Monday, July 8, 2013
Death in the Night
The fourth and finale story from the September 1953 issue of Mysteries #3 --it's not the craziest story in the bunch, but its got a few memorable moments of unintentional hilarity and horror for sure... check the THOIA Archive for "The Avenging Corpse", "Shrinking Horror", and "Demons of the Swamp."
"Yes! He died of the Black Plague! First he got some black eyes, and then he broke out in black heads, and then he just blacked out! Would you officers mind taking his blackmail with you when you visit his black widow?"
ReplyDeleteOddly, I'm fairly certain that I've read this story before, yet I cannot remember where nor explain how I could not remember where.
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ReplyDeleteIf you think of the title let us know, Dan... I was slightly reminded of Elia Kazan's 1950's film "Panic in the Streets"
ReplyDeleteWas there no libraries in 1953?
ReplyDelete(1) Antibiotics existed by then (and were in use), so, yes, there is a known cure.
(2) There were black death outbreaks all the way up until now, even, so, no, not "unknown since the 16th century."
(3) It doesn't turn you black
(4) It was not spread by Professor Miles Warren in a prototype Jackal suit.
The bottom of page 5 is great. The woman is screaming that she's "fallen" but it looks like she has leap over backwards, the monster thinks she jumped, and the train conductor thinks she was pushed! No wonder you can't trust eye witnesses!
haha
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