Skip to main content

The Curse of the Mummy - 1935 vs. 2009







We already knew your future and safety couldn't be guaranteed if you were one of the 58 persons present at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb - just look at Lord Carnarvon, who fell victim to a mosquito bite and a razor, as well as the current state Highclere Castle is in - but it seems that being a visitor to one of the exhibitions about King Tut can get quite dangerous too:

Nearly a century after Tutankhamun's tomb was dug up, a man says he was severely injured by electrical shock and chemical fumes at a display of the ancient Pharaohs stuff.

Carman Fields sued the Franklin Institute Science Museum and Mandell Center in state court. He claims the state of disrepair of display cases in the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibit was so negligent that he received a severe electrical shock and was overcome by chemical fumes in September 2007. Fields says he suffered severe pain that radiated from his head through his torso and into his extremities. Since then, he says, he has suffered persistent headaches, chronic dizziness, imbalance, disequilibrium and forgetfulness. He wants $50,000.

Odd occurrences have been rumoured to surround Tutankhamun artefacts since his tomb was dug up in 1923. Legend has it that anyone who dared to open the tomb, which escaped all but minor looting for more than 3,000 years, would suffer the wrath of the Pharaoh.

Personally I think we could more easily account this to the 'suing for damages' curse that seems to be one of the plagues of Modern America, rather than to the curse of the Pharoah. ;)
The Mummy - 1932

Why mention this? Well, I needed a reason - besides that it's totally awesome, in a vintage kind of way - to post this old film trailer for 'The Mummy' by Karl Freund, dating back to 1932:

"Stranger than Dracula. More mysterious than the Invisible Man! The Mummy! Is it dead or alive? Human or inhuman? You'll know! You'll see! You'll feel the awful creeping crawling terror that stands your hair on end and brings a scream to your lips. There's nothing on earth like the mummy!"

The story? In 1921 a field expedition in Egypt discovers the mummy of ancient Egyptian prince Imhotep, who was condemned and buried alive for sacrilege. The inscriptions on his coffin reads 'Death: Eternal punishment. For. Anyone. Who. Opens. This. Casket.' Also found in the tomb is the Scroll of Thoth, which can bring the dead back to life. One night a young member of the expedition reads the scroll out loud, and then goes insane, realizing that he has brought Imhotep back to life. Ten years later, disguised as a modern Egyptian, the mummy attempts to reunite with his lost love, the ancient princess Princess Anck-es-en-Amon, who has been reincarnated into a beautiful young woman, Helen Grosvenor. Imhotep requires Helen to die so he can revive his princess and make her a living mummy like himself.

Shortly summarized in trailer-speak: "Buried alive for 3700 years! Brought back to live, love and kill! The amazing, incredulous, unbelievable story of the nameless horror! The Mummy!" *shivers*

Anybody in for a movie night? Or is The Mummy (1932 edition) not scientifically correct enough to your liking? Ah well, we also have some 'serious' mummy news on offer: Dr. Zahi talks to Heritage Key about the recent research on King Tut's DNA, and identifying one of his still-born children, a daughter. And don't even get him started about Tutankhamun's health and walking sticks!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomb of Pabasa (TT279)

Pabasa, who was also called Pabes, has a large tomb at Asasif, just outside the entrance to Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri. Like Ankh-hor, who held this important title after him, he was the ‘Chief Steward of the God’s Wife Nitocris’ (Neitiqert) during the reign of Saite king Psamtek I.  Pabasa’s tomb still has a large mudbrick superstructure. A steep flight of stairs leads down to the entrance of the subterranean levels and on the lintel above the doorway is a fine relief of a barque, adored by the souls of Pe and Nekhen, by the God’s Wife, Nitocris and by the deceased.  A small vestibule leads to a larger pillared sun court. The vestibule shows scenes of Pabasa’s funeral procession, including mourners and the ‘Abydos Pilgrimage’. There is a long text of Pabasa and depictions of his son, Thahorpakhepesh, who acted as sem-priest at his father’s funeral.  On the inner lintel of the entrance to the court, a relief shows Osiris and Re-Horakhty, in the cent...
Post a Comment
Read more

The bindweeds of Egypt and their symbolic role for the deceased

http://www.egyptraveluxe.com/cairo_half_day_tour_to_cairo_egyptian_museum.php From the Middle Kingdom until the 18th Dynasty, representations are found of a parasitic bindweed associated with the stems of papyrus, . Its representations increase and refine themselves during the Amarnian period because of the naturalistic leaning to nature; but it is in Ramesside times, and more particularly that of Ramesses II, that the images become more beautiful and most detailed. The plant is frequently attached to the stem of the papyrus, or to bouquets, but being also able to, more rarely, exist separately. After the 20th Dynasty, if the theme persists, the quality of the representations decrease (as do all more representations of nature). This success under the Ramesseses is probably linked with the specific beliefs of that time, and notably the eminent place that the solar cults occupy. The nature of the plant has been under debate a long time ...
Post a Comment
Read more

US authorities return eight stolen ancient Egyptian artifacts

US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artifacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. Today, upon his arrival from the United States, Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artefacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. The objects are to arrive next month. The pieces include the upper part of a painted anthropoid wooden sarcophagus from the Third Intermediate period depicting a face of a woman wea ring a wig decorated with coloured flowers. Two linen mummy wrappings covered with plaster and bearing paintings showing winged amulets pushing the sun disc are also among the artefacts. Hieroglyphic text showing the name and titles of the deceased are also found on the plaster cover. The third piece is a cartonage painted mummy mask from the Third Intermediate period while the fourth and fifth items are Middle Kingdom wooden boats. The other three items are lim...
Post a Comment
Read more