Eerie #17
In "The Case of the Painted Beast," a chilling tale from Eerie #17 (1954), Hinchley’s lifelong terror of snakes takes a dark turn when he recounts a haunting prison memory to a friend. Years ago, he shared a cell with a man who claimed to have killed a witch—only for a talking snake to appear that night, the witch’s spirit reborn, and devour his cellmate. Now, haunted by the past, Hinchley’s fear is more than instinct. The morning after a nap in a boxcar, he vanishes, leaving behind only a snake in the corner with a strangely bloated stomach. Cover by typeset.
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Hinchley was in fear of snakes. He explained why to his friend. You see years ago he shared a cell with a man who claimed he killed a witch. Later that night, a talking snake entered the cell. It was the reincarnated witch. She caused the cellmate to shrink and swallowed him whole. Because Hinchley saw this, he was now marked for death by the witch's spirit. This is why he has been deathly afraid in the years since of snakes. The morning after the two men caught a nap in a boxcar, Hinchley was missing! The friend then noticed a snake in the corner of the car with a bloated stomach.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).