Creepy Worlds #196

A young man returns to Plandome, the seaside town where he vanished as a child, driven by a decades-long quest to uncover the truth behind the local legend of the Green People and his parents' mysterious disappearance. Now grown, he confronts the eerie phenomenon he once fled, facing a choice between reuniting with his parents in a strange, timeless world or staying on Earth.

Hubert Bump, seeking peace in historic New England, stumbles upon a mysterious girl who draws fear and fascination from the townspeople. When he takes her to Bald Mountain on Halloween to prove she’s not a witch, the pair are swept back through time—landing in colonial days where she reunites with a young George Washington, though she no longer remembers him.

Jason Steele, now a wealthy industrialist, is haunted by the fate of his wife Lana, who suffers from a rare, fatal heart condition requiring an atmosphere only found on the distant planet Andregos. When a scientist reveals that only a specific, flawed rocket—once designed by his former partner Frank Armistead—can reach that world, Jason pleads with Randolph Merritt, the wealthy aviator who now owns the vessel, to let him use it. Desperate to save Lana, he offers everything he owns, knowing the rocket’s dangerous design could cost them both their lives.

In a remote Alaskan town ravaged by a deadly epidemic and cut off by a brutal blizzard, a desperate doctor pleads for help as the last hope lies in a distant serum. Against all odds, a pilot named Tris attempts a perilous flight through the storm, miraculously landing the plane perfectly—only to be found unconscious, and later revealed to have died hours before. The townspeople are left in awe, believing the plane was guided by something beyond human skill.

Artie Howland, a shrewd promoter, schemes to steal Dr. Fenster’s revolutionary growth formula, only to find himself outmaneuvered when the inventor escapes—literally—by shrinking himself into a tiny thing. With Howland now desperate to recapture him, the chase leads to a dramatic confrontation in the lab, where Fenster’s secret ability to shrink and return may be the key to his survival.

Gus "Gusty" Larson, an agricultural student, believes he’s spotted a flying saucer and excitedly shares the sighting with friends, only to be ridiculed. After lingering alone, he’s suddenly drawn into the craft by an unseen force, where he’s encountered by alien scientists who study him before returning him to Earth. When he wakes, he’s disoriented and confused—his coat is on backward, and he can’t remember how he got there, leaving him unsure if the whole experience was real.

Don Miguel, a Spanish naval officer, dismisses superstitions—until a fateful moment aboard the frigate Melara, when he lights three cannons in succession with a single match, triggering a chain of events that echoes an ancient legend. The story weaves together myth and misadventure, hinting at the origins of the "three lights on a match" superstition through a tale of fire, fate, and unintended consequence.