Strange Stories of Suspense #16

In "The Eighth Wonder of the World," four conmen dig up a giant they’ve fabricated to sell as a spectacle—only to awaken something far older and more real than they ever imagined. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this eerie 1957 tale from *Strange Stories of Suspense* #16 turns a scam into a chilling encounter with the unknown.

In "Only One Returned!", two men venture into a treacherous cave shaft, but only one emerges—though not for the reasons the survivor expects. When one man sabotages the climb to eliminate his rival for his girlfriend’s hand, fate takes a grim turn: the fall leads to rescue, but the betrayer is left trapped by a hidden danger. The story unfolds with quiet dread, where survival isn’t guaranteed and guilt takes a strange, radioactive form.

In "The Swami's Secret," a mind-reading spiritualist is thrown into turmoil when he detects what he believes is an alien preparing to invade Earth. Convinced the stakes are too high to keep his gift hidden, he confesses his lifelong fraud to the police—only to discover the "alien" is actually an actor rehearsing a role.

Jo buys a used car once owned by an executed gangster and starts acting with sudden, uncharacteristic aggression—something about the car seems to be changing him. Written by an unknown author, the story unfolds in just four pages, capturing a quiet man’s unraveling in a way that feels both eerie and inevitable.

In "Bewitched!" from Strange Stories of Suspense #16 (1957), a town falls under the spell of an ancient book wielded by the fanatical yogi Genda—until a simple accident with a man’s glasses unleashes a sudden, unexpected burst of light that threatens to destroy the very text holding them captive.