The Unexpected #139

A confident man holds a lantern and reassures his nervous blonde companion as they step through the shadowy doorway of a forbidding castle — all while a $5,000 prize awaits anyone brave enough to spend one night inside. Nick Cardy's cover sets an irresistible trap with looming mechanical menace lurking at the edges and that conspicuous scroll announcing the dare in bold letters. DC's The Unexpected #139 from 1972 is a fine slice of early-'70s anthology horror, promising eerie chills at a mere twenty cents.