Astonishing #13

This May 1952 Atlas anthology delivers exactly what its masthead promises — "Astonishing Stories of the Supernatural" — with a cover by Bill Everett that pulls no punches: a decomposing green ghoul looms menacingly over a terrified, prone man while a grinning skeleton lurks behind, and more monstrous creatures prowl in the background. The featured story teaser warns that "a fate worse than death waits for those who dare tamper with Ghoul's Gold," setting a wonderfully grim tone, and the issue rounds out with three additional tales including "The Death Watch" and "The House on the Hill." For fans of early-'50s pre-Code horror, this is a satisfying slice of everything that made the era's anthology comics so delightfully unsettling.