Vault of Horror #35

In this chilling tale from *Vault of Horror #35*, a grieving widow confronts a terrifying twist of fate when her husband’s murder coincides with a chilling Santa Claus sighting. As she scrambles to hide the body and barricade her home, the line between nightmare and reality blurs—especially when her daughter, Carol, seems to vanish, only to reappear with a chilling invitation: Santa has come. The Vault-Keeper sets the stage for a pulse-pounding descent into dread, where holiday cheer turns sinister and every shadow holds a secret.

In "Tombs-Day!", the Crypt-Keeper introduces a chilling tale of ancient dread as Professor Burton and journalist Melody Allen venture into the Pyramid of Khafra, haunted by the vanished expedition that came before. As they descend through deadly traps and crumbling passages, the legend of the living Sphinx—once thought myth—begins to feel all too real. With each step deeper into the tomb, the line between story and nightmare blurs, leaving only dread in the dark.

In "Beauty Rest," Helen Curtis and Joyce Noble share a room under the eerie watch of The Vault-Keeper, as Joyce prepares for a grotesque beauty contest—“Miss Corpse of 1954”—with help from a mysterious Mr. Boxer. When Joyce goes to bed, Helen drugs her drink, takes her note, and steps into the contest in her place, winning with a chilling ease. But when she returns home, she finds Joyce dead from the same pills—her own handiwork—and reports it as suicide. The next night, Helen arrives at the address for the award, only to realize too late that the prize demands more than just a disguise: the winner must be truly dead.

In "Shoe-Button Eyes!", a young blind boy named Billy finds unexpected joy in his first sight—just as his mother’s life slips away. Tormented by his stepfather Jed, who mocks his "shoe-button" eyes like his beloved teddy bear, Billy’s final moments are marked by loss and cruelty. When his mother dies, her last act is to sew new button eyes onto the bear, a gesture of love that echoes beyond death.