part of his initiation into the Vault-Keeper's Club, Warren must go into the local cemetery and retrieve a watch from a recently deceased member. When he discovers a molding skeleton in its place, Warren unearths a mystery of murder and revenge. |
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| Buried Alive! | Graham Ingels | The Vault-Keeper Two carnival workers, Sam "The Great Zobo" and his girlfriend Rita, plot to blackmail a rich man of murdering the Great Zobo who has the talent of "shallow breathing." When Rita decides to leave Sam six feet under, a series of circumstances allow him to get revenge. |
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| 16 | Dec/Jan 1951 | Werewolf Concerto | Johnny Craig | The Vault-Keeper Hubert Antone is the manager of a hotel in Hungary whose customers are being murdered by what appears to be a savage animal. The arrival of a strange pianist adds to the mystery, and things start getting hairy. |
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| Fitting Punishment | Graham Ingels | The Vault-Keeper Stanley is an orphan who goes to the home of his miserly Uncle Ezra and assists him in his undertaking business. Ezra is a fanatic penny pincher and decides to kill his nephew in order to fill an unwanted coffin. He's a bit too tall for it though. |
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| The Grave Wager | Jack Kamen | Vault-Keeper Paul, Clyde and Roger attend a carnival where they see Pirro, The Wax Man who has the ability to stay completely still. Paul and Clyde plot to pull a practical joke on Roger by betting him that he could not spend an entire night in a room with a corpse (Pirro in actuality). When Pirro decides to scare Roger, the real horror begins. |
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| Escape! | Al Feldstein | Old Witch Pete Luger is a hardened criminal who serves in the prison's rockyard, lugging bricks back and forth. He soon hits upon the idea to stow himself away in a coffin and be driven out of prison in the hearse. Once he seals himself up in the casket, the heat is on. |
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| 17 | Feb/March 1951 | Terror On The Moors! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper Jim Ryan gets stranded on the moors and decides to spend the night in a crumbling mansion nearby. The old man and his servant who live there seem to be oblivious to the bloodcurdling screams and frantic scratchings that ring out in the house. |
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| Baby... It's Cold Inside! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Barton Gordon applies for the job of superintendent at an apartment and meets the ghoulish-looking and strangely mannered landlord Marcus Kingsley who insists that his room be refrigerated at all times. When the air conditioner busts, a foul odor emanates from Kingley's room. |
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| The Beast of the Full Moon! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Vault-Keeper Tom believes his brother Andrew was inflicted with the curse of the werewolf on a hunting trip and the recent string of murders seem to confirm his suspicions. He sets a trap for his brother and plans to end his mayhem once and for all. |
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| Voodoo Horror! | Jack Kamen | Crypt-Keeper George Barker visits Haiti to have a voodoo bust of his likeness made and the strange priest performs the weird ritual. Returning to the States, George remains young as the bust takes on the evil of his deeds. |
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| 18 | April/May 1951 | Sink-Hole! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper Sick of her boring farm life and stingy, elderly husband Aldous, Shirley knocks him over the head with a frying pan and hurls the body into a yawning sink hole. But she should've known that all's well that ends well. |
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| Lend Me a Hand! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper The brilliant Dr. Johnstone gets in a terrible car accident and must have his right hand removed. Devastated, he murders a wino, cuts off his hand and buries him in the garden. Johnstone then attempts to revive the hand in his laboratory. |
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| The Mask of Horror | Jack Kamen | Vault-Keeper Ken purchases a ghoulish zombie mask from a dusty costume shop, the eerie proprietor stating that his masks reflect the character of the people who wear them. After spying on his cheating wife, he meets a mysterious woman in a vampire mask at a masquerade who shows him a fangtastic time. |
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| Dying to Lose Weight! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Dr. Perdo arrives in a small town offering a miracle formula to help cure obesity in the form of capsules. The results are amazing as the customers start slimming down... and then waste away. And when the town physician examines one of the corpses, he reveals just what was inside the pills. |
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| 19 | June/July 1951 | Southern Hospitality | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A seemingly sweet young man marries into a rich Southern family to reap all the benefits, and ultimately tears up the family, but only to be visited by a very angry, vengeful ancestor. |
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| The Jellyfish! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper Two doctored brothers find their relationship torn when one sends the other to jail for "tampering" with a patient's insulin, but while in jail the brother decides to create a revengeful plan. |
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| Daddy Lost His Head!! | Jack Kamen | Vault-Keeper An abusive father gets his just deserts at the hands of his young daughter after she befriends a peculiar neighbor. |
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| Reunion! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch An unfaithful wife decides to get involved with another man when her husband becomes terminally ill, and meets him every couple of years deep in the marsh, even when he's been dead for years... |
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| 20 | Aug/Sept 1951 | About Face! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A renowned lion trainer finds herself horribly disfigured after she's attacked by a panther, and locks herself away from the world, until she meets Steve, her sweet talking limo driver and soon marries him. But she soon finds that he is only in it for the money, and decides to take revenge on his beauty too by using witchcraft. |
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| The Reluctant Vampire! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper A lazy vampire decides to work for a blood bank since he doesn't like killing to quench his thirst, but when the bank goes into debt, he decides to help fill it up... with the blood of innocent townsfolk. |
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| Grandma's Ghost! | Jack Kamen | Vault-Keeper Peggy, a young girl, finds herself in the care of her wicked aunt and uncle when her Grandma dies from heart failure, a death that could have been stopped by the aunt and uncle who are after her money. But when the will is read, they find that Peggy has inherited all her Grandma's money, so they decide to do away with the little girl, but not if Grandma has anything to say about it! |
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| Revenge Is the Nuts! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch An old insane asylum is run by a cruel, wicked man who delights in beating and torturing his patients, only to find that revenge can really be the nuts! |
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| 21 | Oct/Nov 1951 | One Last Fling! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper Harry and Olga, a married circus couple, find their life torn apart, when Olga is turned into a vampire and cannot control her quench for human blood, including Harry's own blood, but how can she be stopped? |
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| That's a 'Croc'! | Howard Larsen | Old Witch A crazed, lonely zookeeper obsessed with the crocodile pit, sees to it that they are fed promptly and suitably, even going as far as to supplying them with what the maneaters crave: man. |
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| Child's Play | Jack Kamen | Vault-Keeper Four boys find themselves victims of harassment by a mean, nasty man who won't let anyone near his house, so after catching him beat his wife to death, and steal their football, they decide to get even by scaring him... to death |
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| Trapped! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper A con man boards a train to lie low for a while and finds himself in a small house that has been rumored to be cursed, so he kills the owner and decides to hide out there, but does indeed find that the land is cursed. |
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| 22 | Dec/Jan 1952 | Fountains Of Youth! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper When Ken's sister Eileen ages to death overnight while in the care of a woman by the name Madame DuBois, he decides to find out the truth by following her new young female assistant, which leads to the "rotten" truth |
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| The Monster In The Ice!! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Two geologists and an eskimo find a grotesque body frozen in ice and decide to bring it back with them, but while traveling they realize the body might actually be the body of the true Frankenstein, and soon find it missing... |
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| Gone... Fishing! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper Two friends go fishing together at a local beach, where Max shows off his mean-spirited nature by making all the fish he catches suffer gruesome deaths while Steve protests. But later on in the day, Max finds himself in the fins of death, and learns what goes around comes around. |
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| What The Dog Dragged In! | Jack Kamen | Vault-Keeper Betty, a lonely, blind woman lives her life by sending out her trusted dog to fetch supplies and food for her, until one day when he is struck by a car. The driver takes him to the vet and gets him fixed up and returns him to Betty, where he falls in love with her, only to die in a car crash while leaving. Betty becomes depressed when she never hears from the man again, and sends out her dog to find him, but she should be careful what she wishes for... |
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| 23 | Feb/March 1952 | A Stitch In Time! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A sewing machine sweat shop run by a cruel, heartless man erupts into terror when the factory girls decide to get even with their cruel boss after he mistreats one of the girls. |
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| 99 44/100% Pure Horror! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper Ernie, the spoiled cocky owner of a soap company finds that the former owner, who "mysteriously disappeared" has returned in the form of a bar of soap to "cleanse" Ernie's soul... |
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| Dead Wait! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Vault-Keeper Red Buckley, a sleazy con artist, finds his way to a rich plantation where he assists for the wealthy owner who has a renowned black pearl hidden somewhere on the plantation. With Kulu, the native servant of the plantation, Red devises a plan of murder and robbery, but soon finds himself in over his head. |
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| Staired... In Horror! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch A greedy widow meets a rich widower in a cemetery and begins to hit it off hoping to inherit his fortune, but her fear of spiral staircases ultimately decides her doom. |
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| 24 | April/May 1952 | A Bloody Undertaking! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A mortician begins dating a beautiful young woman who helps him find an assistant, a creepy, weird assistant who has a habit of disappearing whenever a vampire related death strikes the town... |
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| ...With All The Trappings! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch An poor elderly man decides to save his earnings during the winter to have a proper burial for his recently deceased wife, but how will she keep til then? |
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| Impressed By A Nightmare! | Joe Orlando Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades... |
Vault-Keeper Emma, an everyday housewife finds herself plagued by nightmares that show what happens in the future, and tries to save her family from the fate that lies ahead. |
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| The Death Wagon! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper Two con car salesmen begin to sell their doomed cars to poor innocent people, only to find that no "good" deed goes unpunished. |
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| 25 | June/July 1952 | Seance! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper Two con artists target a rich man whose wife believes in psychics, spirits, and mediums, but find that ghosts and spirits are nothing to BOOl around with... |
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| Kickin' The Gong A Round! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper A heavyweight boxer is blackmailed by a fellow boxer into losing the fight between them, but when he loses his life as well, the boxer returns for one more match... |
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| Practical Yolk! | Jack Kamen | Vault-Keeper A rich sportsman hires an African safari expert to help him navigate while traveling the world and brings him home to meet his fiancee, but with the help of black magic, his safari expert can make any of his wishes come scarily true. |
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| Collection Completed! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Anita, a middle aged woman who spends all her time caring for stray animals, finds her life turned inside out when her annoyed pet hating husband begins a new hobby...taxidermy! And Anita's strays will do just fine... |
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| 26 | Aug/Sept 1952 | Two Of A Kind! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A vampire and a ghoul begin to date eager to kill one another for nourishment, but find they really love each other, but will love keep them away from each other's throats when they get snowed in at a cabin?... |
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| Graft In Concrete! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper Four counsel men devise a plan to build a road over a cemetery to expand their resources, but the dead have their own opinions.... |
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| Half-Way Horrible! | Sid Check | Vault-Keeper A man finds that he has multiple personalities, his good side and a bad, wicked side, so he travels to Haiti to find a voodoo priest to kill the bad side, only to find out he should have known how literal the deal was... |
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| Hook, Line And Stinker! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch A lonely middle aged woman spends her time waiting for her boyfriend, Stanley to pop the question, the only problem, Stanley is supposedly in love with fishing, so she comes up with a plan to really hook, line, and sink her man. |
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| 27 | Oct/Nov 1952 | Silver Threads Among The Mold! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A nerdy sculptor uses his beautiful girlfriend as his model for his sculptures, but when he catches her with another man, he sculpts one last sculpture with her as not just the model... |
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| People Who Live In Brass Hearses... | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper Lionel Byrd is a quiet, odd old man who travels everywhere in a hearse-wagon, and no one knows why, why he nevers get off it or why he lives all alone in a cabin in the woods. But when two criminals hold up in his cabin, they unfortunately find out the whole truth. |
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| Strictly From Hunger! | George Evans | Vault-Keeper A monstrous blob begins to terrorize a small town, and with the help of the town doctor, they figure out where it came from and why it's happening, but how can it be stopped? |
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| A Grim Fairy Tale! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Once upon a time, a selfish king and queen owned a kingdom infested with rats, rats that ate everything(and everyone) they could get, but the king and queen loved rats and wouldn't have them killed, so the townspeople found a way to get even... |
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| 28 | Dec/Jan 1953 | Till Death... | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A rich estate owner marries his wife in Haiti, but soon loses her to a rare tropical disease, thinking that his life is over, he entrusts in his native servant to create a voodoo ritual to bring her back. But this love spell isn't all it's croaked up to be.... |
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| The Chips Are Down! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper Three saw mill workers are presented with an offer to create wooden discs for the government, and greedily accept, but soon jealousy, greed, and murder begin to get in the way... |
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| For How The Bell Tolls! | George Evans | Vault-Keeper A bell ringer's assistant becomes jealous after waiting thirty four years to ring the bell, and murders him in cold blood, but he soon learns he should have been scareful what he wished for! |
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| We Ain't Got No Body! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Three friends find themselves stalked and murdered by Henri, their fourth friend who they pushed off a train in order to earn his money. |
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| 29 | Feb/March 1953 | The Mausoleum! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A man kills his elderly uncle in order to sell the family castle. This plan backfires when he tries to tear down the attached mausoleum Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the... . |
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| Let's Play Poison! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt-Keeper A child-hating schoolteacher is caught up in a sinister playground game. |
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| A Sock For Christmas | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper In a mythical kingdom, a peasant child is sent to the royal castle to be a companion to the spoiled young prince, but his family receives an unexpected surprise on Christmas Day ... |
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| Pickled Pints! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Two conmen begin soliciting the homeless for "blood donations" to be sold on to the hospital, but when one of their victims gives a little too much blood, they find themselves paying the price. |
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| 30 | April/May 1953 | Split Personality! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper A conman tricks a pair of reclusive twin sisters into dating him so he can get his hands on their money, with terrifying results when they discover the ruse. |
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| Who Doughnut? | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper A crime reporter believes there is a supernatural explanation behind a series of strange killings in town. |
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| Practical Choke! | George Evans | Vault Keeper Three medical students use the dismembered parts of a corpse to play gruesome pranks. The corpse, however, has other ideas. |
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| Notes To You! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch A group of men seek revenge on the writer of anonymous "poison pen" letters which have brought disaster to the town. |
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| 31 | June/July 1953 | Easel Kill Ya! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper An impoverished artist begins to commit murders so he can paint pictures of gruesome death scenes to satisfy a sadistic collector. |
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| A Peach Of A Plot! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper When a man denies murdering his wife seven years previously, a very vital clue turns out to be growing in his garden ... |
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| The Lake | Joe Orlando Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades... |
Vault Keeper Written by Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th... . A man returns to the scene of where his first love drowned many years before. |
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| One Good Turn... | Graham Ingels | Old Witch A charitable woman has an unusual way of "helping" the people in her care. |
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| 32 | Aug/Sept 1953 | Whirlpool | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper A woman finds herself in an endless tortured nightmare, a nightmare which she can't seem to wake from. |
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| Out Of His Head! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper A lawyer kills his law partner with a cleaver to the head and disposes his body, only to see him everywhere when he gets back to his lonely penthouse late that night. |
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| An Ample Sample | George Evans | Vault Keeper Irwin and Hannah were the perfect couple, until Hannah began spending all their money on boxes of chocolate and candy, fattening herself up and leaving them poor, but soon she finds that "you are what you eat", is dead right... |
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| Funeral Disease! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch An old man saves up his money so he can have a proper burial with flowers, music, and mourners, since his family was buried in a wood box under the ground, but when two "friends" of the family decide to do away with him and steal his money, burying him in the ground in a coffin, he comes back for a proper burial, he just needs a body..... |
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| 33 | Oct/Nov 1953 | Together They Lie! | Reed Crandall Reed Crandall Reed Crandall was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. He was best known for the Quality Comics character Blackhawk and for stories in the critically acclaimed EC Comics of the 1950s.Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early... |
Vault Keeper A rich man finds his life turned upside down when his wife dies in a fire, but finds out the half truth about the fire by his scheming maid and lawyer, but secrets don't make friends....from the grave.... |
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| Let The Punishment Fit the Crime! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper A town slowly catches onto the true horror of a group of kids carrying a coffin to a grave, when the think about the questions they asked the town lawyer, doctor, funeral director, and electrician. |
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| A Slight Case Of Murder! | George Evans | Vault Keeper Doc Swanson, travels to a nearby town that is being terrorized by a string of bloody female murders with an answer to who (or what) is committing the crimes. |
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| Strung Along! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Tony, a renowned puppet master, is forced into retirement when his heart gives out, and finds that his wife never loved him, and was only with him for the money. But at least his marionettes are with him to keep him company, even carrying out his wishes... |
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| 34 | Dec/Jan 1954 | Star Light, Star Bright! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper A man takes the position as master of an insane asylum, and begins to become paranoid that the inmates are out to get him, but that can't be right...can it? |
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| While The Cat's Away... | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper John and Frank, two sleazy travel agents, use their job to send rich people on beautiful vacations so they can rob their houses while they're gone, but the two find themselves in one mighty fine predicament when the break into a house of horrors. |
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| Smoke Wrings | Reed Crandall Reed Crandall Reed Crandall was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. He was best known for the Quality Comics character Blackhawk and for stories in the critically acclaimed EC Comics of the 1950s.Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early... |
Vault Keeper A shy, nerdy salesman sells his idea about expanding the production of cigarettes to the company's business sauvy female boss. But when she decides to keep the idea and get the salesmen out of the picture, she finds she may also get "burned".. |
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| Where There's A Will... | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Mr. Farber, a dying old man wants to pass on his money to his "loving" family instead of towards a children's orphanage, but finds out (with the help of his lawyer) that maybe his family just wants the money, so they stage a phony funeral, with deadly results. |
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| 35 | February/March 1954 | ...And All Through The House... | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper A housewife murders her husband on Christmas Eve only to find she is trapped in the house by an escaped mental patient dressed up as Santa Claus, a CHEER classic! |
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| Tombs-Day! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper A group of expediters in search of a missing group of people who traveled into an Egyptian tomb, find themselves locked in the same tomb with the terror that left the first group dead. |
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| Beauty Rest | Jack Kamen | Vault Keeper Helen, a jealous wannabe model/actress, decides to steal her roommate Joyce's moment in glory as Miss Corpse of 1954, but finds that modeling can be murder... |
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| Shoe-Button Eyes! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch A little boy who was born blind, finds comfort in his teddy bear with blue shoe button eyes and his single mother, but when his mother remarries an abusive drunk, he learns that toys can really be loyal.... |
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| 36 | April/May 1954 | Twin Bill! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper A man murders his wife and her adulterous lover with the promise they will now be "together forever." He soon finds out how true this is when he attempts to recover his car from the scene of the crime. |
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| Witch Witch's Witch! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper A young nobleman causes scandal by abandoning his fiancee to marry a new woman. When an evil plague strikes the town, his bride is accused of sorcery, but is she really the witch responsible? |
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| Pipe Dream | Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B... |
Vault Keeper In ancient China, an old man who frequents an opium den Opium den An opium den was an establishment where opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America and France... discovers that his smoke-induced hallucinations are coming true. |
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| Two-Timed! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch A young boy barely escapes with his life after witnessing a murder. Many years later, he attempts to kill his own adulterous wife, but finds his past coming back to haunt him. |
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| 37 | June/July 1954 | Surprise Party! | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper A handsome, young man drives to a town where he's inherited some land, and goes out for a night on the town, finding an unmapped road that leads to a dance party at a mansion, a dance party that proves history has a nasty way of repeating itself... |
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| Chop Talk! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper Emil, an average everyday civilian kills his lover when she ends their relationship, and finds that her husband is his executioner with more than just an axe to bury... |
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| Take Care | Al Williamson Al Williamson Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy... |
Vault Keeper An old man looking for money, takes a job as a caretaker for a lonely, old house where a rich, dying man was murdered by his assistant, the only problem, the killer was never apprehended and that's not just the house making noises... |
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| Oh! Henry! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch A hard nosed cop who finds pleasure in booking criminals catches an old woman stealing from a grocery store and arrests her, throwing her in jail for sixty days despite her pleas about her so-called husband, Henry. |
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| 38 | Aug/Sept 1954 | Any Sport In A Storm | Johnny Craig | Vault Keeper A rude fisherman stops in a harbor where legend has it that a sea hag claims any man she meets, not believing the legend, he goes out to sea to deliver his shipped goods, finding a light house, and that the legend may not just be a legend... |
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| Coffin Spell! | Jack Davis Jack Davis (cartoonist) Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories... |
Crypt Keeper Nadyi and Janos, two grave robbers rob graves to supply a college professor cadavers for his students to dissect, but when they discover several coffins in a mausoleum, they find that this grave robbing may be their last. |
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| The Catacombs | Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B... |
Vault Keeper Two French men rob a man of his silver and decide to hide it in the catacombs till the police stop looking, only problem is that the wine trail they left has mysteriously vanished, and their lantern is about to go out. |
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| Out Of Sight... | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Clyde Evans, a circus marvel by the name The Great Brain begins to mistreat his slow, but giant assistant Benny, who turns to one of the top dancers, Hulda for help. She soon falls in love with Benny and tries to protect him, but finds that she too is victim to Clyde, so finally Benny decides to stand up for himself, ending the showdown with a bloody finish. |
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| 39 | Oct/Nov 1954 | Deadly Beloved! | Johnny Craig | Vault—Keeper A struggling writer finds himself stranded on a swamp background, and seeks shelter in a burned house owned by the beautiful Eloise, a girl he would gladly die for. |
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| Top Billing | Reed Crandall Reed Crandall Reed Crandall was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. He was best known for the Quality Comics character Blackhawk and for stories in the critically acclaimed EC Comics of the 1950s.Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early... |
Crypt Keeper Three struggling actors come across a theatre and meet the frazzled director and beg him for a part, but soon the friends begin to turn on each other for the part, a part that's a dead guarantee. |
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| The Purge | Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B... |
Vault Keeper A king finds himself falling for a beautiful woman who is locked up for execution, and decides to have a sorcerer cleanse her soul, and rid her of the devil she is possessed by, but not all intentions are pure... |
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| All For Gnawt | Graham Ingels | Old Witch Millie, a crude bluebeard-ess, answers an ad about an old rich man seeking company, and moves in with him, only to find that he hides his money somewhere in the house, that is if the rats that have infested the house, haven't found it. |
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| 40 | Dec/Jan 1955 | Old Man Mose! | Johnny Craig | Vault-Keeper A frontiersman and his wife take pity on the town pariah, an elderly hunchback Hunchback Hunchback may refer to one of the following.*A derogatory term for a person who has severe kyphosis*The Hunchback of Notre Dame*Hunchback , an arcade and computer game from the 1980s*The Hunchback, a 1914 film featuring Lillian Gish... named Mose, and hire him as a handyman on their ranch. Things go well at first, until a dead body is found, brutally slaughtered. |
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| An Harrow Escape! | Joe Orlando Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades... |
Crypt-Keeper A dying yachtsman tells two Coast Guard Coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with... officers about his and his fiancee's nightmarish stay on the island of Castle Harrow, and how they escaped. At least, he thought they had. |
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| The Pit! | Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B... |
Vault-Keeper To pay for their wives' extravagant lifestyles, two men secretly hold cockfights and dog fights Dog fighting Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling.... , until Lila and Beatrice's vicious jealousy of one another drives them to hold a catfight Catfight Catfight is a term for an altercation between two women, typically involving scratching, slapping, hair-pulling, and shirt-shredding as opposed to punching or wrestling . However, the term is not exclusively used to indicate a fight between women, and many formal definitions do not invoke gender... . |
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| Ashes To Ashes! | Graham Ingels | Old Witch In a twist on the Frankenstein Frankenstein Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first... story, father and son have passed down an experiment to create life by artificially stimulating evolution Evolution Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth... in ooze dug from the primordial Abiogenesis Abiogenesis or biopoesis is the study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose... muck of a swamp. Finally, the experiment has birthed life, and Emil, last of the Frankensteins, is to oversee the creature's rearing into adulthood, and finally the wedding to its unsuspecting betrothed. |
Sources
- Goulart, Ron. Great American Comic Books. Publications International, Ltd., 2001. ISBN 0785355901.
- Overstreet, Robert L. Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. House of Collectibles, 2004.