Adventures into the Unknown #2
"Kill, Puppets, Kill" is a chilling tale from *Adventures into the Unknown* #2 (1948), where art and terror collide. Written by Frank Belknap Long and illustrated by Max Elkan, the story follows Betty Saunders, a renowned expert on the eerie 15th-century painter Kees Van Ruyter, whose macabre works inspire a deadly new commission. When a ghoul from Belgium summons her to recreate Van Ruyter’s cursed style, the line between painting and possession blurs—until the final brushstroke reveals the truth. The cover, by Ed Moritz, captures the story’s haunting atmosphere in stark, shadowed detail.
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Betty Saunders is a world renowned expert on the artwork of 15th century artist, Kees Van Ruyter. Van Ruyter's paintings depict monstrous creatures. In 1496, Van Ruyter killed himself by throwing his hands under the wheels of a moving oxcart, severing them. Betty recreates his horrific paintings with monstrous creatures depicted therein. A human looking ghoul hires Betty to go to his mansion in Belgium and paint pictures Van Ruyter's style. The ghost of Van Ruyer has Betty paint a picture of the ghoul. When the painting is revealed, the ghoul is destroyed.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).