Cecil Rogers's Tuba

The cursed tuba of Cecil Calloway Rogers, the only instrument to survive the sinking of the RMS Titanic. As long as it remained intact, so would its owner. On the other hand, any damage suffered by the tuba would be passed on to the owner; when the spit-valve was clogged, Rogers spent ten weeks in bed with pneumonia.

The tuba also had a devastatingly dangerous power. Anyone who heard the E-flat note would drown in the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Even worse, the tuba's effects would occur even if the listener did not hear the tuba directly; in other words, playing the E-flat note over a radio or a television broadcast would still kill anyone who heard it.

The tuba was hidden in a bank vault for decades, before being stolen by Arty Atkins and Johnny John, on the orders of Arthur Mendelson. When she heard of the theft, Roxy Wasserman sent her succubi to recover the tuba and kill the thieves. Atkins drowned in the icy waters of the North Atlantic after hearing the E-flat note (it is not clear who played it), but the Middleman and Wendy Watson saved Johnny John from a succubus. After confronting Roxy and coming to a truce, the Middleman set out to recover the tuba.

Cecil Rogers beat them to recovering it by seconds, but he was shot by Johnny John, who took the tuba to Mendelson. Rogers snuck onboard the ship by posing as his own great-great-great-great-great-grandson, intending to play the tuba and kill everyone who knew about the curse, so his tuba would be safe for eternity. However, before he could play it, Wendy shot him in the heart with a harpoon gun, sending both Rogers and his tuba to the bottom of the bay.

The Middleman speculated that the water pressure of the bay's depths would destroy the tuba. It is unclear whether this happened, or whether Rogers was simply trapped beneath the waves, cursed to drown, come back to life, and drown again for eternity.