Astounding Stories #187

In "The Jaguar vs. the Mind Monster!", Jo confronts a terrifying new threat after a malfunctioning memory ray transforms a common thief into a deformed psionic entity. With the city in danger and her own memories altered, Jo must face a mind-powered adversary born from science gone wrong—before the mind monster strikes again.

In "The Secret Laboratory of Dr. Domino," a conman preys on the hopes of elderly women with a fake youth-restoring act—using a cabinet to swap an old woman for young girls in plain sight. When a sorceress arrives, demanding the same miracle, his deception is exposed, and the price of his fraud comes swiftly. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this eerie 1987 tale from *Astounding Stories* #187 plays with illusion, age, and the cost of false promises.

In "Punishment!" from Astounding Stories #187, a hardened mugger is sent to a prison planet where war, crime, and disease run rampant—only a few fleeting moments there are enough to make him reconsider his life. The experience is so overwhelming that he vows to change, desperate to never return to Earth.

In "Beware...the Ticking Clocks!" from Astounding Stories #187, a king finds himself trapped in his own clockroom as an assassin closes in—only to see the intruder suddenly frozen, transformed into yet another silent figure on the king’s cherished timepiece. The story unfolds in eerie stillness, where every tick carries weight and the line between time and terror blurs.

In "The Twin!" from Astounding Stories #187, two brothers locked in a lifelong rivalry find their dynamic turned deadly when the younger one resolves to kill his older sibling—only to realize, too late, that the first brother already anticipated him. The story unfolds with a chilling precision, tracing the quiet tension between two men whose fates are bound by birth and competition.

In "The Green Things!" from Astounding Stories #187, a lonely retiree finds quiet companionship in the lush greenhouse he tends with care. When a desperate burglar breaks in, the plants he’s long spoken to suddenly move—protecting their keeper in a moment that blurs the line between life and leaf.

In "Marion's Murder!" from *Astounding Stories* #187, a man’s quiet resentment turns to violence when he kills his wife, only to discover too late that the day he planned to bury her is also their wedding anniversary—his wife had secretly organized a surprise party, and the cellar lights reveal a room full of guests waiting to celebrate.

In "The Hidden Face," a bigot who hides behind a hood to spread hate finds himself trapped when his own deception unravels. As he flees from the law, each attempt to remove the hood reveals another beneath it—layer after layer with no end in sight. The story, written by an unnamed author and illustrated by an unnamed artist, lingers on the quiet horror of a mind unable to face itself.