The EC Archives: Shock Suspenstories #2

In "Beauty and the Beach!", two men driven to obsession by their wives' beauty and ambition take terrifyingly extreme measures—John Milton traps his wife Mary in a plastic cocoon while she wears her bathing suit, and Percy Fullman, consumed by jealousy, subjects his wife Ginger to a deadly ordeal under forty sun lamps. With the chilling precision of a crime story from the EC Archives, this tale explores the dark undercurrents of vanity, control, and the lengths some will go to preserve their warped ideals.

In "The Bribe!", a city fire inspector haunted by guilt takes his own life after a nightclub fire erupts—believing his daughter Jean perished inside, unaware she and her fiancé Ted had secretly eloped earlier that night. As the investigation unfolds, the truth behind the fire and the inspector’s tragic mistake begins to unravel, drawing in former fire inspector Foster and Blue Swan Club owner Nick Cusco, whose hidden motives may be tied to the tragedy.

In "Infiltration," a lone human agent in a government bureau dedicated to hunting Martian spies finds himself the only one left who might be real—until even he begins to doubt. With trust shattered and the line between human and alien blurred, the truth is far more dangerous than the invasion itself.

In a chilling tale of maternal dread and hidden malice, a new mother's growing fear that her infant is plotting against her takes a horrifying turn—her suspicions are all too real. As the baby's unsettling behavior escalates, the doctor who delivered the child confronts the unthinkable truth, and decides to handle the situation with cold, calculated precision.

In "Piecemeal," Sidney, a naturalist, finds himself entangled in a chilling game of deception when his wife Sally, driven by desire for his younger brother Eric, begins to plot his demise. As Sidney’s health declines, he makes a final, unsettling gesture—summoning a massive shark and placing it in their backyard pool, where Sally still swims. The story unfolds with a slow, creeping dread, as the line between predator and prey blurs in a house where love has curdled into something far more dangerous.

In "The Assault!", Lucy Cartwright returns home claiming she was kidnapped and assaulted by Hodges, the town’s derelict. But her story unravels when the old man dies and her secret lover, George, learns the truth—leading to a desperate act of twisted honor.

In the distant future, after humanity's self-destruction, evolved rats and Martians—Grozo, Zkorl, and Spdork—find themselves on a collision course of fate and curiosity. When the Martian explorers encounter the rat civilization's bold new spacefaring ambitions, a tense, unexpected alliance begins to form across worlds.

In "Seep No More!", a man haunted by a recurring bloodstain on his ceiling must confront the unsettling truth behind the mysterious seepage—his own mind, or something far more sinister. As two detectives probe his increasingly frantic confessions, the line between guilt and delusion blurs, and the truth of the attic’s secret begins to seep through.

In "Came the Dawn!", Bob Ames finds himself torn between suspicion and fear when a mysterious girl in the woods matches the profile of a criminally insane escapee—only to face a far more personal horror when his girlfriend, Cathy Maxwell, becomes the latest victim of the real threat. The line between paranoia and peril blurs as the woods close in and the truth proves more dangerous than the rumor.

In a quiet town where fear breeds suspicion, Dr. Conrad Rivers’ ambitious experiments draw the wrath of the community. When the townsfolk destroy his lab in a frenzy, his failed work stirs to life in the sewers—awakening into a ravenous force that turns on those who sought to destroy it.

In "Carrion Death!", a desperate bank robber flees across a merciless desert with a dead state trooper chained to him, the weight of the corpse a grim reminder of his crime. As thirst and delirium set in, he faces a horrifying choice: sever the dead man’s hand or risk being consumed by vultures—only to wake and find the scavengers already feeding on him.

In "The Sacrifice," Gloria Fielding orchestrates a chilling game of manipulation, leading a man into murdering her husband Jonathan while pretending to be his lover. As the scheme unfolds, Paul Nichols, the insurance salesman James Reed, and Gloria conspire to exploit the man’s guilt, turning his confession into a deadly trap. The story builds with icy precision, revealing how far deception can go when love is just another weapon.

In "…so shall ye reap!", a condemned man faces execution, his final thoughts echoing through memories of a childhood shaped by his parents’ choices—Murray and Wilma Vorhees, whose past actions now come back to haunt them. As the boy who once sat in their shadow, Kenneth Vorhees, confronts the consequences of his family’s legacy, the presence of Hicky, a gang member entangled in the same web, adds another layer to the reckoning. The story unfolds with quiet dread, probing how guilt and perception shift across time.

In "Home Run!", a tense sci-fi thriller from The EC Archives: Shock Suspenstories #2, a crew of astronauts en route to Mars is thrown into chaos when one of their own confesses to being a Martian who engineered the mission to return home. As paranoia takes hold and a fatal shot rings out, the truth emerges in the most chilling way—on the red planet, the dead man’s body reverts to its true form, revealing that the crew has landed among hostile Martians who plan to take over Earth by absorbing human hosts.

In "Sweetie-Pie," a reporter covering a series of mysterious car accidents—each victim drained of blood and marked with throat punctures—soon finds himself and his new wife in a terrifying accident of their own. As the body count mounts and the pattern becomes clear, the truth behind the roadside horrors begins to surface: a ghoul preys on the unwary, turning the road into a deadly hunting ground.

In gratitude..., a powerful seven-page story from The EC Archives: Shock Suspenstories #2 (2022), follows Joey Norris, a war hero returning home to confront the town’s painful legacy. Haunted by memories of his fallen Army pal Hank, Joey confronts the unnamed mayor and his community over a decision that still echoes—why a man who saved his life wasn’t allowed to rest in the town cemetery.

In "The Space Suitors," Wanda Griffith and her lover Donald Conrad scheme to kill her husband, Milton Griffith, during a mission to a remote planetoid—only for Milton to turn the tables in a chilling twist of survival and betrayal. With the cold void of space as their witness, the fate of the trio hinges on a single, deadly signal sent from the heart of a dying man’s final plan.

Alan’s paranoia spirals when he sees his wife Della and their friend Andy together, convinced they’re hiding a secret affair—unaware they’re secretly planning a surprise anniversary celebration for him. Tensions rise as his jealousy drives him to make a fatal decision, unaware of the truth behind their actions.

In "Deadline," a down-on-his-luck ex-reporter named Larry Grieg sees a chance to reclaim his career when his old boss offers him a job—if he brings in a compelling story. While nursing a drink at a quiet diner, he overhears a violent altercation next door, only to watch the diner owner, Mike, emerge with blood on his hands and confess to murder. As Larry scrambles to document the confession, he turns to Annie, the girl he’d met earlier, and discovers she’s not only alive—but still connected to the night’s events.

In "The Kidnapper," Daniel, a desperate father reeling from the abduction of his young son, watches helplessly as his wife Teresa descends into madness. When Daniel’s grief and fear push him to attempt a terrible act, his actions are misread by a horrified crowd—leading to a tragic and shocking conclusion.

In "Fall Guy," a man released after serving time for a crime he claims he didn’t commit returns to confront the one person who promised to wait for him—Helen, the girl he once loved. Years of silence and a shattered memory leave him desperate to reclaim his past, but when the truth about the name he used to hide the stolen money slips through his fingers, their reunion turns violent. As the city closes in, he makes a final, desperate leap, clinging to the fading glow of a neon sign that seems to whisper his old identity.