A captured mermaid awakens emotions in a coldhearted sea captain, who desperately seeks a way to keep her alive. A businesslike widow goes shopping for the cheapest funeral she can buy for her husband. A repulsive suitor evens the score with a calculating beauty by presenting her with an unusual gift: a brooch that seems almost alive.
In a rigidly conformist future society, an anguished father agrees to send his deformed son to a distant planet. A chance encounter with a strange couple convinces a young woman that she has had a glimpse of the future. Searching for a lost explorer in Africa, British authorities accuse a powerful witch doctor of his murder.
Desperate to stay alive for the sake of his nine-year-old grandson, an elderly, near-penniless Jew on the brink of death pins his hopes for salvation on the coming of the Messiah. A mirror reflecting an alien landscape figures into an antique dealer's scheme to rid himself of a hateful business partner.
A haunting love story of a young woman and her late father's colleague, a man clinging desperately to life in a refrigerated apartment. A heartless moneylender gets his just desserts with the help of a client's unusual telescopic device. Edgar Allan Poe receives some unwanted coaching during a bout with writer's block.
A philandering husband schemes to murder his wife with the aid of a ghost. A thirsty vampire visits a young woman, with disappointing results for him. An unscrupulous medicine man in the Old West promises to heal a poor farmer's dying daughter. A recent initiate is surprised to find that Hell is a little tame for his liking.
A vicious gossip columnist receives a gift diary that appears to write its own fearful entries--before the events occur. Count Dracula visits a blood bank. An eccentric farmer promises a "big surprise" to a group of boys if they dig for it. While debunking ancient cults, an academic unwisely scoffs at the wrong god.
An arachnophobic gourmet columnist seeks help from a woman he spurned when he discovers a hairy, and obstinate, little guest crawling in his kitchen sink. A mother and father learn the hardships of parenting. A careless braggart foolishly exaggerates his meager talents to a crackpot surgeon. A widower investigates an unusually strict military academy for his delinquent son.
Taking refuge in a funeral home, a wounded killer encounters a gentle undertaker with a strange secret. Bricks and mortar figure in a wife's plan to end her husband's suffering. A graduating class of the future takes a particularly revealing final exam. A brief incantation in verse while a coven hungrily awaits an overdue member.
A phenomenally successful young seer suddenly refuses to make further predictions. A vignette about a babysitter and her latest client. A desperate man seeks a surgeon's help when he discovers a presence that controls his right hand. The Phantom of the Opera gets the shock of his life when he menaces a beautiful young singer.