Hellboy, Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others

By Mike Mignola

Based on Teig O'Kane and the Corpse, and the 2nd story, The Iron Shoes. 1959 Ireland, HB visits a distraught new ma, describing how her little girl, Margaret wasn't actually hers, it seeming evil to her when no one was listening or watching, so HB has a look-see. When he pulls out iron pincers, the baby realizes what's up, HB getting it by the leg and asking where her baby was. The creature gives instructions and HB sticks it in the chimney, the parents rightly concerned by HB releasing the creature, but he explains their child was safe, he only needing to play their old game by the rules, then he'd be able to return their little girl safely.

So, off he goes to the crossroads before midnight. Upon getting there, appears an aged corpse hanging, then pointing, HB following, and discovering some men who ask he carry a corpse they knew. HB agrees to bury the corpse for them, they agreeing to get baby Margaret back. HB attempts the 1st church they suggest to bury Tam, he even providing good advice on locating the key to get in.

Unfortunately, the other stiffs turn him away, so they try the 2nd suggested church, but similar happenings occur with fire included, so HB walks on to the 3rd, which is a set of stones which HB keeps getting knocked down somehow, then the little released creature being shown discussing with the others his grudge when they'd noted how the last option would allow HB to win the girl back fairly. So, off he goes to get the help of Jenny Greenteeth. HB reaches Kill Breed-ya, he knowing trouble was coming, the little creature coming out with his pig-man champion, who eats him, but HB whoops his ass til he runs off. Then, Tam loses an arm, but HB doesn't have time to recover it, despite trying to regain it from Jenny.

Instead, he chucks Tam into the ready made grave, and speaks with the old man creature telling how their people would die soon, and they would've raised the girl well. HB notes how her parents didn't care for his p.o.v., and as he disappears, Margaret appears sitting before HB, he picking her up to get back to her fam. 1961 Ireland, asst. director of English Folklore Society tells of Iron Shoes, a murderous, old border goblin. HB goes a-huntin' in a crumbling tower, Iron Shoes coming at him, but is no match, HB dragging him to a priest, and the Iron Shoes the goblin wore being saved for HB.

The Baba Yaga story referred in Wake the Devil is shown, as well as, A Christmas Underground. HB travels to a graveyard with a townslady to meet Baba Yaga, she leaving him there. This is Russia '64, and as Baba Yaga does her finger count, HB interrupts when she's using a skeleton who agrees to become her light. She retaliates, to which HB shoots her in the face for.

Cat and Crow are next gossiping of BY being dead due to her chicken leg house being gone, and blood on the ground, as well as her cane in the wood, with blood nearby. Bear though, sobers them with BY merely going away, but the year after, kids born were blind in 1 eye, the older people acknowledging of her magic reaching far. England '89, xmas Eve, a Mrs Hatch being seen by a doc in her home, he updating HB she wouldn't make it, and he having to leave. HB speaks with the fella who knew her, pointing to a framed pic of her kids, the middle Annie being the fave, and artistic.

She had too much imagination for the place, soon leaving her home to walk the graveyard, and handful of years later, she's still missing. There's been a cloud over the place since, the fella feeling guilty for not doing anything sooner, HB agreeing and then going to see Mrs. Hatch. She's glad he isn't a doc, and gives him a box to gift to Annie. Before he leaves, she thinks he's Santa, and after he goes out in search of Annie, he discovers a flat of stone raised off the ground, seeing a palace under the ground.

When he enters, he's only greeted by an odd lady, agreeing he'd stay for a bit. HB then verifies she's Annie, and she tells of knowing creatures similar to Alice in Wonderland. It's implied Annie follows the mouse and meets the 2nd son to a King, he inviting her to his palace, and eventually giving her a ring. Now, she was waiting for her fam to arrive, her ma the last to join them, when she dies.

HB gives her the box for her ma, which has a rosary with cross, which shows the fire and skeleton arounds them, Annie's ring falling from her finger. Annie visits her ma on her deathbed, and she accepts Annie's hand as the place goes up in flame, HB fighting and winning against a skeleton, admitting to the doc, fire was probably best when it came to disposal. HB wishes her a merry xmas, what with her reunion with her girl.

The Chained Coffin is from an English Folktale, and The Wolves of St. Patrick is an Irish legend. At BPRD HQ, Abe is reading a letter from HB of how he'd gone to England unsurprisingly to him, he's sure, which he hadn't been back to the church he was planning to see since 50 years previous. He admits of growing up in the facility in NM not being terrible, but what was irking him being the ghosts of the priest and nun, the medium from way back when had mentioned being in the church. It hadn't interested HB til recently, he dreaming of a memory from either of the 2 regarding a dying lady admitting to being a witch and praying to God to be forgiven, HB wakes and sees the priest and nun standing above a chained box.

Next, the devil comes for the lady in the box, the priest denying him, and she stating of having confessed, waiting forgiveness. The devil soon is burning the nun and priest ghosts, and sweet talks the lady back into his arms. When she asks after the kids he'd taken from her, he tells of the only 1 mattering, still being inside her. The devil claims her soul, and HB is yelling for it to end.

What unnerves him, is how the devil seems to have looked right at him, so to take his mind off these weird dreams, he'd go see about the supposed Moth Man knocking about, and Abe falls asleep, dreaming of fish. In '94 in Eastern Europe, a ma is relating of their town, Griart not ever reopening their church, not even knowing when the bells had last rung, and the fact this new priest, Father Kelly had gone and reopened it, didn't sit well. At the chapel, Father Kelly is walked in on as he's seeing how nature had overtaken the interior, marveling despite knocking how no one had bothered to continue tidying. The man insists the priest go elsewhere to lead a flock, their town not religious, but Father Kelly stays optimistic, the man offering to show him why no one came there any longer.

The chapel used to belong to the Grenier fam, most townsfolk not even knowing the name anymore. The whole town had been killed back them, most in their homes, by what looks like the aftermath of a big animal coming in. HB has heard similar occurrences through the years, but this 1 stood out. Esp, since the norm for something like this usually was accompanied by witchcraft, cult, or graveyard issues, and Griart is suspiciously clean of all of these.

HB is with Kate, a prof at NYU and knew her shit regarding historical occult, she a consultant with BPRD, since the mid-80s. So, when Kate continues to mention the history of Griart, and how old the house was not adding up, since the property looked to have stood much longer than the documents she'd researched gave mention. Now, the locals seem ready to bury the story of Father Kelly's demise with completely demolishing the town with it. HB considers Father Kelly must have gotten too close to something, when Kate notices a statue of St. August, which reminds her of the terrible tale which she mentions.

In it, the fam is interrupted praying in their chapel to a fertility god, and the priest freaks out, cursing them into becoming werewolves periodically, which the fam had managed to keep underwraps. Until 7 years later, they were caught and murdered, the town changing its name from St. August to Griart, in mid 1300s. Then, HB relents to Kate tagging with him after he finds blood a week old, he having harped at her to get in the field, and then asked her just then to wait for him... mhm. HB warns her the room they enter next has a weak floor, but she falls through, and sees a little girl turn into a wolf before HB comes to her aid, she emotional about her 1st ghost experience.

After, HB learns an alternate version of the story where 1 of the kids in the fam may have survived, HB then trying to lead them quickly out, but being met by a human-like wolf head blocking their exit each time he turns them a new way. The 2 powwow on how the creatures are merely keeping them there and not attacking, the possibility of it being for the surviving Grenier, William to arrive, which'd make him around 800 years old, now. He does arrive, nekkid, and disregarding HB's request to release the souls of his fam, as well as Father Kelly, instead he unzipping his flesh to reveal the wolf. HB instructs Kate to hang back whilst he did his business. In the end, he impales him and the beast dies, turning to ash. After, BPRD psychics test to be certain the spirits were gone, the place being empty and remaining uninhabited.

The next is inspired by The Colossus of Ylourgne. In Romania, in an institute, Liz is being observed by a doc, and he's discussing with BPRD how she seems to be getting worse, like she was giving up. The doc is then updated on why Liz was there being caused by the Giurescu mission. When Liz and her team had discovered the homunculus, and she'd stuck her finger in his chest hole, it'd gotten life back in the thing from her power, so Waller shoots Liz, which successfully releases her, but not before the homunculus kills him and bails.

Now, Liz doesn't seem to have her pyro power anymore, but the plan was to recover the creature and allow her to regain her power, hopefully; Abe is certain it could work. HB is currently tracking the cases of cemeteries losing bodies under a year old, and thinking the creature was to blame. A trio of men approach them and tell of how a creature'd been seen taking a huge cross to a mtn, they hoping the storm would rid them of it. Meanwhile, the creature is praying when interrupted by another claiming to be his bro, and telling how their pop had used him, then poisoned him, but he willing himself to live after some years go by.

The creature finds their pop in prison, takes the key which unlocked how he'd created his younger bro, this murdering him, the key being in his tummy, and his bro's reason, being for how he'd been treated by their creator. The younger bro admits to having drained Liz of all her power due to her desire to get rid of it, but hadn't known it was connected to her lifeforce, and is feeling guilty. His bro denies he'd done wrong, they needing to look at humans like herd animals. His bro tells of having attempted to create others like them, but hadn't come to the quality of his little bro, but he planned to stick with him, and finish his latest attempt.

Meanwhile, HB and Kate are hearing a new story of Dracula's grandson's castle, it having been the place where some monks supposedly consorting with evil got nailed shut inside and burnt to death. One monk tries to jump out a window, but the devil pulls him back in on his way down. Odd lights can still be seen from the tower throughout the years, as well as the bad smell of burning flesh. HB debates whether someone could be inside, the man declaring any human having trouble, so HB and Kate going to investigate.

They smell cooking, and see an enormous door, which was hot to the touch, Kate getting caught by the neck, and HB being grabbed by zombie hands. Kate's struggling as she's getting pulled upward by a single demon above. By the time HB handles the little buggers, Kate's been moved, and HB wanders to where the bones of the monks were. 1 hears HB's condolences and responds with they having been in the wrong by mixing with evil.

Then, the skelly's show HB the way out whilst the bros homunculus walk to where the little demon was keeping Kate, and the little bro being a bit unnerved by big bro's plan to share a giant body between them, and take over the universe. Little bro goes rogue when Big bro orders the little devil to chuck Kate in the hole to become the 1st human to be apart of their giant body, Little bro cold-cocking bro, and makes sure Kate is safe, before HB knocks him in the side of the head with a rock. She sets him straight before Big bro starts mouthing off again, rueing-the-day at humans and his bro alike. As Big bro becomes enormous, HB gets the 3 of them out as shit falls around them.

Big bro continues to threaten HB, so he talks shit, and stabs fool with a tree to the neck, before big bro squeezes HB like a mouse. The distraction to have him drop HB comes from Little bro asking to be forgiven and join him, Big bro thinking he'd seen the light, but Little bro only sounding resigned. What happens next involves Liz's power enveloping them. The 2 watch and see LIttle bro is still intact, he now only wanting to be solitary, but when HB insists he return with them, he burns HB, but he reminding Little bro of who's power he was using. They reach Liz a few mins after she passes away, Roger the homunculus powering her up again and they planning on helping him if they can, HB admitting Roger was a decent fella. A great 1! Onward!