Forbidden Worlds #28

A cruel prank at the Rockford Mental Sanatorium spirals into something far darker when Dr. Emil Grue arranges for the troubled artist Jason Kemm to meet a girl at a staff dance—except the girl exists only in Kemm's fractured mind. When Kemm begins to paint a portrait of his invisible companion, Carlotta, Grue finds himself haunted by eerie music and the growing terror that the woman he invented as a joke may be something far more sinister than a delusion.

When the crew of the USS Penguin discovers a strange creature frozen inside an Arctic iceberg, they have no idea they've uncovered a catastrophe waiting to thaw. Pete Adams and his shipmates soon realize the beast is far more than a prehistoric relic—it possesses intelligence, devastating power, and a terrifying ability to command the very ship they're sailing. As the creature takes control and the truth about the icebergs emerges, mankind discovers it may have already lost its fight for survival.

A narrator guides readers through everyday superstitions—from avoiding ladders to fearing black cats—pointing out how silly these beliefs are while questioning whether we're truly free of them ourselves. In this clever 1954 tale from Forbidden Worlds, the line between skepticism and superstition proves thinner than expected.

When Vashna discovers an ancient ritual to harness the Evil Eye—a supernatural force of instant death drawn from a murderer's corpse—he sets out on a spree of robbery and killing across Europe, his power seeming unstoppable. His greed eventually leads him to the castle of Count Vorn, a wealthy collector surrounded only by his loyal dog and his own trusting nature. But the Count harbors a secret that may prove more formidable than any supernatural weapon.

Professor Lambert stakes everything on a bold theory: that human brain hormones can fundamentally transform a gorilla's nature and intelligence. When zoo director Dr. Parkins reluctantly lends him Bobo, an ailing animal, Lambert begins his serum treatments—and the results are staggering. But as Bobo develops human consciousness and learns what his creator has planned, the experiment spirals into something far darker than Lambert ever imagined.