Fantastic Fears #5 (1954)

In "My Coffin Must Wait," Seth races through a brutal blizzard to fulfill his dying wife Martha’s final wish: a photograph before she passes. With robbers targeting his car and a police roadblock in his way, he pushes through the storm, determined to keep his promise. The story captures a quiet, desperate love in the face of loss, anchored by a single, simple vow.

In "Caught in the Graft," corrupt official Sam, undone by his own crimes and tormented by claustrophobia, makes a desperate bid for freedom by hiding inside a coffin in the prison morgue. Escaping into the labyrinthine city morgue he once built, he vanishes into a sea of ice boxes—each a potential tomb. When his henchman Maxie arrives to rescue him, he’s left staring at thousands of identical drawers, unsure which one holds Sam. The story, written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an unknown artist, thrums with dread as the line between escape and entombment blurs.

In "Stretching Things," Jo Dawson, a man whose fragile bones have defined his life, finds sudden hope when Dr. Doyle cures him with an experimental serum—only to discover the cure grants him terrifying elasticity. As his body stretches beyond human limits, Jo's desperation turns deadly, and he eliminates everyone who knows his secret. When he seeks help from scientist Harrell, who claims to have a cure, Jo strikes again—before learning the truth. The story ends with the police arriving to find only a puddle where he once stood.

In "Escape from Hell!" from Fantastic Fears #5 (1954), criminal Richard Benton wakes in Hell to a grim fate: eternally dragging a boulder up a mountain under Satan’s decree. As demons close in and the climb grows unbearable, Benton’s desperate hope for freedom is tested at every step—only to face a chilling truth that no escape is ever truly possible.

In 1954’s *Fantastic Fears #5*, the eerie tale “Temple of the Beast” unfolds as American tourists Sam and Anne stumble upon a cursed relic in Siam—the hand of the god Sivak. After a chilling exchange with a local vendor, the hand awakens with deadly intent, setting off a trail of terror that follows them across the sea. When Anne arrives home, she’s met not by a reunion, but by a haunting revelation—her fellow passenger Kavis is no ordinary traveler, and the hand’s journey is far from over.