Foul Play

Foul Play is a scary horror comic about baseball, murder and revenge. It appeared in Haunt of Fear #19.

It was the last game of the baseball championship. Central City and Bayville were tied for first place and this game would decide the winner. Central City’s star pitcher, Herbie Statten, was on the plate.

The pitcher threw the ball. Herbie hit it and started running.

Bayville’s star player, Jerry Deegan was on second base. As Herbie slid in, he stook out his foot and the steel spikes on his shoe slashed into Jerry’s leg.

Jerry got back to his feet and dusted himself off. It was just a small injury. Nothing to get worried about. He told his teammates he was fine.

However, as the game went on, Jerry began to feel dizzy and light-headed. His hands were shaking and sweat was pouring down his forehead. He stood in the batter’s box, but when the pitcher threw the ball, he didn’t even see it. The pitch whizzed right by him.

All of a sudden, Jerry slumped to the ground. His teammates rushed over and gathered around him, wondering what was wrong. The doctor rushed to Jerry’s side, but it was too late. He was dead.

The baseball game was over and Central City had won the championship. As the crowd filed out, Jerry’s teammates carried his body back to the dressing room. The doctor examined him and was shocked by what he found. Jerry had been poisoned.

For a moment, it was quiet in the Bayville dressing room. There was only one name on the minds of all Jerry’s teammates… Cental City’s star player, Herbie Statten.

The players went straight to the other team’s dressing room and opened Herbie Statten’s locker. When they examined his equipment, they found traces of poison on his spiked shoes.

There was no doubt about it. Herbie Statten was a murderer. He had secretly poisoned their star player to win the game. The Bayville team was outraged. Instead of going to the police, they decided they would handle it their way.

A few days later, Herbie Statten received a letter. It read:

Dear Mr. Statten,

The Herbie Statten Fan Club

That night, Herbie turned up at the baseball field right on time. Instead of his adoring fans, he found all of the members of the Bayville team waiting for him in the darkness.

That night, a strange baseball game was played by the light of the moon. The base lines were intestines, two lungs and a liver marked the bases and, on home plate, there was a heart.

The batter stood at the plate, swinging a severed leg. The catcher held a human torso…

… and instead of a ball, the pitcher threw a disembodied head.

In the morning, people wondered why the green grass was stained red and it looked like there was something buried under the pitcher’s mound. The strangest thing of all was the plaque on the gound that read: “Herbert Statten. Pitcher. Murderer. R.I.P.”