Mystery Tales #23

In "Shrinko!" from Mystery Tales #23 (1954), two conmen accidentally stumble into a miracle when their fake miracle cure, Shrinko, begins shrinking not just people—but entire buildings. Now, as New York itself shrinks around them, they’re left as the only full-sized figures in a city that’s rapidly becoming a toy-sized world.

In "Violence!" from Mystery Tales #23 (1954), a stranded hunter clings to a crate of deadly mambas after his steamer goes down in a storm, his only hope a distant figure atop a floating piece of wreckage. As he struggles toward it, the figure pulls him up—only to reveal the face of the very gorilla he’d long tormented with his whip, its eyes now fixed on him with something far more dangerous than fear.

In "Fit for a Corpse," a desperate fugitive seeking refuge stumbles into a shroud maker’s shop, mistaking the somber craftsman for a tailor. What begins as a desperate plea for a disguise takes a chilling turn when the man’s final request is answered in the most literal way possible.

In "The Madman!" from Mystery Tales #23 (1954), a visionary scientist envisions a future ruled by intellect, only to find his utopian dream twisted into a nightmare when his time machine transports him to a distant era where his own ideals have turned monstrous. The story unfolds with chilling precision, exploring the unintended consequences of absolute power and the fragile line between progress and tyranny.