Vault of Horror #34

In "Star Light, Star Bright!", the Vault-Keeper introduces a chilling tale of paranoia and dread as Hartley Quimb takes over as head master of a remote facility where the inmates are kept in line through a horrifying ritual. After learning that his predecessor was murdered for trying to end the practice, Hartley begins to suspect the inmates are watching him—until he’s violently seized, locked in a coffin, and taken to a cemetery, only to wake up back in his room, unsure if the nightmare was real.

In "While the Cat's Away...", two con artists, John Younger and Frank Weston, think they’ve found the perfect mark in a lonely suburban home—until their scam unravels into a nightmare. What starts as a routine heist spirals into a terrifying descent through hidden passages filled with zombies, vampires, werewolves, and mummies, each more horrifying than the last. When they finally burst out, half-mad and unaware, they’re met with a chilling welcome from the one person they never expected: the Crypt-Keeper.

In "Smoke Wrings," Hubert Tillings bets his career on a bold new cigarette ad idea—only to be betrayed by Lorna Jackson, who steals his vision and leaves him ruined. When the billboard he designed begins to haunt her, its smoky tendrils seem to twist through the city, turning her triumph into a living nightmare.

In "Where There's a Will...", the Old Witch introduces a chilling tale of deception and irony, where Dr. James Crotty and lawyer Millard Walker scheme to manipulate the dying Harold Farber into donating his fortune to a charity they control. With Farber’s reluctant consent, they stage his funeral, hiding him in a coffin equipped with a microphone so he can hear his so-called relatives mock him—only to be stunned when he leaps up and gives the estate to the very orphanage they claimed to serve. The twist lands with a quiet, sinister precision, leaving the assembled guests in stunned silence—until the real game begins.