Forbidden Worlds #52 (1957)

Bart Warren, a spendthrift with a flair for drawing, buys a mysterious Florentine mirror at auction, only to discover it brings his sketches to life—turning his doodles into real, tangible riches. As he revels in his newfound ability to conjure money and luxury, his ex-fiancée returns, drawn by his sudden generosity, while he grows increasingly obsessed with the mirror’s power. But when he begins to question the mirror’s origins, he sets out to uncover the truth behind the legend of the alchemist who first mastered its magic.

In a remote underwater grotto off Bermuda, a diver stumbles upon a girl with green skin, seemingly asleep in a hidden cavern—her presence sparking a frenzy of scientific curiosity and media attention. As the enigmatic girl, Genly, awakens and reveals she can read minds and has no memory of her past, she draws the interest of both the renowned Professor Harley Mellon and his jealous assistant, Jim Edwards, whose growing affection soon turns dangerous.

In a trio of tales spanning France, London, and Africa, a series of unfortunate events are tied to black cats—each seemingly bringing bad luck, from a tragic return during the French Revolution to a fire sparked by a burning tail and a hunter's fatal mistake. Yet, as the story unfolds, the narrator suggests these incidents are less about the cats themselves and more about human choices, pointing out that the same disasters might have occurred with any animal. The final tale, set in a tavern, ends with a man blaming a black cat for his fall—only to be reminded that the real fault lies in his own recklessness.

When a test pilot begins experiencing vivid, recurring hallucinations during high-speed rocketmobile trials—visions of 18th-century London, pirate ships, and a mysterious Australian friend—he becomes obsessed with uncovering their truth. Driven by a growing sense that his fantasies might be more than mere delusions, he travels to Australia to find the man he’s been corresponding with, only to discover the man is long dead.