I have vivid memories of reading this story in America in the 80's, but cannot track it down, and I've had no luck with search engines or other AI tools. Here's the full plot as I remember it:
A town experiences perpetual daylight — the sun simply never sets. At first the residents enjoy it, but eventually they grow tired and uneasy. They begin to suspect the cause is supernatural. After investigating, they discover that an elderly man in town made a Faustian bargain: his soul upon death in exchange for permanent day in the town.
Once the townsfolk understand this, they murder the old man, believing that killing him will break the deal and restore the natural cycle of night and day. It works — night returns, and they celebrate.
But the next day, the sun does not rise. And the day after that. And the day after that. The sun never rises in the town again.
The story has a strong ironic horror twist ending in the EC Comics tradition — the townspeople's own act of murder to escape unnatural daylight dooms them to permanent darkness instead.
A few notes:
- I have memories of reading this both as prose (short story) and seeing it in graphic/comic form, so it may have been adapted
- The tone feels like it could be from EC Comics (Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear), Warren Publishing (Creepy, Eerie), or a horror short story anthology from roughly the 1950s–1980s
- I am NOT thinking of Asimov's "Nightfall," Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day," or the Twilight Zone episode "The Midnight Sun"
Any help is hugely appreciated — this one has been driving me crazy!