Creepy Worlds #122

A massive alien spacecraft streaks across Earth's skies at 15,000 mph, its frictional heat scorching cities below—and Space Marshal Larkin scrambles to mount a defense before the mysterious invader and its growing armada touch down. When the ships finally land in the Arizona desert, humanity deploys its ultimate weapon, a devastating cold-ray system, to stop what appears to be an unstoppable threat. But as the dust settles and investigators sift through the wreckage, they discover a message that challenges everything they thought they knew about the visitors' true intentions.

Jim Denton transforms his passion for the Old West into a museum housed in a creepy old mansion, complete with authentic relics including a weathered covered wagon bearing the mark "Brennan Oregon or Bust." But his grand opening comes with an unwelcome guest—mysterious screams and visions that haunt the building each night, forcing Jim to question whether his mind or something far stranger is at work. As he searches for answers about the wagon's dark past, Jim finds himself caught between reality and the supernatural echoes of a tragedy that won't stay buried.

Dr. Mauritius Hood of the Institute of Psychic Phenomena explores the murky origins of the superstition that throwing your hat on a bed brings bad luck, tracing it through four different historical accounts—from a thief in medieval Baghdad to a prospector in Nevada's Badlands. Each tale illustrates how a hat landing on a bed preceded disaster, though the doctor reminds us that superstitions are far from absolute. A final story shows that sometimes, the old saying might just work in reverse.

Stubby Hoffmeyer is the town drunk and chronic liar of Tinkle Corners, Iowa—a man so unreliable that nobody believes a word he says, no matter what yarn he spins. When he accidentally falls asleep inside an unmanned rocket destined for a distant planet, he finds himself on the ride of his life, encountering bizarre creatures and alien cities that would make even his wildest tall tales seem tame. Back home and bursting to tell his story, Stubby discovers that being truthful about the impossible might be even harder than getting people to believe his lies.

Captain Steve Wyatt has earned a legendary reputation for fearlessness—from wrestling a carnival lion as a boy to dominating the boxing ring and the football field—and now he's been selected to train among America's finest astronauts for a secret deep space mission. As he competes against equally formidable candidates like test pilot Martin Gregory and explorer Tony Forest, Wyatt discovers that raw courage alone may not be enough when confronted with the staggering perils of rocket flight and the unknown horrors of outer space. The question becomes whether the man the country has crowned "the bravest" can survive challenges that go far beyond anything Earth has to offer.

An expedition searching for ancient cave drawings takes an unexpected turn when explorers discover a hidden cavern beneath the first—one that contains artwork depicting a mythological centaur, created by a civilization far older than those above. When Dr. Boles and a companion uncover the skeletal remains behind a loose stone, they come face-to-face with proof that such creatures were real, only to watch the impossible specimen crumble to dust the moment it meets fresh air. A tantalizing find that the world may never believe.