Sinister Tales #21

In "Quicksand!", Geoffrey Wickshire schemes to claim his brother Sir Edmund’s share of their family estate by luring him into a treacherous patch of quicksand. Just as Edmund is about to be swallowed, the leprechauns who dwell in the nearby woods intervene, saving him with their magic. Though Edmund considers giving up his inheritance out of gratitude, the greedy Geoffrey’s fear proves too much—his panic leads him to his own downfall.

In "The Bully Boy!", a reclusive student named Henry Fuller finds himself targeted by classmates until an electronic teacher intervenes, offering to transform him through rigorous training in strength and combat. As Henry grows stronger, his newfound power shifts the balance of the schoolyard—only to leave the machine behind questioning the cost of its own design.

In the heart of the wild, two hunters, Greg and Burt, find themselves lost after a near-fatal encounter in the woods. When Burt stops Greg from shooting a white eagle, the bird leads them through treacherous terrain—guided by a legend that says the eagle is the spirit of a long-dead Native chief.

In "Power Mad!", chemist Conrad Elton, convinced his experimental compound can force obedience, tests it on his loyal dog October—only to realize too late that true influence comes not from control, but from trust. When he brings his theory to the small town of Nordsburg, he quickly gains power, pushing out Mayor Boris Luvain and installing himself as ruler, only to see his authority crumble when the townspeople reject his tyranny. As his grip slips, Conrad confronts the truth: his influence never came from the compound, but from the same bond of loyalty and respect that once made October follow him—something no formula could ever replicate.

Jerry Owens, a fugitive from justice, has stolen a ride into the unknown—stowing away on a satellite bound for a half-century orbit. Now trapped in a sealed capsule with only dwindling supplies, he faces a choice: risk everything to escape back to Earth and face prison, or surrender to a life of isolation among the stars.

In "The Whirlpool," Jeff Dawson, adrift in sorrow after his love married another during his time in Korea, volunteers for a professor’s experiment testing Polynesian seafaring legends. Sent on a perilous journey across the ocean, he’s captured by mysterious fish people beneath a swirling whirlpool—only to discover, in that moment, that he still wants to live. Stranded in Polynesia, he faces a truth too strange to share, leaving him to wonder if survival was ever the real test.

In "The Terrible Fate of Mr. Wren!", Hubert Wren’s dream of a perfect marriage collides with his own invention: a matter duplicator. After years of avoiding love to escape his parents’ bitter arguments, he finally finds the woman he wants to marry—only to find himself facing a far more complicated situation when she’s accidentally duplicated. Now, with two versions of the same woman vying for his affection, Hubert must navigate the chaos of his own making.