Horror Comics Review - John Stanley - The Monster Of Dread End

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1962 – Ghost Stories Issue 1 – Mammoth Books – Spoiler alerts Though first seen in a collection called Ghost Stories, it is actually about a reptilian monster, though whether it is alien or supernatural is never specified. The American town of Hawthorn Place is subjected to mysterious deaths, with the victims crushed and discarded like empty sweet wrappers. The towns-people leave and eventually a full scale evacuation empties the streets entirely, as the town is renamed Dread End. A young boy remains behind, hoping to figure out what killed his sister. He sees a giant claw emerge from a manhole cover and it almost catches him before the army gun the creature down. We never see more than the one long serpentine claw. The boy is safe now. This would have made a great Outer Limits episode, and its genuine sense of mystery and violence is quite potent. Arthur Chappell