Forbidden Worlds #77 (1959)

In the wake of a violent storm, Bill Matthews recounts to Dr. Compton a harrowing tale from his past: as a marine salvage operator, he once discovered a legendary pirate ship, the *Mermaid*, and became entangled in a deadly curse tied to its treasure. The curse, invoked by a vengeful crew after a brutal raid, doomed the ship and its gold, binding tragedy to anyone who seeks it—now haunting Bill with visions of Captain Dufresne and the fate of the *Mermaid*.

In a remote Guatemalan region, two American researchers encounter a desperate local community facing foreclosure, who cling to the ancient legend of Orango the Mighty—a mythical protector said to answer their calls in times of crisis. As the villagers prepare to invoke the legend once more, a sudden volcanic eruption unleashes a shower of gold, followed by a fleeting, smoke-formed vision that defies explanation.

Jon Corbin and Rick Thrale, prospecting for uranium in the haunted mountains of Central Europe, uncover the ruins of the cursed Castle of Kraken, where faint radiation hints at a dark secret. As they question an old crone, they learn of Duke Nikor’s tyrannical rule and the alchemist Bruno’s dangerous experiments—secrets that may still linger in the castle’s shadows.

On the prehistoric planet Icon I, famed hunter Jeff Random now serves as a game warden, overseeing a preserved ecosystem mirroring Earth’s distant past. When a wealthy Earth traveler, Morton Greade, arrives seeking to hunt legendary creatures, Random is forced to confront his past as a ruthless guide — especially when Greade’s reckless actions spark a violent tribal conflict, drawing the warden’s attention in a way that could end his quiet life.