Dates
- Cover date
- February-March 1955
- Pages
- 36
Editions and covers
- Original editionSource ↗
Creators
Stories
- In Memoriam · 1 pages
An editorial on how the horror and shock books are being cancelled due to the community and congressional backlash against these type of books. Also how EC Comics would continue with "New New Trend" titles (later renamed "New Direction" titles).
- Upon Reflection · The Crypt of Terror · 8 pages
The mayor of a small town vows revenge upon a werewolf that killed his wife. On the night of the next full moon, he and his posse encounter a woman they suspect may be the culprit, so he returns to his library to check on the signs of a werewolf in human form. When he enters the darkened room, he sees the werewolf's snarling face looming in front of him, and shoots several times. When the posse enters, they see the mayor (the werewolf) shooting at his own reflection in a mirror!
- Blind Alleys · The Vault of Horror! · 7 pages
The blind victims of an unscrupulous and cruel director lock him and his dog up for several days without food and then release them into a maze with razor blades embedded into the walls. And then turn out the lights. The last thing the director sees is his now wild starving dog lunging at him.
- Gone To Seed · 1 pages
A farmer kills his wife and attempts to bury her out in the field before any of the farmhands can see what he's doing. However he accidentally pushes the lever of his plow and it shreds him to pieces.
- Success Story · 6 pages
A woman and her parents move in with a man they nag constantly to get ahead in the world because he can't afford their demands for gadgets. Eventually the nagging pushes him over the edge and he returns from the kitchen brandishing a meat cleaver. He giggles to the arresting officers "I not only got ahead, I got three heads." as they look over the three severed heads on silver platters in the dining room.
- Tatter Up! · The Witch's Cauldron! · 7 pages
Tony Barrett marries a rich but decrepit old woman for her money. When he can't find her hidden fortune he murders her. Meanwhile the local ragman (who was smitten with her) murders Tony for revenge. You see this ragman was a supernatural being literally made up entirely of rags that she had constantly donated to him.
Reprinted in
E.C. Classic Reprint (1973), Tales from the Crypt (1979), Tales from the Crypt (1994), The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (2012), Tales from the Crypt (1964), EC Portfolio (1971), Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious E.C. Comics! (2005), Choke Gasp! The Best of 75 Years of EC Comics (2019), Home to Stay! The Complete EC Ray Bradbury Stories (2022)