Dark Mysteries #12

Rita, a scheming mind-reader on the carnival midway, grows obsessed with stealing the supernatural secret of a sinister rival attraction—a man named Hamish who claims to channel the voices of the dead from an ancient vampire's grave. When she discovers his horrifying method and hatches a plan to eliminate him, Rita finds herself drawn inexorably back to that cursed burial ground, where the dead have secrets of their own.

Roland Adams, a celebrated sculptor with a macabre hobby—collecting death masks of murder victims—finds himself drawn into a murder investigation when a brutal killer begins stalking the city. As the murders mount and Inspector Hayes offers a reward for identifying the weapon, Roland becomes obsessed with solving the crime, convinced he can sculpt the killer's face from witness descriptions and claim the prize. But as he works feverishly to complete his masterpiece, the line between his dark passion and the truth begins to blur in ways he never anticipated.

In "Best Seller!" from Dark Mysteries #12 (1953), a struggling writer named Jo makes a desperate deal with the enigmatic Dr. Wong to achieve fame—agreeing to share half of his success. When Jo’s novel becomes a hit, he tries to escape his promise by killing Wong, only to face a terrifying consequence when the doctor returns from the dead.

Captain Cliff Bond of the freighter Sea Lion abandons his crew—including First Mate Joe Koster—to a sinking ship in an African hurricane, escaping with a passenger and her jewels. When Koster's dying curse grants Bond the power to make wishes come true, Bond uses his newfound ability to survive at sea, only to be rescued by a ghostly vessel crewed by the cursed souls of deserters—the legendary Flying Dutchman himself. Now trapped aboard a ship doomed to sail forever, Bond must find a way to break the curse before he and Marcia are lost to the sea.