Vault of Horror #38

In the storm-lashed darkness of a lonely night, smuggler Lon Shannon dares to defy the legend of the Sea Hag—only to find the tales were all too real. After a desperate escape from a wrecking storm, he takes shelter with Heather, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, unaware that her gentle demeanor hides a terrifying truth. When the sea itself rises to claim him, Shannon learns the hard way that some legends aren’t just stories.

In "Coffin Spell!", the Crypt-Keeper spins a tale of greed and dread as two grave robbers, Janos and Nadyi, take on a desperate job for the reclusive Dr. Karolyi. When their usual haul of fresh corpses dries up, they stumble upon a mausoleum brimming with untouched coffins—only to find themselves trapped in a night of rising horrors. As the coffins open and the dead stir, a chilling betrayal looms, and the line between hunter and prey begins to blur.

In the shadowed depths of the Catacombs, Pietro Miuta flees with stolen silver, his treachery already sealing his fate. With Gino Alcari dead and the tunnels swallowing him whole, the flicker of his lamp becomes his only guide—until darkness claims it all.

In "Out of Sight...", the carnival’s famed mind-reader, Mr. Evans — known as The Great Brain — relies on his sharp intellect and his slow-witted partner Benny to dazzle the crowd. When Benny’s mistake threatens the act, he turns to Hulda Larson, the only one who ever truly saw him. But Evans, jealous and possessive, won’t let their bond go unchallenged — and what happens next turns the spotlight into something far darker.