—Wilbur CollinsCemetery Hill... tree... he... ugh!
Appearing in "Horror on Haunted Hill!"
Featured Characters:
- Wilbur Collins (First appearance; dies)
Supporting Characters:
- Unidentified County Police
- Captain Doug Michels (First appearance)
- Harry
- "Trigger" Grezno (First appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
- Saturnian Criminal (First appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Daily Mark (Named only)
- Two unnamed children
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-616
- Sol
- Earth
- North America
- United States of America
- "Haunted Hill"
- United States of America
- Moon
- North America
- Saturn (Mentioned)
- Earth
- Sol
Vehicles:
- Saturnian Spaceship
Synopsis for "Horror on Haunted Hill!"
Wilbur Collins is a caretaker who witnesses a spacecraft fly over and into the cemetery he's tending to. Upon reaching the scene where he saw the spaceship he finds it has already departed. Soon after he is surprised to hear he wasn't alone at the scene like he thought and is badly injured and left for dead by the alien who informs Wilbur that he was exiled to Earth for committing crimes on Saturn.
At dawn Wilbur makes his way to the road where he meets with the police and retells his story where in his attacker was on the hill and from space. Before he could fully clarify what he had seen Wilbur dies from his injuries. The police Captain and an officer investigate the hill but see nothing except a lone dying tree. They assume Wilbur was beaten by some homeless and that the story about invaders from space was due to a head wound. Even so the story spread and the hill soon became known as Haunted Hill and no one would dare enter the area.
A crook named Grezno took advantage of what he thought were stories and decided to hide out on the hill from law enforcement. While on the hill to Grezno's surprise he was attacked by the tree who identified himself as the alien. In the midst of their struggle lightning strikes the tree and kills both Grezno and the alien. When police investigate the scene they chalk up Wilbur's death to Grezno and that Grezno himself died by the tree getting struck by lightning.
A similar story called "Midnight on Haunted Hill" is told in Tales to Astonish #28.
Appearing in "Forever is a Long Time!"
Featured Characters:
- Paul Burk (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Genie of Barku (First appearance)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "Forever is a Long Time!"
A penniless man by the name of Paul Burk is out looking through garbage to find enough money to buy a drink when he stumbles upon a bottle with a genie inside. Upon releasing the Genie it informs Paul that not only does it not want to grant him any wishes but instead wants to return to the bottle and the only way to do so is if Paul grants the genie permission.
Paul refuses to grant the genie his wish unless Paul receives three wishes. The genie accepts angerly and so Paul asks for three things: money, good looks, and everything he never got in life. Paul's wishes are granted and so the genie asks to be returned to the bottle. Paul not liking his attitude makes him lick his shoes before granting him permission to return to the bottle. The genie returns to the bottle but not before grasping Paul's leg and dragging him into the bottle with him for all eternity or unless Paul can get the genie's permission to leave.
A similar story called "The Genie with the Light Brown Hair" is told in Journey Into Mystery #76.
Appearing in "A Shriek in the Night"
Featured Characters:
- Unnamed Good Samaritan (Apparent death)
Antagonists:
- Unnamed Man
- Unnamed Woman
Other Characters:
- Devil (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "A Shriek in the Night"
A man is sleeping on a park bench when he suddenly hears a scream. He sees a beautiful damsel running towards him in panic. She is being chased by a large man who seems bent on harming her. He struggles with the threatening man. The fight finally ends when the attacking man falls to the ground. The bewildered man turns to find the beautiful damsel but he quickly sees that she is turning into an ugly old hag who now begins to choke the life out of him.
Appearing in "The Inheritance"
Featured Characters:
- Emery Jordan (First appearance) (Theodore's Son)
Supporting Characters:
- Robert L. Parkhurst (First appearance) (Lawyer)
Antagonists:
- Reva Jordan (First appearance; dies) (Theodore's Sister)
- Conelius Jordan (First appearance; dies) (Theodore's Brother)
Other Characters:
- Unnamed Priest
- Theodore Jordan (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- Dr. Myra Watson (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-616
- Earth
- United States of America
- Chesterton (First appearance)
- Chester Hill (First appearance)
- Unidentified Cemetery
- Chesterton Scientific Institute (Mentioned)
- Chester Hill (First appearance)
- Chesterton (First appearance)
- United States of America
- Earth
Items:
- Theodore Jordan's Serum X-L
Synopsis for "The Inheritance"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "The Man Who Walked on Water!"
Featured Characters:
- Joe Russo (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Unnamed Man
Other Characters:
- Neptune (Invoked)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Vehicles:
- Murky (Joe Russo's Boat)
Synopsis for "The Man Who Walked on Water!"
A man name Joe Russo is fishing on his boat when he spots a man walking on the waters surface. He approaches the walking man who seems to be in a daze. He inquires as to how the man is able to walk on water but the dazed man just tells him to go away and leave him alone. Russo concludes that he can make a fortune if he can discover how the man is achieving this impossible feat. He points a rifle at the man urging him to reveal his secret and the man relents. He takes Russo to the the bottom of the sea where he make him rub his body with coral and performs a ritual. In no time Russo gains the ability to breath underwater and he is also able to walk on the surface. Russo is rejoicing and begins to celebrate at his new found skill. He then walks towards the beach where he quickly begins to sink. The strange man tells him that he can now walk on water but on land he will drown.
Appearing in "The Man Who Steals Gravestones!"
Featured Characters:
- Josiah Creech (First appearance) (Apparent death)
Antagonists:
- Unnamed Ghost
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Man Who Steals Gravestones!"
A thief by the name of Josiah Creech routinely steals headstones from a nearby cemetery. He rubs them off and resells them at his shop in town. One day he receives a customer that is insistent on purchasing a headstone right away. He instructs Creech that the headstone must be delivered and installed that same night, money is no object. Creech happily installs the headstone knowing full well that he will come back later to remove it for resale. At one point he turns around and the customer is gone. Creech is outraged that his time has been wasted and begins to remove the headstone. As he is working he begins to sink into the grave. He sinks lower and lower until he finds himself inside the coffin. He is shocked to see that the coffin belongs to the customer that walked into his shop earlier that evening. The corpse then announces that he will now share the headstone with Creech since he was so determined to obtain it for himself.
Notes
- "Horror on Haunted Hill!" is reprinted in Beware #4.
- "Forever Is a Long Time!" is reprinted in Beware #4.
- "A Shriek in the Night" is reprinted in Beware #4.
- "The Inheritance" is reprinted in Marvel Tales #129.
- "The Man Who Walked on Water!" is reprinted in Beware #4.
- "The Man Who Steals Gravestones!" is reprinted in Crypt of Shadows #5.
See Also
- 1 image(s) from Adventures into Weird Worlds Vol 1 14
- 3 reprint(s) of Adventures into Weird Worlds Vol 1 14