The Viyi

We're kicking off May with a slight change of pace, a very condensed, though no less beautifully illustrated (by Esteban Maroto) version of Nikolai Golgo's supernatural folklore classic from the Ukraine, The Viy. Appearing in the November 1972 issue of Dracula Volume 5 #1 from New English Library, it's a terrifying tale originally about a priest who kills a witch and is then forced to watch and pray over her body for 3 consecutive nights in a haunted chapel. Of course each night gets more and more intense as she simply will not stay dead. If you've ever seen the tremendous Russian horror film version from 1967 --full of flying coffins and an army of demonic creatures literally crawling out of the woodwork-- then you already know why Mr. Karswell is posting this. And if for some reason you haven't seen the film yet, it is currently available on Shudder as The Viy. But for now, let this shortened / altered version whet your freaky fanged whistles...

The Drifting Snow

For all of my snow-bound friends on the east coast, here's a frigidly faithful Tony Isabella and Esteban Maroto adaptation of August Derleth's fear-fraught Weird Tales short story classic "The Drifting Snow" from the April 1974 issue of Vampire Tales #4 magazine. Awesome cover by Boris too, though the blurb incorrectly states the story is called "Night of the Snow Vampire." Keep warm friends, we'll get back into the precode gold next-- stay tombed!