Appearing in "The Black Dungeon"
Featured Characters:
- Helga Gruber (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Otto (First appearance; dies)
- Herr Wolfe (Helga's Father)
Antagonists:
- Konrad Gruber (First appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Numerous unnamed citizens
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-616
- Earthspace
- Earth
- Europe
- Germany
- Unidentified Town
- Germany
- North America
- Europe
- Earth
- Heaven (Referenced)
- Earthspace
Synopsis for "The Black Dungeon"
A woman befriends an ugly man who works for her as a servant. The town tailor wants her as his wife and so the ugly servant resolves to protect her from his evil, but the tailor succeeds in leaving Otto to die in the black dungeon. As he is leaving the cemetery, he still hears Otto's voice trailing after him promising to protect the young lady...always. The woman is forced into an unwanted marriage with the brutish tailor who keeps her prisoner in her own home. To cheer herself up, she clothes one of the ugly tailor's dummies and refers to it as "Otto". One day, her husband becomes violent with her and the dummy gets up and strangles him.
Appearing in "The Faceless Man"
Featured Characters:
- Steve Parker (First appearance; dies)
Supporting Characters:
- Beth Parker (First appearance)
- Mr. Bixby
Antagonists:
- Faceless Man (Steve Parker) (First appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Unidentified Police Department
- Two unnamed police officers
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-616
- Earthspace
- Heaven (Referenced)
Synopsis for "The Faceless Man"
A man's unconscious manifestation eggs him on to embezzle from the bank and when he shoots the figure to be free of him, he realizes in his last moments that he has shot himself.
Appearing in "The Day I Die"
Featured Characters:
- John Corey (First appearance; dies) (Swaps bodies with Varga)
Antagonists:
- Varga (First appearance; dies) (Swaps bodies with John Corey)
Other Characters:
- Two unnamed correction officers
- Unnamed Priest
- Unnamed Man (First appearance; dies)
- Unidentified Police Department
- Unnamed Police Officer
- Unnamed Judge
- Death (Referenced)
- Numerous unnamed Venusians
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Day I Die"
A man awaiting execution agrees to exchange bodies with a Venusian only to discover the alien is likewise a convict scheduled for death.
Appearing in "The Shivering Flame"
Lawbreakers Always Lose #10
Featured Characters:
- Unnamed Guest
Supporting Characters:
- Unnamed Girl (Ghost, soul or spirit)
Other Characters:
- Several unnamed friends
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Shivering Flame"
Lawbreakers Always Lose #10
A person stays with some friends at their home in Maine when he spots a ghost girl walk its grounds. That night the girl appeared to the guest and was about to seemingly light fire to the drapes when the guest snapped out of it. When the guest met up with their friends some time later he learned that the house had burned down and the fire started in the room they stayed in.
Appearing in "The Forbidden Drink"
Featured Characters:
- Philip Sanderson (First appearance) (Apparent death)
Supporting Characters:
- Rosalie Thorton (First appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Numerous unnamed theater patrons
- Unnamed Manager (Philip Sanderson)
- Juan Ponce de León (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Fountain of Youth (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "The Forbidden Drink"
An aging actor offers to "sell his soul" for the chance to be young again and woo the beautiful young girl of his eye. No sooner does he utter the words, when a mysterious man appears at his door offering him a jug of water he claims is from the fountain of youth. He says he will claim payment...later...and vanishes. The actor is doubtful it could actually work, but drinks from the jug anyways and finds to his surprise that he is a young man once again. The first thing he thinks to do to drive to the young lady's house and propose for a second time that day, but when he arrives and proposes she laughs at him again. He demands to know why she is laughing and she says "This is rich! Two proposals in one day. One from an old man and one from a boy. Even little boys fall for me!" The actor realizes it's true and he's still getting younger even as a boy. He fears venturing into the night for he knows the sinister creature is waiting to collect his soul.
Notes
- "The Black Dungeon" is reprinted in Beware #8.
- "The Forbidden Drink" is reprinted in Giant-Size Dracula #4.