Strange Mysteries #12

In "Alchemy," Hans Bruckner—a man cursed with an uncontrollable, violent temper that's driven him from town to town—discovers at a carnival that he's lost his shadow, and Professor Kurt recruits him as a paid attraction in his traveling show. As Hans finally finds happiness free from his rage, strangled bodies begin appearing wherever the carnival goes, each victim someone who mocked him, and Hans comes to a horrifying realization about what his missing shadow truly means.

In "The Man Who Lost His Shadow," a man whose rage has long defined him discovers a strange freedom when his shadow vanishes—his temper eases, his demeanor softens. But as peace settles over him, something far more unsettling takes root: his shadow, now separate, begins to move on its own, and with a hunger all its own.

In "Hand of Fate," a farmer tends to his isolated farm with eerie calm, watching as his workers vanish one by one on fog-drenched nights. When the truth emerges, it’s revealed that the killers are the very ones he claims to protect—his mute wife and daughter, bound by a dark secret tied to the land itself.

In "Sisters of the Witch," a young woman tormented by her sisters' beauty seeks refuge at an old inn, where she stumbles upon a hidden cellar and a book of black magic. As she delves into its dark secrets, her envy twists into power—power that leads her to cast deadly spells against her sisters, one by one. The line between vengeance and ruin blurs as her magic begins to consume her.

In "The Game of Death," the world’s greatest chess player faces a chilling challenge from a mysterious opponent who plays with real human lives as pieces. When the game’s true nature is revealed, the victor is none other than Talchev—once the greatest player of all, now a vengeful ghoul returned from the grave. As the stakes rise beyond the board, a darker force emerges to claim the winner’s soul.