Anyone remember this story? 1 1

[World Devourer]

I was talking to a dealer recently about EC stories and we picked favourites. As it turns out we both enjoyed "Wolf Bait" from Haunt of Fear #13. 

Set in early 20th C  Russia, a group of travellers in a sleigh are pursued by ravenous wolves. All efforts to slow the wolves fail, including a soldier shooting two wolves with the two bullets he has (the starving wolves devour their companions and then continue the chase).

The appeal was in the fact that the group agree someone has to die to save the others,  because if the wolves bring down the horse driving the sleigh, they all die.

The town is nearby, but when the choice has to be made...

Does anyone recall this story?

Edited July 1, 2018 by World Devourer

[Larryw7]

I remember it well. It always bothered me because of the ethical dilemma. Especially since one of the passengers was a baby. 

[ender]

This certainly sounds like a great story.  Has it been reprinted anywhere?  Comic Book Plus doesn't have any EC on their site, so I would assume it is not public domain.   Any leads would be appreciated!

[World Devourer]

Here's a synopsis from the EC Comics wiki:

http://eccomics.wikia.com/wiki/Haunt_of_Fear_Vol_1_13

Be warned - spoilers!

[Artboy99]

cool story!

 

A favorite of mine is from a book I can't recall:

A scientist is constantly rejected by the women of the world so he decides to make his own...a robot.

Once he is done, the female robot also rejects him!

[N e r V]

 

Not having a clear answer upset some fans but I think many have narrowed it down to two choices.

[Artboy99]

1 hour ago, N e r V said:

 

Not having a clear answer upset some fans but I think many have narrowed it down to two choices.

but who? Who? WHO!!??!!???

Spoiler

my pick is the old man who was bringing the meat. Now he has no meat, and the rest could take the little money he has to buy more for the starving family. He has also lived his life. Choice 2 would be the driver who suggested the idea in the first place!

 

Edited June 30, 2018 by Artboy99

[N e r V]

Usually the old man or baby. You’re hardly going to kick the driver out with no one to drive the horses. Aged have lived their lives and baby is easy, expendable and less attachments. Young woman has a life and could always have another.

Without saying what is right or wrong human beings have a logical sense sometimes, twisted logic other times, and a will to live often at the expense of their fellow men...

[James J Johnson]

6 hours ago, N e r V said:

Usually the old man or baby. You’re hardly going to kick the driver out with no one to drive the horses. Aged have lived their lives and baby is easy, expendable and less attachments. Young woman has a life and could always have another.

Without saying what is right or wrong human beings have a logical sense sometimes, twisted logic other times, and a will to live often at the expense of their fellow men...

Age old common theme. Wolves chasing sleigh parties through the Russian wilderness, the question of sacrifice, and where the phrase, "Throwing one to the wolves" came from. Hundreds of years old. Pure folklore of the old wives' tales variety. Wolves, even in packs rarely attack people, and whenever riding through areas with wolves and other threats, Russians took firearms as precautions.

Edited July 1, 2018 by James J Johnson

[World Devourer]

7 hours ago, N e r V said:

Usually the old man or baby. You’re hardly going to kick the driver out with no one to drive the horses. Aged have lived their lives and baby is easy, expendable and less attachments. Young woman has a life and could always have another.

Without saying what is right or wrong human beings have a logical sense sometimes, twisted logic other times, and a will to live often at the expense of their fellow men...

Thank you for posting the story. When you say "narrowed" down did you actually mean "marrowed" down?

Some Crypt Keeper humour...

[World Devourer]

8 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

but who? Who? WHO!!??!!???

  Reveal hidden contents

my pick is the old man who was bringing the meat. Now he has no meat, and the rest could take the little money he has to buy more for the starving family. He has also lived his life. Choice 2 would be the driver who suggested the idea in the first place!

 

Actually...

Spoiler

Given it is an EC story, I think the group in a typical twist turned on the sleigh driver, as the soldier could have taken the reins.

It doesn't appear to be the woman as you can see the silhouette of her hood in the sleigh as they throw the victim out. There is also a fullly-fledged scream so it can't be the baby.

That said, if you zoom in on the tiny image of the sleigh arriving in town it appears that the old man's seat is empty.

Anyway, fun to speculate.

 

[N e r V]

Perhaps an even better EC twist would be to have the group be stupid enough to throw the driver out and they all get eaten as the sleigh starts to slow down and the wolves catch up and eat them all. 

 

As an animal lover and someone who finds it difficult to restrain myself in a world that treats animals so poorly that would be my feel good story by EC... 

[World Devourer]

1 hour ago, N e r V said:

Perhaps an even better EC twist would be to have the group be stupid enough to throw the driver out and they all get eaten as the sleigh starts to slow down and the wolves catch up and eat them all. 

 

As an animal lover and someone who finds it difficult to restrain myself in a world that treats animals so poorly that would be my feel good story by EC... 

Heh. Dark.

I suppose the soldier could have bashed another wolf to death with his rifle, but that defeats the purpose of the story.

I know if I had a fiance called Sonia who looked like that waiting for me I'd be sure to make it back.

[telerites]

19 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

constantly rejected by the women of the world 

Alas, the story of my life 

[Jayman]

It's always the one who comes up with the idea first: the sleigh driver. Plus he was the only one without a back story! He's wolf bait!

Edited July 1, 2018 by Jayman

[N e r V]

1 hour ago, Jayman said:

It's always the one who comes up with the idea first: the sleigh driver. Plus he was the only one without a back story! He's wolf bait!

He doesn’t look it...

 

[Jayman]

1 hour ago, N e r V said:

He doesn’t look it...

 

 

[Pat Calhoun]

A favorite of mine is from a book I can't recall:

A scientist is constantly rejected by the women of the world so he decides to make his own...a robot.

Once he is done, the female robot also rejects him!

this one sounds cool - can anyone identify? - please & thanks

 

Edited July 2, 2018 by Pat Calhoun

[Point Five]

33 minutes ago, Pat Calhoun said:

A favorite of mine is from a book I can't recall:

A scientist is constantly rejected by the women of the world so he decides to make his own...a robot.

Once he is done, the female robot also rejects him!

this one sounds cool - can anyone identify? - please & thanks

 

The ending doesn't quite match, but otherwise the story sounds like 'Robot Woman' by Basil Wolverton, from Weird Mysteries #2.
 

Edited July 2, 2018 by Point Five

[AJD]

Pretty sure there's an EC story along those lines, but I wouldn't know which sci-fi title to look in, and the titles aren't descriptive enough to search for it.