| “ | One last warning! A fearful fate awaits him who is of wicked ways if he dares to own the pipe of the frightening forecasts! | „ |
| ~ The pipe's demon guardians to Ira Krim. |
The Pipe of the Frightening Forecasts, also known as the Skull-Pipe, is a villainous object featured in the 1950 Ace Magazines horror comic book Beyond, specifically issue #29's "Doomsmoke". It is a cursed pipe made from the skull of a voodoo priest that has the mysterious power to predict the future when it is lit.
History[]
The skull-pipe was created in the West Indies at an unknown point in time. It was crafted from the shrunken skull of a voodoo high priest, and because of this it is guarded by voodoo spirits. The "demon guardians" seek to ensure that the predictive power of the pipe is not used for evil, making sure that any wicked people who gain the pipe are hounded by fearful visions until they give it up or die.
In the 19th or 20th century, an American explorer in the West Indies brought the pipe back to the United States with him. On his deathbed, the explorer commanded his wife, Madame Grazza, never to let it fall into the wrong hands. Madame Grazza stored the pipe in the back of her curio shop where the customers would never see it. At the start of the story, however, she unwisely shows the pipe to an immoral collector named Ira Krim. When she refuses to sell it, Krim steals the pipe, despite being warned by Madame Grazza and the demon guardians of the pipe's dark powers.
On lighting the pipe, Krim is shown a vision of him murdering his wealthy wife Arleen, along with a warning to return the pipe. He refuses to listen and sure enough, he winds up killing Arleen and being forced to flee the law. He lights the pipe again and gets another vision, this time showing him being attacked by rats. This also comes to pass when Krim tries to flee the police through the sewers.
As he escapes in a taxi, Krim lights the pipe a third time. The demon guardians appear in the smoke and tell Krim that if he returns the pipe to Madame Grazza, they will protect him from the police. The vision also shows Krim being executed by electric chair after refusing to follow its instructions. The shock of this awful vision causes Krim to pass out, and when he revives he decides to return the pipe. When he returns to Madame Grazza's, however, he sees her with thousands of dollars in cash and decides to rob her. He "returns" the pipe by smashing it against Grazza's temple, which destroys the cursed curio and reduces it to dust. As the pipe crumbles, it produces a final vision predicting Krim's death, which soon comes to pass at the hands of the demon guardians.