Vault of Horror #21
In "One Last Fling!", a chilling tale from EC's Vault of Horror #21 (1951), a cruel man’s cruelty catches up with him in the most haunting way. Written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines, with art by Jack Kamen and lettering by Jim Wroten, the story follows a group of boys who witness the escalating abuse of Emma Collins, whose quiet suffering turns into a ghostly reckoning. The cover by Johnny Craig captures the eerie tension, setting the stage for a suspenseful, morally charged horror that lingers long after the final page.
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As a group of boys were playing football in front of Mr. Collin's house, they were rudely told by him to get away from the front of his home or he'd call the Police. So they moved down the street, but when the football accidently fell into his yard, he wouldn't give it back. Later. Collin's wife, Emma, gave it back to the boys when Milton was asleep.....but he found out and slapped his wife around. The next day, as the boys were passing by the Collin's home, they yearned for some apples off his tree, but when they attempted to get a few, he came out, took his belt off and was going to hit them when his wife came out to put a stop to it.....and Collin's struck her instead. The next day, feeling sorry for Emma Collins, the boys waited until Milton left and then went to the door to surprise her with some candy.....but they were told she was dead. The next day, they watched the funeral and interment from a distance....and then plotted to scare the pants off Mr. Collins. That night, as Collins was resting on his backporch, he glimpsed movement in the darkness and an eerie voice, purporting to be that of his wife, began calling to him. As he walked out into the yard, a ghostly apparition suddenly appeared, asking him why he had killed her. He apologized for doing it, then pitched forward....stone dead!
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).