Cursed items from Friday the 13th, 1st & 2nd seasons

One of our St. Louis TV stations is showing "Friday the 13th, the Series". This
show (which has nothing to do with the movies) has items which have been cursed
for a reason. The show's premise is explained in the opening credits (which are
probably copyrighted by Hometown Productions, Variety Artists, and/or
Paramount):

"Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the Devil to sell cursed antiques, but he broke
the pact and it cost him his soul. Now his niece Mikki and her cousin Ryan have
inherited the store--and with it, the curse. Now they must get everything
back... and the real terror begins."

The cursed antiques cannot be damaged or destroyed, so the people who have
inherited the store must recover the items and lock them away. Most of the
episodes deal with the recovery of one of the items.

The interesting part is the nature of the curses and the reason behind them. In
Christian theology, the Devil seeks to corrupt people by causing them to sin.
Therefore, the purpose of the curse is to encourage the owner to sin; more
specifically, to commit murder. (The show _is_ called Friday the 13th.) The
owner of the item _benefits_ from the curse, but must kill another person to
receive the benefit. This benefit may be the ability to kill -- easily and
undetectably. More often the benefit is something else -- power, money, love,
fame, health, beauty, and so on.

The owner is (usually) not forced to use the item, and can get rid of it at any
time. The owner knows that using the item will kill someone. Thus, the
(Christian) criteria of knowingly and of free will committing a mortal sin
apply, and if the owner uses the item he is literally damned.

Adapting this form of curse to a FRP campaign may pose some problems, as it
requires the equivalent of free-will sin and the Devil as a tempter. That is,
people must be judged in some way by the acts that they freely and knowingly
commit, and there must be a powerful, evil entity which encourages people to
perform evil acts. This might not fit in well with some game worlds, but it is
an interesting reason for the existence of some cursed items.

A campaign based on the series premise -- recovery of a group of such cursed
items -- might be interesting. Incorporating such items into a campaign requires
that the players be good ROLE-players, though; ones who would say, "Sure, by
using this item my character can get rich; but would he do so at the cost of
eternal damnation?"


The first season objects:

Doll -- The doll talks to its owner, encouraging her to commit evil acts. If the
owner consents, the doll can help perform the acts through the use of
telekinesis-like powers.

Quill pen -- Anything evil written with the pen ("John will die") happens.

Cupid statuette -- The statuette will cause anyone to fall in lust (not love)
with the owner. The owner must kill the victim after they have sex.

Teacup -- When the victim drinks from the cup, the cup kills him and makes the
owner younger. The additional youth only lasts for a day or so.

Magician's cabinet -- The victim is locked in the cabinet, and the owner then
performs amazing "illusions", such as having swords plunged into his body. The
wounds the owner would have suffered are instead inflicted on the victim.

Scalpel -- When used in an operation, the scalpel will cure hopeless cases. The
scalpel will also cut through anything (metal, stone, etc.). The owner must
"recharge" the scalpel by killing people with it.

Boxing gloves -- The wearer of the gloves is invincible in the boxing ring.
During the match, the owner's shadow takes on a separate physical existence and
kills a person chosen by the owner (and yes, the episode title was
"Shadowboxer").

Garden mulcher -- Any person fed into the hopper of the mulcher comes out as
currency. The denomination of the currency depends on the wealth of the victim;
the richer the victim, the larger the denomination.

Comic book -- The comic book's owner can become "Ferrus the Invincible", an
armor-plated superpowered humanoid. Ferrus is immune to (almost) all forms of
attack, can smash down steel doors, and can kill in one blow.

Scarecrow -- The scarecrow seeks out and kills (by decapitation with a scythe)
any person whose photograph is pinned to it; it can teleport while pursuing the
victim. By causing three such killings each year, the owner is guaranteed an
abundant harvest.

Glove -- The glove miraculously heals any disease or injury when the owner
touches it to the ill person. The disease is transferred into the glove and
"magnified"; it must soon be transferred (again by touch) to another, who dies.
If the disease is not transferred within a certain time, it kills the owner.

Cape -- The cape makes its owner immortal, irresistible to women, and a vampire.
If the owner removes the cape, he instantly becomes old and withered; replacing
the cape restores him.

Lantern -- When shone on a shipwreck, the lantern uncovers buried treasure (it
might even _create_ the treasure; this was not clear). After each such use the
lantern must be shone on the diver who brought up the treasure, who burns to
death.

Compact -- If a beam reflected by the compact's mirror strikes any man in the
eyes, he falls in love with the owner. The owner must later kill him.

Tattoo needles -- The owner tattoos the victim using the needles (which also
give tattooing skill). Later, the owner has good luck while gambling, and the
tattoo comes to life and kills the victim.

Trephinator -- This device was built in the nineteenth century by a quack who
thought intelligence could be transferred via cerebro-spinal fluid; the curse
makes it work. The person who is drained dies of severe brain damage, while the
owner gains their intelligence and memories and some personality traits.

Electric chair -- The owner can receive and hold a powerful electric charge by
electrocuting someone with the chair, then sitting in it. The charge can be
released by conduction as the owner desires (possibly to kill other people, so
this curse is doubly corrupting).

Quilt -- The owner of the quilt can dream whatever they want while sleeping
under it, but some other person (chosen by the owner) experiences the dream as a
nightmare and is killed by it. The chosen victim is forced asleep when the owner
begins dreaming.

Camera -- Taking and developing a picture of a person with this camera creates
an exact duplicate of the person. The duplicate must obey the orders of the
photographer. Destroying the negative destroys the duplicate. If the negative is
not destroyed within five hours, the original dies.

Foghorn -- Sounding the foghorn summons the ghost of Angus MacBride, a pirate
who died when his crew mutinied. The ghost will trade gold coins for the bodies
of any of the crew's descendants.

Sheriff's badge -- When the badge is pressed against the victim, the victim is
branded with a star pattern and dies in convulsions; the badge then teleports
back into the owner's hand, allowing a safe getaway.

Pipe -- Lighting the pipe produces a cloud of smoke which will seek out and kill
the victim by asphyxiation. If the victim runs, the smoke will follow; it can
ooze through the smallest cracks. After the victim dies, both body and smoke
disappear.

Cradle -- The cradle will keep even the most sickly baby alive, and will
eventually completely heal the baby. For this to happen, the baby's parents must
kill seven people in water.

Two additional magic items were presented. These were not cursed; instead they
were used by Lewis (played by R.G. Armstrong) in attempts to return from the
dead and continue serving the Devil.

Amulet -- The amulet lets a ghost take material form until the next sunrise.

Canopic jar -- Fumes released from the jar cause anyone who inhales them to have
a dream in which they re-live their most terrifying experiences, eventually
causing a heart attack. This was the end-of-season show, incorporating scenes
from previous episodes.


The second season objects:

Mask -- a voodoo totem which gives various magic powers.

Radio -- broadcasts false "news reports" which can be used to kill. In exchange,
the radio broadcasts information that profits the owner.

Coin -- can be used to resurrect a corpse, even one that is centuries dead.

Violin -- allows the owner to play as a virtuoso.

Makeup Case -- can make even the ugliest person beautiful, for a short time.

Handkerchief -- can animate a wax figure, which must obey the owner.

Boutonniere -- also can animate a figure. In the episode, it was used for a
ventriloquist's dummy.

Watch -- the owner can experience one hour (starting and ending at 1AM) in which
everything else is stopped in time.

Key and Chain -- allow the owner to win auto races.

Beehive -- makes "vampire bees" which are able to kill by draining blood. The
bees then sting another person and change his appearance to that of the victim.
To remain alive, the transformed people must eat honey made by the bees.

Playhouse -- can transport a child to a world where he can have whatever he
wants, provided he brings other children to be trapped.

Magic Lantern -- permits travel to the time and place of projected slides. A
person must be killed both to travel back in time and to return.

Compact -- makes the owner beautiful, for a short time.

Syringe -- can draw fluid from the victim's brain, removing a part of their
humanity. The fluid will temporarily cure a psychotic person. The victim becomes
increasingly animal-like, until nothing human is left.

Movie Camera -- makes a movie character real; the character kills people who
were filmed by the camera.

Ring -- shows the outcome of a future sporting event.

Shard -- anyone stabbed by the shard becomes a statue.

Coffin -- can resurrect a child. The child has to kill to live.

Amulet -- can resurrect a corpse.

Bauble -- grants wishes, after hypnotizing and killing the victim (who obeys all
orders, including commands to commit suicide).

Pool Cue -- allows user to win games.

Symphonia (Music Box) -- forces people to dance to their death, but the dances
are beautiful works of art.

Rattle -- cures diseases.

Kamikaze Jacket -- makes the wearer invisible.

Sculpting Tool -- converts clay into mommets ("voodoo" dolls)

Several additional magic items were presented which were not cursed (at least
not in the same way as the above items) but were used by various evil groups to
attack the main characters.

Mirror -- provides a gateway to hell.

Snow Globe -- contains a miniature universe which people can enter.

Witch's Ladder -- magnifies a magician's power.


The third season objects:

Book -- a "Satanic Bible"; if its prophecies are fulfilled, the devil will rule
the world.

Dagger -- Summons and controls demons.

Wheelchair -- enables the user to move about in a spirit-like form and kill; the
chair gradually heals the user.

Hearing Aid -- allows thoughts to be heard.

Coin -- can be used to resurrect a corpse, even one that is centuries dead. (It
was also in the second season, in a different episode.)

Car Radio -- takes the car and occupants through time to the year of the radio's
manufacture.

Cross -- destroys vampires. One of the better episodes, due in part to the moral
ambiguities: a cross, cursed by the devil, destroys vampires -- provided the
holder kills someone else with the cross.

Movie Print -- a character from the film can be brought into the real world, but
someone else takes the character's place (and dies).

Fountain Pen -- allows the owner to control the behavior of another.

Monkey Idols -- "see no evil" allows the owner to change another person's
perceptions; "hear no evil" allows thoughts to be heard; "speak no evil" speaks,
giving useful information.

Aspirator -- a mortician's device; it can raise the dead.

Cameo -- holds the soul of a dead person, which can be released (reviving the
dead person) by killing another.

Charm -- allows transfer of a soul into another body.

Leash -- transforms animals into humans and vice-versa.

Jack-in-the-Box -- allows communication with the dead.

Television -- maintains life. Used by a medium to show images of the dead to her
clients; the images later attacked the clients through other televisions.

Cernuous Statue -- animates an oak tree and reproduces itself.

Painting -- allows travel back in time.

There was also an episode involving the ghosts of a motorcycle gang; this didn't
fit the cursed object theme.