Uncanny Tales #187

Ted Farley, once a humble friend to the reclusive Barney Rubert, now finds himself trapped in a life of deception after stealing from his former benefactor. With a new face and no fingerprints, he’s free from the law—until a shocking inheritance forces him to confront the truth he can’t prove. Gladys, caught in the web of his secret, may be the only one who can help him unravel the past he’s tried to erase.

In "Flight Number Thirteen!", Franz and Ivan find themselves caught in a surreal hijacking when a plane full of emotionless passengers is diverted into a parallel world—where the very air saps the soul from those who fly it. With no way to return and their own emotions slipping away, the two men must navigate a reality that feels both alien and eerily familiar.

In "The Ragged Man," Otis Larr’s ruthless pursuit of profit leads him to gamble everything on a hunch—when his geiger counter alarms, he believes he’s struck uranium beneath the sea. But as Hubert Larr watches from the shore and Annie keeps quiet, the truth behind the radiation is far stranger than gold or riches.

In "When the Curtain Falls!", Otto Groat’s jealousy takes a deadly turn when he replaces a stage dagger with a rubber prop, hoping to eliminate his rival, Richard Sinclair, during a performance. With Carlotta Delys watching from the wings, the plan backfires when the blade only grazes Sinclair—but Otto soon finds himself trapped, his own weapon useless as the moment of reckoning arrives.

In "The Terrible Tree!", Ross Evans gambles with nature, felling a mighty redwood to cash in on an insurance payout—only to find the tree’s spirit won’t let him go. As the wood itself turns against him, he’s hunted across his land and finally trapped on a boat made of the very tree he destroyed, adrift in the open sea.

When a Martian filmmaker transports a human director’s elaborate Martian set to the red planet, he’s stunned to discover that human culture mirrors his own—down to the last detail. Mr. Worth and Craig find themselves caught in a strange loop of recognition, as the line between worlds begins to blur.

In "What Is Monium?", Burt Kane, a man with a mysterious metallic substance that defies physical separation, turns his discovery into a dazzling magic act—until a curious audience member, Zorani, uncovers his secret and forces him into a life of crime. When Burt is trapped in a crate with the very hoop that once powered his illusions, he uses the metal’s strange properties to turn the thief’s own scheme against him.

Bob Franklin’s life takes a bizarre turn when his wife Helen insists he’s being played in a grand prank—until a casual remark sends him tumbling into a transformation he never saw coming. A quiet man with a dry wit and a skeptical mind, Bob finds himself caught in a mystery that blurs the line between reality and illusion.

In a world where space travel seems beyond reach, Albert Feldgurt preaches a radical idea: that humanity’s destiny lies not in rockets, but in letting love carry them to other worlds—like seeds borne on the wind. As his message spreads and followers vanish in a glow of warmth and light, his once-ridiculed theory begins to defy explanation.