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"Follow the Piper to Your Grave": Vic Mason and his girlfriend Mona Evans are in search of a haunted house for their magazine assignment. They drive through the back country roads and run into a run down house that looks like it might be haunted. They look around the deserted house and decide

The Unexpected #127 is an issue of the series The Unexpected (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1971.

Synopsis for "Follow the Piper to Your Grave"

Vic Mason and his girlfriend Mona Evans are in search of a haunted house for their magazine assignment. They drive through the back country roads and run into a run down house that looks like it might be haunted. They look around the deserted house and decide that it might be useful for their magazine feature. In the meantime Mona is growing tired and hungry, they decide to return to the house in the morning and go in search of a place to stay for the night. They come upon a place across the bridge called Tourist Home, the place looks dilapidated and run down but they don’t care because they are extremely tired. The creepy owner introduces himself as Mr Lucey and he escorts them to his best room. Mona decides to retire for the night but Vic wants to return to the haunted house they had visited earlier. He sets out in his car and leaves Mona by herself in the hotel room. As he travels, it suddenly begins to rain heavily but Vic manages to reach the house in a short time. As he searches the inside he is summoned by a rescue worker that informs him that the bridge that he crossed has gone out. Vic mentions that he has left his girlfriend behind at the Tourist Home but the rescue worker remarks that he must be mistaken. The Tourist Home place has been deserted for years ever since the owner Frank Lucey was believed to have murdered his wife and disappeared into the swamp. Vic gets in his car and rushes to retrieve his girlfriend. He gets to the bridge and sees that it has collapsed. Determined to get across he jumps across to the other side in his car daredevil style. In the meantime Mona is fast asleep in her room when she is suddenly awakened by pipe music. She is mesmerized by the sound and follows it outside as Lucey summons her to enter the swamp. All of a sudden she is stopped by Vic Mason as he holds her in his arms. Mona is surprised to see him and breaks out of her trance but Vic begins to fade away and disappear. Mona is left standing there alone in the swamp as the Sherriff approaches and makes sure that she is alright. He mentions that he wants Mona to see something and takes her to the collapsed bridge where Vics car is being fished out of the water by a crane. Vic had died trying to get across the bridge to reach Mona. Mona is left standing there wondering how Vic returned from the beyond to save her.

Appearing in "Follow the Piper to Your Grave"

  • Appearances not yet listed

Synopsis for "The Cats Who New Too Much"

reprinted from House of Secrets Vol 1 8 A butler named Michael Renner murders his employer by pushing her down a set of stairs. The victims name was Miss Hale who was very fond of her three cats. At the reading of the will, Renner finds out that he was bequeathed Miss Hales wealth but it can only be used for the care of her three cats. Mrs Hales closest friend Mrs Moore is also in attendance and expresses her sympathy to Renner. Once the cats pass away, the fortune reverts to the Hillcrest Animal Home. Renner is devastated but figures that he can invest the money and make himself a small fortune. He immediately fires the remaining staff and settles into his new domain. Almost immediately he begins to feel creeped out by the cats. He senses them staring at him and it frays at his nerves. At one point he is walking by the main stairway when a giant vase almost falls on him. He looks up and sees a black cat named Ebony who seems to have pushed the vase. He then relaxes by the pool but gets is burned by heat lamp that he thought was unplugged. Frenzied by his near brushes with death, he decides to pack up the three cats and abandon them in the desert. When he arrives back at the mansion he finds the three cats looking down at him from the top of the stairs. Renner breaks down and confesses to the murder. He is surprised to see that Mrs Moore is also at the police station. She reveals that she helped the police gain his confession. Mrs Moore reveals that she knew of Renners hatred for the cats and that is was she that plugged in the sunlamp that almost burned him. Mrs Moore had also rescued the cats from the desert and brought them back to the Mansion. Renner learns that he had been a suspect from the beginning because of a letter he wrote to his tailor canceling his annual new butlers uniform right before the murder. Renner admits that he wrote the letter but never actually mailed it. Renner admits that he realized the letter would make him a suspect so he burned it. The letter is indeed charred but it was somehow saved from the fire. The only clue as to how that happened is three little telltale holes in the corner as if an animal had it in its mouth. The cats had their unexpected revenge after all.

Appearing in "The Cats Who New Too Much"

  • Appearances not yet listed

Synopsis for "The Ferry was Waiting"

Doctor Rawling is driving home at three A.M.in hopes of catching a ferry across the bay. Unfortunately the last ferry crosses the bay at two A.M. The doctor decides to drive down to the bay in hopes that the ferry might still be there. To his relief he sees the vague outline of a vessel in the fog. He boards the ferry and sees his old friend Captain Slocum. The captain mentions that he is indeed late but that he was expecting the doctor to show up so he waited for him. The vessel pushes through the thick fog. Doctor Rawlings expresses his gratitude and Captain Slocum responds by saying that one turn deserves another. The captain goes on to mention that he had not forgotten the time the Doctor stayed up all night with his wife when she took sick. They arrive on the other side of the bay and the Doctor drives off as the captain waives and shouts that he was he could not sleep until he repayed his debt. The next morning the doctor arrives at the Ferry with other commuters but is surprised to see a strange man commanding the vessel. He inquired about his friend Captain Slocum and mentions that he had seen the Captain at three AM the previous night. The new commander is astounded and reveals that Captain Slocum had died at two in the morning the previous night. The doctor then realizes that the captain had come back from the dead to repay his debt before sleeping.

Appearing in "The Ferry was Waiting"

  • Appearances not yet listed

Synopsis for "The $30,000 Corpse"

A man gets released from prison after serving three tortuous years. He thinks back to how he robbed a coal miners payroll and got away with $30,000. At his trial he is fingered by an eyewitness and gets sentenced to his prison term. He was determined not to reveal where he hid the payroll money. Upon his release he heads straight to his house in his squalid hometown. The man is excited at the anticipation of obtaining the stolen money from its hiding place. He is greeted at the door by his mother who reveals that the mans father has passed away. She goes on to state that his father is lying in his casket in the house awaiting burial. The man looks upon his deceased father as he notices that his father is wearing his former suit. The mother mentions that she needed something nice for the father to wear. The funeral proceeds in the drenching rain as the man witnesses his father lowered into the grave. He sheds tears not for his father but for the $30,000 that was sown into the lining of the suits jacket which was worn by the corpse.

Appearing in "The $30,000 Corpse"

  • Appearances not yet listed

Synopsis for "Queen of the Snows"

reprinted from Sensation Comics Vol 1 107 Johnny Peril travels 7000 miles to find a friend named Lee Allen on the slopes of Mt Subara. He finds an incoherent Lee murmuring about a beautiful woman with a crown of roses on the mountain. Peril helps his friend down the mountain to base camp but his friend does not survive. The guides inform Peril that his friend was killed by Subara the ice queen who lives on the mountain. They claim that she is the most beautiful and the most deadly woman in the world. Peril announces that he must return to the coast with the body of his friend but the guides urge him to bury his friend on the mountain. His friend belongs to Subara the ice queen. Peril dismisses their fears but they are suddenly caught in a devastating avalanche. Peril rescues everybody but the body of his friend is missing. The native guides maintain that his friend is now with Subara. Peril stubbornly refuses to leave his friend and announces that he intends to dig for his body until it is found. Peril then finds himself under attack and when he comes to he finds himself bound to a sled. The guides tell him they intend to return him back to the coast away from Subara for his own good. Two weeks later, Johnny Peril is on the coast meeting with his two explorer friends Bill Davis and Jack Gordon. Peril relates his experience on Mt Subara and reveals his intentions to return to look for the infamous ice queen. His friends state that they will go with him. During the climb up the mountain, Johnny becomes separated from his friends. He struggles to climb the mountain on his own. He finds a crevice that contains the body of Subara. He hears a mocking laughter and sees her beautiful face. The phantom embraces Johnny but then pushes him down a crevice. Johnny seizes her arm and throws her off balance and the phantom lady falls silently down the crevice. Johnny returns to the base of the mountain where he finds his friend Bill Davis. He relates that he has seen Subara and that she was real. His friend is skeptical until Johnny produces a crown of roses from his jacket.

Appearing in "Queen of the Snows"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Subara, the Ice Queen (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Lee Allen (Single appearance; dies)
  • Bill Davis (Single appearance)
  • Jack Gordon (Single appearance)

Locations:

  • Mount Subara

Synopsis for "Frightened to Death"

A lone survivor is floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean. He is baked mercilessly by the brutal sun. He survives on an occasional fish through the worst of conditions. Weak and half starved, he finally spots land. As he rows towards the landmass he spots a reflection in the water. He thinks it is a monster that is about to destroy him in his moment of triumph. He starts to pound the water with his oar but then collapses dead. The man had apparently seen the reflection of his own face in the water, shrunken, unshaved and seared by untold agony. The gruesome sight frightened him to death and brought about his final demise.

Appearing in "Frightened to Death"

  • Appearances not yet listed



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