- ...That battle-axe was real! Another second and you'd have been beside yourself!
The Phantom Stranger (Volume 2) #3 is an issue of the series The Phantom Stranger (Volume 2) with a cover date of October, 1969.
Synopsis for "How Do You Know My Name?"
Jody Cahill and some friends sneak into his father's amusement park carnival after hours. They find one of the cards dead on the ground. The Phantom Stranger appears and warns them about stumbling around through the park. He recognizes the boy's name and recalls an incident that occurred ten years ago.
This story is reprinted from The Phantom Stranger #5.
Jerry Cahill and his brother Jay co-own a carnival park. Their star attraction is the fortune teller Vasti. Vasti warns them that great spirits and death haunt the park. There are several instances where equipment behaves strangely and people claim to see ghosts attacking them. The Phantom Stranger arrives and learns that Jay Cahill, desiring to keep the business for himself, had hired Vasti to stage these disruptions so that the park would do poorly, thus forcing Jerry to sell his share to him. The Stranger exposes the scheme and Jay Cahill and Vasti are taken to jail.
But now, it looks like strange things are occurring at the carnival once again. Phantom Stranger then learns that Jerry Cahill has decided to hire an occult debunker and he deduces it must be Dr. Terrence Thirteen, with whom the Phantom Stranger has had run-ins before.
Appearing in "How Do You Know My Name?"
Featured Characters:
- Phantom Stranger (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
- Jerry Cahill (Flashback only)
- Peggy (Flashback only)
Antagonists:
- Jay Cahill (Flashback only)
- Vasti (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Jerry Cahill (Single appearance)
- Jody Cahill (Single appearance)
- Mr. Yanchus (Single appearance; dies)
- Phil (Flashback only)
- Caspar (Flashback only)
- Joan (Flashback only)
- Jimmy (Flashback only)
Synopsis for "No Such Things as Ghosts!"
At Jerry Cahill's home, Dr. Thirteen recalls his previous experience with a similar situation when he confronted the "Ghost of Paris".
This story is reprinted from Star-Spangled Comics #126.
Dr. Thirteen and his fiancé Marie Leeds take in an opera at the Paris Opera House. But as they watch the play, the female lead of the show dies. Employees immediately begin suspecting the Phantom of Paris, a ghoul who haunted the opera house over a century ago. Thirteen doesn't believe in ghosts and decides to investigate as his own. He masquerades as one of the other opera singers and flushes the phantom out. The phantom tries to escape by leaping from a balcony box onto the chandelier, but he is too heavy for it, and the chandelier drops plunging the Phantom to his doom. Thirteen removes the phantom disguise from the corpse to discover that it is actually a man named Ferandel. Ferandel was a writer who tried selling his plays to several opera house officials. But no one ever bought any of his work. Out for revenge, he inflated the century old Phantom legend and began stalking people in the opera house. Dr. Thirteen debunks another mystery.
After Thirteen ends his telling of the previous case, Jerry's wife enters the room and informs them that their son is missing and the Ghost Breaker goes to the carnival to solve the mystery and save the kid.
Appearing in "No Such Things as Ghosts!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jerry Cahill
- Mrs. Cahill
Antagonists:
- Ferandel, the Phantom of Paris (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Marie Leeds-Thirteen (Flashback only)
Locations:
Synopsis for "Some Day in Some Dark Alley..."
Dr. Thirteen soon arrives at the carnival, where he finds the Phantom Stranger, but none of them are able to locate Jody Cahill. They hear him screaming in terror moments later. They race into the House of Thrills. The Stranger and Thirteen save each other's lives avoiding various traps and pitfalls.
They find the fortune teller Vasti is behind the attacks. But this is impossible as it has been reported that Vasti died in prison. Thirteen chases Vasti out of the house and towards the Ferris Wheel. Vasti scales the wheel but finds the Phantom Stranger waiting for him in one of the cars. Vasti tries to escape his grip, but slips and falls to his death.
On the ground, Dr. Thirteen discovers that this is not Vasti, but Jay Cahill. He wanted revenge on his brother for sending him to prison for ten years and perpetuated the idea of Vasti's ghost in order to drive the carnival into ruin again. Having solved the case together, Dr. Thirteen takes the kid back to his parents and the Phantom Stranger vanishes in thin air.
Appearing in "Some Day in Some Dark Alley..."
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jody Cahill
Antagonists:
- Jay Cahill (Final appearance; dies)
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Showcase Presents: The Phantom Stranger Vol. 1.
- "How Do You Know My Name?" contains a reprint of "The Stars Screamed Danger!", which was originally printed in The Phantom Stranger #5.
- "No Such Things as Ghosts"' contains a reprint of "The Phantom of Paris", which was originally printed in Star-Spangled Comics #126.
- Neal Adams becomes the regularly featured cover artist beginning with this issue.
- The Vasti that appears in this issue is not to be confused with the carnival mentalist seen in various Deadman stories.