Shock Suspenstories #3

In "Only Skin-Deep," a man wakes from a car accident with amnesia and a face rebuilt by plastic surgery, only to be greeted by a woman claiming to be his lover and the mastermind behind a murder-for-insurance scheme. She leads him to a secluded cabin, where a sudden fall triggers a shocking memory—his true identity and the deadly truth behind the fire he set.

In "Upon Reflection," a troubled boxer haunted by guilt over a fatal fight sees his own face twist into something monstrous—though a psychologist insists it’s all in his mind. When he spots a mirror on the street, the vision drives him to pull a gun, leading to a shocking act of despair. The story ends with a quiet, chilling revelation from a store owner about the mirror’s strange origins.

In "Squeeze Play," a desperate young man flees after a violent act, burying his clothes beneath the boardwalk as he tries to vanish into the night. Haunted by his choices, he’s drawn into the surf by a group of girls who don’t know his secret, their laughter turning to panic as their boyfriends approach.

In "The Whipping," a small town fractures under the weight of fear and prejudice when a group of Mexican-Americans establishes a vigilante presence, sparking outrage among the locals. Tensions explode when a man’s hatred turns deadly after he kills his own daughter for marrying a man from the community she’s now part of.

In "You, Murderer," a man haunted by betrayal and loneliness becomes the unwitting pawn of a hypnotist who offers him a twisted way to reclaim control—through murder. Told in chilling first person, the story unfolds as the victim grapples with a terrifying new reality, where every command feels like a loss of self.

In "As Ye Sow...", a man’s desperate gamble to reclaim his wife backfires when he hires a killer to scare her into leaving her lover—only to find himself trapped in the consequences of his own cruelty. When she returns, believing she’s saved their marriage, he’s left staring at the shadow in the doorway, realizing too late what he’s set in motion.

In "The Confidant," a quiet stranger arrives in a wary town to visit a troubled boy named Jimmy, unaware he’s stepping into a web of fear and suspicion. As locals warn him about a killer on the loose—a young man who murdered a nineteen-year-old girl—the stranger’s refusal to break the sacred seal of confession leads to a brutal and tragic end.

In "For Cryin' Out Loud!" from Shock Suspenstories #3 (1981), a man haunted by guilt after a violent act finds himself unable to silence the compulsion to confess—his conscience driving him to speak the truth to anyone who will listen, no matter the cost. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, the story unfolds with a tense, psychological grip, exploring the weight of guilt in the most intimate, desperate ways.

In "Well Trained," a detective haunted by the murder of his wife confronts the man who killed her, tracking him even into the hospital where the killer lies after a brutal beating. As the man’s obsession grows, the killer flees—only to vanish beneath a subway train, leaving the detective tormented by the unanswered question of how he died.

In "...My Brother's Keeper," a chilling tale from Shock Suspenstories #3, the fragile bond between two Siamese twins is tested when one brother's monstrous actions plunge the other into a torment he can't escape. With the law powerless to act and the good twin's suffering mounting, the weight of his brother's evil becomes unbearable.

In "The Hazing," a college student desperate to join a fraternity spins a dangerous lie about a professor being a communist, hoping to impress his peers—only to find himself caught in a web of consequences he never intended. Written by a mysterious hand and illustrated with stark, unsettling detail, this chilling 1981 tale explores the cost of ambition and deception in a world where the line between truth and manipulation blurs.

In "4-Sided Triangle," a farmer’s dark obsession takes a chilling turn when the girl he exploits claims to have a nightly lover—someone she meets in the field by a scarecrow. When he disguises himself as the straw figure to fulfill his desires, the night takes a terrifying turn, especially when his wife, awakened by the sounds of their encounter, storms into the field with a pitchfork. The story unfolds with a quiet dread, probing the fragile line between illusion and violence, as truth and deception twist in the moonlight.

In *In Character*, Bela Kardiff, a once-celebrated horror star, finds himself cast out by the very industry that made him famous—only to turn the tables on his Hollywood peers during a lavish dinner honoring his career. As the night unfolds, the line between performance and vengeance blurs, and the mask of the monster he’s played for years begins to slip.

In "The Assassin," a lone killer follows his target to a theater’s backstage, unaware he’s stepping into the opening act of a play reenacting the assassination of President William McKinley—just as the curtain rises. The chilling twist unfolds in the moment he strikes, blurring the line between real crime and staged performance.

In "The Operation," a cunning diamond thief and surgeon devises a deadly game of greed, using his two henchmen as unwitting pawns. After smuggling gems inside their bodies, he tricks them into killing each other by claiming he’ll only operate on one—leaving the other to face the consequences. The story unfolds with chilling precision, turning trust into betrayal in a single, tense sequence.

In "The Trap," Jo finds himself caught in a deadly scheme orchestrated by his wife and her family’s funeral home business, where the line between grief and greed blurs. As the plan unfolds, he must navigate a web of deception that turns his own life into a trap—written by an unknown hand, illustrated with chilling precision.

In the Bag is a chilling, tightly wound tale of paranoia and mistaken identity, where a police officer’s growing suspicion over a man with a bloodstained bag spirals into a city-wide hunt. When McLeod spots a stranger with a bag matching the description, he acts on instinct—only to realize too late that his shot has claimed an innocent life.

In "Rundown," a desperate man commits murder in a last-ditch effort to win back his wife’s love, unaware she’s already plotted his demise with her lover. When their car strikes him, the pair are stunned to find his wallet brimming with cash—exactly what they’d hoped to steal.