The October Game

[cyberghostface]

 

For Halloween here is EC's adaptation of one of Ray Bradbury's most (in)famous stories.

This is from Shock SuspenStories #9.

The story opens with a man named Mitch Wilder putting a gun back in his drawer. He is contemplating killing his wife but decides not to as it would be over too quick and she wouldn't suffer.


We find out that he is bitter at his wife for having their daughter in her image as opposed to having a dark-haired boy. Louse in turns dotes on Marion. Mitch finds himself trapped and unhappy in what he considers to be a frigid relationship with a family that does not love him. He considers divorce or to simply leave but he wants to find a way to hurt Louise first.

On Halloween they have a party for the neighborhood kids with the final game being 'The Tomb of the Witch'. 

Comments

[fra080389]

"Then some idiot turned on the light" = "Then some idiot Turned off the light" in that shelter story?
He really loved that punchline.

[cyberghostface]

Bradbury only did this one.

[captainbellman]

You can tell because in this version it makes sense...

[icon_uk]

At least it's a magnificent punchline!

[full_metal_ox]

And, in a sad and bitter sense, little Marion got her Halloween wish: the scare she gave the partygoers would become legend.

[captainbellman]

The definitive EC horror comic?

[starwolf_oakley]

Wasn't there at least one (maybe more) EC story about children doing rather extreme things to protect their parents. Like "Children are monsters... To the bad people who would hurt mother and father."

[sindra]

So....because his kid looked like her mom and not him and he felt unloved, he hated them both enough to murder the kid?



I mean, I know some of these stories have flimsy reasoning a lot of the time, but jesus christ......

[cyberghostface]

I don’t think Bradbury’s intent was to give him a valid motive.

[wizardru]

This is a guy who broke into tears because AUTUMN. I think it's pretty clear the implication is that he had managed to hide the fact that he was deeply disturbed and he finally cracked.