Vault of Horror #19
"Southern Hospitality!" in Vault of Horror #19 (1951) delivers a chilling tale of dread and the unseen, as Melvin, skeptical but shaken, confronts a haunting legacy after consulting a medium. Written by William M. Gaines and brought to life with eerie precision by Johnny Craig on both pencils and inks, the cover captures the story’s foreboding tone—just as the first raps echo in the dark, the real terror begins.
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Martin Blackson hates his stepdaughter Kathy because she reminds him of his wife's first husband. When Kathy meets neighbor Mrs. Thaumaturge, Martin intervenes and tells Kathy to leave that "witch" alone or she'll bake her in her oven! After Kathy's mother dies, Mrs. Thaumaturge gives Kathy a man-shaped candy doll. Although Kathy swears she'll never eat it, later while Martin cuts wood, Kathy bites the doll's left hand, then hears a scream as Martin has cut off his left hand. When he hears about the doll, Martin demands Kathy hand it over, but she proves it isn't evil by biting off its head!
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).