Forbidden Worlds #22 (1953)

In the dusty ruins of a forgotten Western town, prospector Digger Denton finally strikes gold after decades of searching—only to be buried in an avalanche and face the devil himself, who claims his soul. Refusing to surrender his fortune, Digger defies Satan, becoming a living corpse determined to keep his gold, drawing a swarm of greedy newcomers to the cursed creek.

When museum archaeologist George Stevens and his assistant Bob Forgione open a mysterious Egyptian casket believed to hold the remains of a disciple to an ancient fire spirit, they inadvertently unleash a fiery apparition that kills George and begins a relentless campaign of destruction across the city. As the creature’s power grows and its trail of fires spreads, Bob and Anne race to decipher the casket’s inscriptions, discovering it must return to its resting place under the full moon—giving them one desperate chance to stop it.

In a remote, storm-lashed house, writer Madge settles in to complete her book on the supernatural, drawn to the eerie legend of the Dead Man's Tree—said to be the burial site of a long-dead sorcerer whose spirit stirs when lightning strikes. When a strange mist emerges from the tree and a ghostly voice commands her to obey, Madge finds herself bound to a dark purpose, forced to awaken the spirits of the dead and set them loose upon the living.

In the eerie aftermath of a mysterious dance in Rangoon, pilot Buzz Ryan is haunted by the memory of his copilot Bill Martin’s sudden death following a terrifying encounter with a mesmerizing dancer named Orana. Though he initially dismissed the local legend of her curse, Buzz becomes convinced that Orana is more than a mere performer—she’s a deadly force drawing souls into her deadly ritual. Now driven by guilt and the need for answers, Buzz sets out to uncover the truth behind the dance and the fate of those who fall under her spell.