Uncanny Tales #144

Gwendolyn Purdy, a science teacher ridiculed by her students and her principal, James T. Cannon, finds her world upended when her tektite collection begins to glow. Two aliens arrive, claiming their leader, Kryptos, wishes to take her to Uranus—despite finding Earth women unappealing. As Gwendolyn contemplates the offer, she begins to transform herself, only to shock Kryptos with her new look. When Cannon later asks her to a dance, the moment hangs in the balance between the mundane and the interstellar.

In a hidden cellar beneath 1956 Budapest, a desperate resistance forms as Soviet forces open fire on protesters. A mysterious figure named Franz emerges, leading daring raids and uncovering a traitor among them—his face eerily resembling the legendary revolutionary Louis Kossuth, though clean-shaven. As the fight escalates and the group prepares to flee, they begin to wonder who this man truly is.

In a quiet village, a mysterious stranger named Martin J. Colby rents a cottage and begins experimenting with alchemy, summoning strange creatures from another world with promises of unimaginable wonders. As the townsfolk grow uneasy, their fear turns to outrage when they uncover his true identity—leading to a tense confrontation that leaves the future of the stranger and his otherworldly guests uncertain.

In "The Creature from Krango," an alien commander arrives on Earth with a mission to prove his bravery by capturing three humans—only to accidentally seize statues of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt instead. What begins as a test of valor quickly spirals into an awkward encounter with Earth’s history, as the alien grapples with the unexpected weight of his "prizes."