Phantastische Geschichten #2

In "Den letzten Krieg auf der Erde," Arthur challenges Professor Harlow’s belief in humanity’s potential for peace, arguing that war is an inevitable part of existence. When Harlow speculates that a shared threat from beyond Earth might finally unite all nations, their conversation takes a startling turn—just as the professor suggests, a Martian invasion arrives, forcing humanity to confront the ultimate test of unity.

In *Die Saat der Venus*, a seemingly harmless flower brought back from Venus by a crew of astronauts soon reveals a terrifying secret—its bloom unleashes a monstrous force that threatens to consume everything in its path. The story unfolds with quiet dread, turning a routine space mission into a chilling encounter with the unknown.

In "Mann und Supermann!", Niels is absorbed in his scientific work, striving to increase atomic mass without altering structure, while his brother Charlemagne is more focused on building muscle. When Charlemagne visits Niels’s lab and accidentally exposes himself to the mysterious rays of the machine, he gains superhuman strength—but at a cost, as his power fades and his body begins to burn away in a final, explosive burst.

In "Untergang der Titanic!", a grieving British physicist named George builds a time-travel machine to undo the tragedy that took his parents’ lives—only to find his attempt to prevent the sinking of the Titanic instead triggers it. As the ship begins to founder, he realizes his actions have rewritten fate in ways he never intended, leaving him caught between past and present, and the boy he once was still watching from the edge of memory.

In "Teile und erobere," a scientist's world unravels when he discovers his wife's plan to murder him—so he retaliates with a radical experiment that splits her into countless miniature duplicates. As the tiny versions multiply, he takes grim satisfaction in crushing them one by one, each step a chilling act of control.

In "Fluch des Vollmondes!", Ralph is haunted by the terrifying belief that he’s become a werewolf after a scratch from the Wolfsbane plant and a string of brutal murders in his town. As paranoia sets in and the line between reality and delusion blurs, he struggles to hold on to his sanity while the mystery of the killings deepens.

In "Die Hand des Maestro!", Dr. Hellman retreats to a remote cabin, haunted by guilt after the tragic death of his ex-fiancée’s lover—whose injured piano hand he once removed. When a mysterious package arrives at his doorstep, the severed hand inside suddenly lashes out, setting off a chilling chain of events. As the police later find him dead by his own hand, the truth behind the horror remains buried in silence.

In "Die lebende Leiche," a magician’s sinister act takes a deadly turn when he strikes his assistant while wearing a snake ring, then stages his own death to evade suspicion. As he tries to uncover where her body was taken, he confronts the morgue attendant—only to be locked in the freezer, leaving the attendant to face a chilling fate of his own.

In *Wahnsinn im Hause*, Tom Mander’s world unravels after the death of their son Billy, leaving his wife increasingly haunted by visions and voices he can’t hear. When a bloody butcher knife appears in the kitchen and their dog is found dead in the cellar, Tom’s growing dread clashes with his wife’s desperate claims—claims that seem to confirm his own unraveling sanity.

In *Stumme Zeugin eines Mordes!*, a woman’s life unravels after she witnesses her neighbor, a doctor, kill his wife—leaving her unable to speak from the trauma. When her husband brings the same doctor into their home, the man quickly deduces the truth and has her locked away in an asylum. As the doctor prepares a surgical procedure he claims will restore her voice, the real danger becomes clear: he plans to end her life during the operation. When her voice finally returns, she finds herself face to face with the man who betrayed her—and with a choice that will define her.

In "Geisterschiff!", a man and his wife are stranded at sea after their plane crashes in a sudden fog, clinging to a lifeboat until they stumble upon a decaying ship. As they read its eerie log, they learn of a cursed crew who met grim fates after a mutiny—only to be haunted by the very captain they cast into the waves. When a spectral ship seems to bear down on them, passing right through their hiding place, they barely escape, only to be rescued and dismissed as mad by the man who saves them.

In "Das hungrige Grab," a woman’s simmering resentment toward her husband turns deadly when she begins dosing him with arsenic, only to find his body adapting to the poison. When he discovers her plan to abandon him in a grave with her lover, he turns the trap against her—poisoning her, sealing her in a sack, and leaving her half-dead to be buried. The lover, unaware of the truth, carries out the burial, but the husband is waiting.

In "Höhlenmensch," a museum curator named Homer is thrust into chaos when a newly discovered Neanderthal specimen demands his immediate attention, threatening to overshadow his own hard-earned exhibit. Fearing his reputation is at stake, Homer attempts to eliminate the competition by exposing the specimen to sunlight—only to awaken something far more dangerous than he imagined.

In "Zombie!", a plantation owner’s cruelty toward his wife’s compassion for the local people erupts in violence when he ambushes her during a voodoo ritual. After she’s killed, the villagers transform her into a vengeful zombie, sending her to claim him. As he flees through the jungle, bullets failing him, he is dragged into a quicksand bog—where she finally joins him, silent and eternal.