The Tell-Tale Eye (Optograms in comics)

“Eye Witness,” Crime and Justice #15, Sep. 1953. A one-page crime comic story reminiscent of the belief in optograms. A murderer’s image, imprinted on his victim’s eyes, is captured in a photograph.

“Anubis, the Assassin!” Manhunt#11, Aug-Sep 1948. 6 pages. A man dresses up as Anubis and kills an Egyptologist. Inspector Kirk of Scotland Yard solves the case by having the victim's retinas examined under a microscope.

 

The Stolen Watch (1946 comic)

Bernard Dibble, “Molly the Model,” Crack Comics #43, July 1946. After a man discovers that his pocket watch has been stolen, he tackles an innocent passerby and relieves him of his watch.

 

Poodle Licks Peanut Butter Off Man’s Penis (1994 cartoon)

 Steve King, “Exceedingly Gross Conversations I’ve Overheard #1,” Slutburger #4 (Drawn and Quarterly, 1994).

 

Ghosts of the S. S. Watertown

As the story goes, in December 1924 two crewmen on the S. S. Watertown died and were buried at sea, following which their ghosts were photographed in the waves. For an examination of this famous photo, see Michael G. Mann, “The Watertown’s Pursuing Ghosts,” Fate, December 1963, 32-6; Blake Smith, “The Watertown Ghosts,” Fortean Times 261 (Special 2010), 58-62; and “Historical Ghost Investigations Part II — Sinking the Watertown,” a transcript of a podcast featuring Smith, Karen Stollznow and Benjamin Radford. https://www.skeptic.com/podcasts/monstertalk/10/04/21/transcript/.

“Case of the Spectral Sailors,” Adventures into the Unknown #22, Aug. 1951, is a brief version of the legend; many details have been changed, such as names. 

 

LSD Users Staring at Sun – Turkmenistan Rumors re COVID-19 – Lamp Post Flickers in Morse Code (Poland)

Steve Stiles, “L.S.D.” Dope Comix #3, Princeton, WI: Kitchen Sink Enterprises, 1979. Advice to LSD users: “Never stare at the sun for seven and a half hours.” See also Steve Stiles, The Return of Hyper Comics (Randallstown, MD: Thintwhistle Books, 2020), 3.

=====

https://www.rferl.org/a/analysis-turkmenistan-coronavirus-deadly-rumor-avoiding-hospitals/30829700.html

 Radio Free Europe, 10 September 2020

 Deadly Rumor Has Turkmen Citizens With COVID Symptoms Avoiding Hospitals

[…] There is a new rumor that has been making its way around Turkmenistan for several weeks, though it is difficult to believe because it is horrible even to consider. […] Patients are admitted to hospitals with symptoms like those that come with the coronavirus. They die within a couple of days, sometimes within a few hours of arriving at the hospital, and relatives have to sign a disclaimer saying they have no complaints against doctors or the government in order to receive the body. Dozens of people have contacted Azatlyk about this and they all believed these patients, who showed signs of being infected with COVID-19, were given injections that killed them. […] The Turkmen people are sure the government is lying to them about many things, including about the absence of the coronavirus, and now they are also worried the authorities may kill them if they are unfortunate enough to actually be infected with the disease. […]

=====

https://culture.pl/en/article/8-curious-urban-legends-from-warsaw

 Culture.pl [Poland], 5 October 2020

 8 Curious Urban Legends from Warsaw

 Marek Kępa

[…] Here’s another Warsaw urban legend dating back to the communist era. Some say that there was a flickering lamp post in the city – but the flickering was not random. The seemingly faulty lightbulb in this street light was actually sending messages in Morse code. In the story’s original version, the lamp’s messages were secret reports sent by Soviet spies operating in Poland. A Soviet satellite observed the flickering street light and decoded its communication. Since the Soviet Union is no more, today some other foreign power must control the sly lamp post… It’s unclear exactly which Warsaw street light was the one doing the espionage work (which shouldn’t come as a surprise since the lamp’s part of a covert operation). […]