Nightmare #22

In "The Bat - Mercy, Mercy Cries the Monster," archaeologist Brock Stans returns to New York after a harrowing encounter with bats in the jungle, only to find himself changing in ways he can't control—transforming into a creature driven by a thirst for blood. As the line between man and monster blurs, his past terror takes on a new, monstrous life.

A young professor's past comes rushing back when he recounts to his students the shocking truth behind the vampire and werewolf legends—a truth he learned firsthand as a youth exploring caves in Central Europe. When mysterious tracks are discovered in those same caves, the professor's carefully constructed rational explanations begin to crumble, forcing him to confront what may be far more real than any myth. "The War of the Hell-Damned!" pits the clash between scientific skepticism and supernatural horror as the professor's students insist on investigating further, drawing him into a confrontation he may have hoped never to face again.

In ancient Egypt, the wife of Pharaoh Nefercheres—the mummy Khafre—is prepared for burial through elaborate embalming rituals and entombed with honor, her true nature concealed from even her grieving husband. Centuries later, in 1883, archaeologists Professor Flinders and his associate Tom Fortiss unearth her tomb, only for Fortiss to make a shocking discovery: Khafre was mummified alive, and she still possesses a terrible, inexplicable spark of life. Driven by greed and ambition, Fortiss sets his sights on a dark and murderous path to claim the mummy for himself.