The Occult Files Of Dr. Spektor #1

Cult of the Vampire (25 pages)

In Transylvania, a group of hooded men revive the vampire Baron Tibor (who had been laid to rest in "A Tree Grows in Transylvania" in Mystery Comics Digest #4). Miles away in America, Dr. Adam Spektor believes he has created a serum that will cure vampirism. He and his new secretary, Lakota Rainflower, set off for Transylvania to find the legendary Baron Tibor.

Spektor and Lakota are offered a ride to the Baron's castle by a coachman, who then attacks Spektor partway there and knocks him unconscious. Revealing himself as a member of the cult, the man and his fellow cultists take Lakota to the castle where she is to be sacrificed to the vampire.

Reviving and realizing what has happened, Spektor hurries to the castle. Meanwhile, Baron Tibor seems more confused than pleased on being offered Lakota. The Baron goes outside to think, where he encounters Spektor. The two scuffle briefly, with Tibor gaining the upper hand until Dr. Spektor produces a cross and holds Tibor at bay. The Baron relates to Spektor how he had been in the Hell of the Undead since his death, where he suffered unspeakable tortures for his vampire crimes. Further, he had sworn that if he ever returned to earth, he would atone for his sins, and that the cult control him with threats of destruction rather than the other way around.

Spektor and Tibor go to the Doctor's hotel, where Spektor partially cures Tibor, taking away his bloodlust, but his vampiric powers as well. The two narrowly escape a mob of villagers who have seen Tibor and wish to send him back to his grave.

Back at the castle, Tibor pretends to want Lakota's blood, but then helps her escape. As Spektor, Lakota, and Tibor flee, they are pursued by the cult. The cult members, however, run directly into the villagers who had been pursuing Tibor, and a melee ensues. While Tibor hides, Spektor helps the villagers defeat the cultists, and then assures them that they have nothing more to fear from Baron Tibor.

Later, Spektor gives Tibor his serum and the formula for it. Then he and Lakota bid farewell to the Baron, who departs on a horse cart with his coffin and a promise that he will start a new life.

First appearance: Lakota Rainflower

Reprinted in:

The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor, (Whitman) #25 (May 1982)

Dan Curtis Giveaways: The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor (Western Publishing, 1974 series) #7 (1974) [abridged]