Mister Mystery #9

A mysterious stranger arrives in the sleepy off-season resort town of Elmont and hires the local taxi driver—a young woman—to take him to the hunting lodge outside town. As the sun sets and the full moon rises, the passenger undergoes a horrifying transformation into a werewolf, certain he's found his next victim in the isolated driver. But Mister Mystery knows that fate has a way of surprising even the most monstrous of creatures.

A brilliant professor hires the village idiot as his laboratory assistant, dismissing the humble worker's questions about his life's work—a solution designed to dissolve anything it touches. But when the scientist finally completes his formula after twenty years, his new assistant recognizes a problem the genius has overlooked, and Mister Mystery presents a darkly ironic reminder that intellect alone doesn't guarantee wisdom.

Johnny Lang's scheme seems foolproof: steal his employer's money, fake insanity to avoid jail, and wait out five years in the state institute before reclaiming his hidden fortune under an assumed name. But when the day finally comes to collect, Johnny discovers that the one thing he couldn't control—his own mind—has become his worst enemy in "What's In a Name?" This eerie tale of greed and self-deception proves that sometimes the cruelest joke fate can play is the one we set for ourselves.

A jungle plantation owner who's conquered the wilderness through sheer intellect faces his greatest test when a massive ant colony threatens everything he's built. As Lenhart deploys every clever defense he can muster—moats, oil, gas—the insects prove disturbingly resourceful, forcing him into a desperate gamble that pits raw intelligence against the blind persistence of nature. Mister Mystery guides us through this tense battle of wits and survival in this suspenseful 1953 tale.

A man obsessed with unlocking the secret of everlasting life performs dark magic—only to have Satan himself appear to collect the price of his ambition. As Neil Peters races against a burning candle that holds the key to his immortality, he discovers that some bargains come with far steeper costs than he ever imagined. Mister Mystery presents a cautionary tale where the pursuit of eternal life may cost you everything.