Eerie #3

In "The Case of the Painted Beast!", a chilling tale from Eerie #3 (1951), a man’s lifelong terror of snakes takes a supernatural turn when his past catches up with him. After sharing a cell with a man who claimed to have killed a witch, Hinchley witnesses the witch’s spirit return as a talking snake—only to see her vanish her former cellmate whole. Now, years later, the fear that haunts him may not be imagined. When Hinchley disappears after a nap in a boxcar, his friend discovers a snake with a bloated stomach in the corner, its eyes fixed on the scene. The story, illustrated with eerie precision by Wally Wood—pencils and inks on the cover—delivers a classic horror twist with a haunting, lingering dread.