Dates
- Cover date
- August-September 1951
- On sale
- May 23, 1951
- Pages
- 36
Editions and covers
- Original editionSource ↗
Creators
Stories
- About Face! · The Vault of Horror! · 8 pages
Lydia was a circus lion tamer and considered the best, until one evening she was attacked and severely injured by a black panther. After her recovery, she took to wearing a veil and literally retired from the world. She began to pore over books on witchcraft, hoping to find a solution when her chauffeur, Steve, began to act as if he was in love with her. When he took her money and ran off with another woman, Lydia swore revenge and cast a spell restoring her face but, in Florida, Steve's face had become rotting flesh!
- The Reluctant Vampire! · The Crypt of Terror · 7 pages
Mr. Drink, a vampire, has a job as night watchman at the local Blood Donor Center, and he has used this job to secure his daily supply of blood, then doctors the books to make everything appear legitimate. But one evening, the record book is missing, forcing him to kill someone to replace the blood he has supped on. When Drink discovers that the blood center is to be closed unless the facility takes in twice the amount of blood it does now, Drink decides to kill more victims to restock the shelves. The center's director reports this to the Police, bringing the case to an unusual end.
- Deception · 2 pages
As Melton flew along in his plane, he thought sure he was going to beat a murder rap for killing Paul Robson by staging the killing to have been perpetrated by a right-handed man. In his mind, even if the Police eventually discovered that Melton used his right hand to commit the crime, he'd be out of the country by then and out of their jurisdiction. He chuckled at the thought of his deception! Suddenly, the plane's engine sputtered and died on him, so Melton donned his parachute and jumped out of the plane....but he couldn't reach the rip-cord ring! Two days later, his body was found in a crater made by his body....his parachute still unopened and the rip-cord ring in its place on the left shoulder strap....waiting to be pulled by the right hand!
- Grandma's Ghost!! · The Vault of Horror · 6 pages
Little Peggy is awoken from her sleep by her Grandmother, who is having a heat attack. She asks for her pills, but they are not to be found on the nightstand, and by the time Peggy finds them in another room, her Grandmother has passed away. After the funeral, Peggy's Aunt Helen and Uncle Lawrence were celebrating with each other, thinking they have inherited all of the old woman's money. But at the reading of the will, they learn the money goes to Peggy....at the age of 22....so they plot to kill her. Meanwhile, Peggy is seeking out the friendship of the gardner, who pays more attention to her that her aunt and uncle. That evening, Peggy tells her "new folks" that Grandma came to see her and told her that the gardner was a fine man to associate with....but her aunt and uncle say NO! The next day, all three go on a picnic and Uncle Lawrence sees an opportunity to push Peggy off a cliff. Unfortunately, he goes over the cliff instead when Peggy "sees" her Grandma and moves out of the way. Later that day, Aunt Helen is already counting the fortune as hers, and grabs Peggy by the arm to the basement, opens the furnace door to push her in when Peggy sees her Grandma again.....as does Helen....and Helen falls back into the flames! Peggy then becomes the responsibility of the gardner.
- Revenge is the Nuts! · The Witch's Cauldron! · 7 pages
At the eerie Croydon Insane Asylum, horrible screams are heard as patients are being whipped, and as Mr. Aldershot, a relative of a patient, is in Blackpool's office in response to a letter from his patient-relative. Blackpool tells him that these people are filled with evil spirits and his "treatments" are the only way to deal with the patients...and he kicks the man out. Blackpool then retreats to the dungeon-basement area and has the patient taken back to the ward, where the other patients are shocked by what has happened. As days drag by, Blackpool continues to tease and mistreat the patients, unknowing that the patients have decided to strike back. That evening, as Blackpool sat in his office, the door bursts in and the patients drag him to the dungeon, and to the cell of an insane patient named Olaf [many times maltreated himself], and gleefully watch as Olaf tears him apart!
Reprinted in
The EC Archives: The Vault of Horror (2021), The Vault of Horror (1982), Vault of Horror (1994), The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (2012), Choke Gasp! The Best of 75 Years of EC Comics (2019)