Vault of Horror #32
In "Whirlpool," a haunting tale from Vault of Horror #32 (1953), a man named Jasper finds himself trapped in a deadly cycle of debt and desperation when his employer, Niles Fairchild, demands the final $30 of a savings he’s been hoarding for a long-overdue funeral for his parents. Written by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein, with chilling artwork by Graham Ingels and bold inks by the same, the story unfolds with a grim inevitability, its atmosphere sharpened by Marie Severin’s evocative coloring and Jim Wroten’s sharp lettering. The cover, by Johnny Craig, captures the story’s eerie tension with a haunting image that perfectly sets the tone.
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Jasper went to his cottage on the Fairchild Estate and counted up the $4,970 he had been saving and knew as soon as Mr. Fairchild paid him the last $30 he owed him, he'd be set: set to have the funeral that was denied to his parents. Unfortunately, Niles Fairchild was bankrupt, and desperately needed $5,000 to get him out of the trouble he was in. When Jasper refused to lend him the money, Fairchild and his accountant murdered Jasper and took the money. Jasper's corpse killed Fairchild, removed him from the man's coffin and took his place, and got the funeral he wanted.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).