Legend has it that anyone who disturbs the mummies of Ancient Egyptians, particularly a pharaoh, will fall victim to the dreaded “Curse of the Pharaohs.” This curse is believed to bring about misfortune, disease, or even death, without distinguishing between thieves and archaeologists.
Since 1923, when Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt, scientists of great renown have been perplexed by the infamous Mummy’s Curse.
While no curse had been officially discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb, a number of individuals from Carter’s team and other visitors to the site, whether real or fictional, passed away over the years. These occurrences helped perpetuate the legend, particularly in cases of violent deaths or unusual circumstances.
During the uncovering of the tomb, Howard Carter was collaborating with renowned Egyptologist James Henry Breasted. The Egyptian laborers held a belief that Breasted’s pet Canary, which met its demise when a cobra slithered into its cage, was responsible for the discovery of the tomb. The cobra, symbolizing the might of the pharaoh, was seen as a significant omen.
After accidentally tearing open a mosquito bite while shaving, 53-year-old Lord Carnarvon became the second victim of the Mummy’s Curse and passed away shortly after due to blood poisoning. A few months after the tomb’s opening, an extraordinary event occurred. Lord Carnarvon died on April 5, 1923, around 2:00 AM, and at that precise moment, all the lights in Cairo unexpectedly went out. Simultaneously, Lord Carnarvon’s dog, located in England two thousand miles away, let out a howl before also passing away.
Sir Bruce Ingham received a peculiar gift from Howard Carter—a paperweight in the form of a mummified hand holding a bracelet inscribed with the words, “Cursed be he who moves my body.” Shortly after receiving this gift, misfortune befell Ingham. His home was engulfed in a devastating fire, and when he attempted to rebuild, a destructive flood struck, compounding his troubles.
In 1923, wealthy American investor and railroad tycoon George Jay Gould visited Tutankhamun’s tomb, but soon afterward, he fell ill. Several months later, he succumbed to pneumonia, never fully recovering.
British archaeologist Evelyn White, who may have assisted with the excavation of the site during his visit to Tut’s tomb, tragically took his own life in 1924. He was reportedly driven to despair after witnessing the deaths of approximately two dozen of his fellow diggers. Before his death, it is said that he wrote, supposedly in blood, “I have succumbed to a curse which drives me to disappear.”
Aubrey Herbert, the half-brother of Lord Carnarvon, allegedly suffered the effects of King Tut’s curse due to their shared ancestry. Herbert was born with a progressive eye disease and eventually became blind in his later years. In an attempt to restore his vision, he had all his teeth removed after a specialist suggested that his decaying, diseased teeth might be causing his visual impairment. However, the procedure was unsuccessful. Merely five months after the reported death of his cursed brother, Herbert passed away from sepsis as a result of the procedure.
The title of Aaron Ember’s book was “The Book of the Dead in Egypt.”
Sir Archibald Douglas Reid, a radiologist, conducted X-rays on Tutankhamun’s mummy before it was transferred to museum officials, demonstrating that one didn’t have to be directly involved in the excavation or expedition to fall victim to the curse. The day after the X-ray examination, Sir Archibald fell ill, and three days later, he passed away.
Forty-three years later, the curse claimed the life of Mohammed Ibrahim, who had given official approval for the shipment of Tutankhamun’s artifacts to Paris for an exhibition. Ibrahim attempted to halt the shipment after his daughter suffered severe injuries in a vehicle accident and he had a premonition that he would also perish. Unfortunately, he failed to stop the shipment, and two days later, he was run over by a vehicle and passed away.
Was the cυrse of the Mυmmy to blame for these straпge deaths? Or did everythiпg jυst happeп by chaпce? What do yoυ thiпk?
