Collected Works: Adventures into the Unknown #10

In "Nightmare," down-on-his-luck writer Harry stumbles into a forgotten pawn shop where he witnesses something far stranger than stolen trinkets—creatures that embody the seven deadly sins, each waiting for their next victim. Drawn into the shop’s eerie atmosphere, Harry channels the experience into his writing, crafting tales so vivid they’re snapped up by his publisher, leaving him to wonder just how much of the horror was real.

In "Death Mask!", Sam is haunted by a sand sculpture that eerily predicts his demise—only to be approached by an old woman who claims she can alter his fate, if he pays her to change the face of the sculpture. The story unfolds with quiet dread, as the line between warning and manipulation blurs in the shifting sands of fate.

In "The Monster!", Ralph’s reckless experiment unleashes a living, flesh-hungry ooze that turns on his friend Stan—leading to a chilling act of desperation when Ralph sacrifices him to keep the creature contained. A tense, visceral tale of creation and consequence, this haunting six-page story explores the cost of playing god in the quiet dread of a single, escalating moment.

In "Monster in the Fog," two fishermen take a wealthy passenger out on the water, seeking quiet and catch—until their calm is shattered by a mysterious, fog-wrapped vessel drifting at sea. Drawn by curiosity and greed, they board the abandoned craft, unaware that some secrets are best left buried beneath the waves.

In "The Year of the Bat," Chris and Norma find themselves caught in a chilling mystery when a vampire escapes from a house they pass on a late-night drive. As the truth unravels, they uncover a conspiracy tied to a hidden Mandarin vampire tomb and a military officer whose allegiance is far from what it seems. With the stakes rising and the dead walking, Chris and Norma must race to stop a far-reaching plan before it's too late.

In "The Head Man," the relentless and greedy dealer Herr Schwill becomes fixated on uncovering the secret collection of the reclusive Baron Kroger—only to discover, too late, that the Baron’s prized possessions are far more unsettling than he ever imagined. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this chilling four-page tale delivers a swift, unsettling plunge into the grotesque.

When a mysterious island rises from the sea, Jones and Havis venture ashore to investigate—only to awaken ancient horrors long buried beneath the waves. As the island's secrets stir to life, they find themselves trapped between the unknown and the monstrous.

In "The Man Who Lost His Face," plastic surgeon Dr. Camp pushes the limits of his craft with a revolutionary compound that softens bone, allowing for unprecedented reshaping. When he uses it on the gangster Mike Swayne, the results spiral beyond control—leaving both men trapped in a nightmare of identity and consequence.

In "One Bright and Shining Day," two escaped convicts stumble upon a hidden jungle where crystalline beings move like shadows beneath the trees—until one shatters, releasing a liquid that turns everything it touches to glass. As the island begins to crystallize around them, the men find themselves trapped in a slow, silent transformation, with no way out and no clear reason why.

In "The World That Time Forgot!", two scuba divers stumble upon a hidden cavern deep beneath the earth, where a forgotten society of evolved humans has survived for over seven centuries in isolation—now poised to emerge and reclaim the surface world they’ve long been cut off from.

In "Back to the Beginning," Joseph—once bound by a terrible bargain—gets a second chance when Satan grants him ten more years of life, but only if he fulfills one final, unspoken condition. With time running out, Joseph pours every ounce of his will into crafting a potion meant to break the devil’s hold, knowing that even a single misstep could cost him everything.