Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Ghosts #89 -- Waitaminute, so are they skeletons wearing mermaid dresses, or mermaids who have only partially been turned into skeletons, or... ?

I. "Ghosts And The Supernatural" -- Our introduction posits whether the monsters of the world could possibly be the spirits of the dead.

II. "Came The Spectre Shrouded In Seaweed" -- A treasure diver double-crosses his partner, letting him die of "accidental" asphyxiation due to nitrogen narcosis. After getting all the loot for himself, the diver is visited by spectral friend! Retreating to his attic with a candlelabra, the diver spends all night up there... and is found the next morning, dead of supposedly "accidental" asphyxiation. Because "spooks" don't show up on coroner's reports.

III. "The Ghost Of 'The Estate'" -- Text story from the "files of Dr. Geist." An insurance salesmen from Manhattan has problems mowing one plot in his giant yard. When he tries to do it by hand, lightning strikes the spot, revealing his house as being built over, you guessed, the ubiquitous Indian Burial Ground.

IV. "The Phantom's Last Act" -- A scientist working on creating a holographic projector is murdered by his young collaborator, who takes all the credit. At a demonstration, the projector seems to display the events of the murder, driving the young man to try to block the images -- only to be flash-fried by the projector's laser. Did the ghost of the dead man have it's revenge, or was it just plain old guilt? You make the call.

V. "Haunted Coffin" -- A magician is murdered by his protege while performing a coffin escape. The assistant takes the magician's place, claiming he will top the old master's routine, by using a microphone to speak to the audience while in the oblong box. When locked in the coffin, the young man is met by the looming ghost of the old master, who delays him long enough to suffocate in the locked box. The audience, though, has to wonder: was the ghostly voice real or part of the act? It's like a Clive Barker novella or something.

Overall Weird Factor: 3 (out of 5)

This issue also has some nifty "bonus features," namely, house subscription ads for four Mystery tiles (House of Mystery, Unexpected, Secrets Of The Haunted House, and Ghosts), as well as a fabulous subscription ad for Weird War Tales. Ghosts focus strictly on the supposedly "true tales" of the supernatural does help differentiate from it's contemporaries. The second feature is easily the best, with a good ending, even if it is predictable.