The Vault of Horror: A Collection of Nightmares

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Vault of Horrors is an inaccurate name for this anthology. Chamber of Discomfort is nore apt. The stories aren't scary but can make one feel uneasy depending on the subject matter at hand. From ghosts to hedge mazes, this comic is good for the spooky season but not a must read.

Each story is self contained varying from chapter to chapter in quality. Six chapters were cut from the official English release with only two of those six being available in English outside of Webtoon. The two cut stories I read were missing for seemingly no reason; they werent gorier than others and only one had ... self harm even somewhat referenced. You won't miss anything by reading only what's on Webtoon. The official chapters themselves aren't spectacular either. Each starts by warning those with weak hearts to turn away setting the stage for something truly terrifying. Some stories like the maze, the moon below, and how to see ghosts are good but the vast majority will be forgotten the moment you close the app. Many have twist endings which add nothing. Each chapter is wildly different from the last as to be expected from this sort of anthology series. The best chapters are only good with the worst being mundane leaving you asking what the point was. The "horror" is contained to dark panels with somewhat creepy monsters, tension was only successfully built in one chapter, and the unsettling bits were few and far between mostly being contained to when tragedy strikes children. There's enough here to be on edge if reading in the pitch black in the middle of the night. Don't expect many genuine scares though.

There is not a single character of note in the series. The guy being stalked or little girl who got her fingernails cut are memorable not because of the personality or character growth but rather because of the situations they find themselves in. If the story is good you'll loosely remember what the protagonist did but never any defining character traits (besides their job or something). Despite the lack of presence, each person serves the role in the story that they've been given. Nobody is dislikeable, just average.

The art ranges from pretty good to downright bad. Various artists means various art styles so some are clearly going to be better than others. None of the artstyles had the atmospheric horror I like in these comics or any scary faces that you'd see from somebody like Carnby Kim. Some styles didn't even match the tone of the series but these were often used effectively in contrasting itself when they scare panels happened. The worst was the second two part story which used water colors in the most basic way. The characters all looked the same with minimal backgrounds. It looked hand drawn but did nothing unique to the medium it was being published in. Wolfsbane, for example, is an excellent comic that uses water colors while still taking advantage of the audience scrolling. Many stories rely way too heavily on sound effects as well. Reading "bang" or "thud" is not the same as in movies. The best ones knew this and would throw you off guard with a normal then jarring panel of the ghost/realization. Vault of Horrors mostly houses generic art styles but when it hits it's really good.

I thought this series was OK. I read it to get myself ready for Halloween and was both disappointed yet unsurprised at the quality of this series. If you like anthology horror then this is for you, but if you want an amazing horror story look somewhere else.

Plot: 6.5
Characters: 5
Art: 6
Enjoyment: 5.5
Overall: 5.8/10