Shiver SuspenStories

v2 #1:

A second Christmas-themed (or I should say "holiday-themed" since one of them is about Hanukkah) issue of Shiver Suspenstories for the second year in a row!

"Hark, the headless angels sing! Glory to the be-head-ings!"

"Eight Vengeful Nights" - A bullied boy gets seven practical joke gifts in a row (starting with a whoopee cushion) until on the final night he gets a gun. (That is not the end of the story.)
"Mistletoe" - An desperate incel starts the rumor of the "mistletoe maniac" to get gullible women to accept lazy passes. Except he really is the mistltoe maniac. (And again, that is not the end.)
"Ginger-Snapped" - An old woman has noisy neighbors. She bakes them cookies.
"Red Season" - A mall Santa gets drunk, finds himself locked in the mall overnight. When he finds a little girl who was also locked in, he has the opportunity to do something nice. What will he do?

...plus "The Execution" by Johnny Craig from Crime SuspenStories #12 (1952).

"Happy Holidays to all... and to all a good FRIGHT!"

As usual, the EC reprint was the highlight. But that's just me. Some part of my brain lives in the '40s and '50s.

I was a little disappointed in "Eight Vengeful Nights," as the ending wasn't as vile as I hoped it would be. I liked "Mistletoe," which not only Served Justice but had a clever gimmick. I think I most enjoy the ones most where somebody Gets What's Coming to Them. Although "Red Season" matched that profile, the ending wasn't all that clever, so eh. I guess it was the journey. "Ginger-Snapped" was OK, but if it were me, I'd have started the story a page after the end of the last page, with new arrivals and the mystery of what happened to the old tenants hanging over them ... until we find out.

"In the bleak midwinter, frosty winds did moan ..."

Replies

Jeff of Earth-J December 11, 2025 at 2:50pm
v2 #1:

A second Christmas-themed (or I should say "holiday-themed" since one of them is about Hanukkah) issue of Shiver Suspenstories for the second year in a row!

"Hark, the headless angels sing! Glory to the be-head-ings!"
- "Eight Vengeful Nights" - A bullied boy gets seven practical joke gifts in a row (starting with a whoopee cushion) until on the final night he gets a gun. (That is not the end of the story.)
- "Mistletoe" - An desperate incel starts the rumor of the "mistletoe maniac" to get gullible women to accept lazy passes. Except he really is the mistltoe maniac. (And again, that is not the end.)
- "Ginger-Snapped" - An old woman has noisy neighbors. She bakes them cookies.
- "Red Season" - A mall Santa gets drunk, finds himself locked in the mall overnight. When he finds a little girl who was also locked in, he has the opportunity to do something nice. What will he do?
...plus "The Execution" by Johnny Craig from Crime SuspenStories #12 (1952).

"Happy Holidays to all... and to all a good FRIGHT!"
- Captain Comics > Jeff of Earth-J December 18, 2025 at 6:51pm
  
  As usual, the EC reprint was the highlight. But that's just me. Some part of my brain lives in the '40s and '50s.
  
  I was a little disappointed in "Eight Vengeful Nights," as the ending wasn't as vile as I hoped it would be. I liked "Mistletoe," which not only Served Justice but had a clever gimmick. I think I most enjoy the ones most where somebody Gets What's Coming to Them. Although "Red Season" matched that profile, the ending wasn't all that clever, so eh. I guess it was the journey. "Ginger-Snapped" was OK, but if it were me, I'd have started the story a page after the end of the last page, with new arrivals and the mystery of what happened to the old tenants hanging over them ... until we find out.
  
  "In the bleak midwinter, frosty winds did moan ..."

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