Three young girls are gathered in a nightclub, and one of them is invited to dance with a man called Tannarak. Shortly after, the girl drops dead, and her death brings both Dr. Thirteen and the Phantom Stranger to investigate the situation.
Death... Call Not My Name!
The Phantom Stranger teases the tale about to unfold. Irene, Lotti, and Michelle are having a conversation, at a night club. Tannarak interrupts, and asks Lotti to dance. Upon returning to the table, Lotti seems entranced. Then, Lotti drops dead to the floor. Doctor Terrence Thirteen, the famed Ghost-Breaker, steps forward to render assistance. As does the Phantom Stanger. Thirteen accuses the Phantom Stranger of being responsible for Lotti's murder. The two men quickly come to an accord. Thirteen had been investigating a series of murders. The victims all ended up like Lotti. On the street outside the club, Irene and Michelle are accosted by Tannarak.
Their screams attract the attention of Thirteen, and the Phantom Stranger. Tannarak has made off with Michelle. The Phantom Stranger coaxes information, about their foe, from Irene. Thirteen refuses to work with the Phantom Stranger, opting to continue his investigation alone. Tannarak, calling Michelle "Dianna", returns to his secret lair. Tannarak reveals his origin to Michelle, still paralyzed by Tannarak's enchantments. Exposed to the brutal finality of death, at a very early age, Tannarak devoted his life to alchemy, and the black arts, to cheat death forever. Though the love of his life, Dianna, eventually grew old and perished, Tannarak endured the centuries.
Tannarak prepares a ceremony to grant Michelle immortality, so that she may stay by his side for eternity. The Phantom Stranger disrupts the ceremony. Despite Tannarak's best efforts, the Phantom Stranger subdues him. Slammed back into a giant golden statue of himself, one that supposedly maintains his immortality, Tannarak is crushed to death, when the statue topples over onto him. Thirteen arrives, with Irene. Thirteen immediately begins debunking any notions that supernatural elements were at play. As the Phantom Stranger fades from view, Thirteen, once again, angrily vows to expose him as a fraud.
The Bewitched Clock!
This story was originally published in House Of Mystery #11 (February, 1953). A plot synopsis for this story can be found at the link.
Charlie's Crocodile
Charlie's wife nags him. After enduring another of her tirades, Charlie sees an ad in the local newspaper for nuisance removal. Charlie visits Scratch & Co., and purchases an inflatable rubber crocodile, from the shopkeeper. Outside the store, the Phantom Stranger warns Charlie to get rid of the crocodile. Charlie turns to return the crocodile, but the store has vanished. The Phantom Stranger urges Charlie to destroy the crocodile.
Charlie has every intention of heeding the Phantom Stranger's warning, but a particularly scathing verbal assault, from his wife, changes his mind. Charlie inflates the crocodile, and places it in the pool. The next morning, Charlie's wife is found, drowned in the pool. With his wife dead, Charlie's entire lifestyle changes. Charlie begins throwing regular pool parties.
One night, as his guests are leaving, two of Charlie's friends find the inflatable crocodile. Blowing it up, they place it in the pool, as a prank. Charlie's dead body is found the next morning, drowned in the swimming pool.
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