Continuing Monster Histories month the next topic is Mummies! While in recent years mummies in horror have fallen out of vogue (with the last mummy-themed franchise being 'The Mummy' with Brendan Fraiser, which is more action than horror) they still remain popular as costumes, decorations and the 1930s movie is still considered a classic.

So how did mummies become part of the horror genre to begin with?

Follow up:

The word 'mummy' comes from a corruption of an Arabic word for 'resin', the pine based substance used heavily in the mummification process. Contrary to popular belief not all mummies are Egyptian. Many have been found in South America, China, Russia and the United Kingdom. A mummy is simply a human body that has been preserved in such a way that it cannot or resists decomposition. Most mummies were created accidentally, either through freeze drying in cold climates, or chemicals in the soil in the case of Irish and Scottish bog mummies. What made the Egyptians unique is that their mummification was entirely intentionally, a process that was elaborate, complex and took a very long time. Egyptians mummified corpses because their religion dictated, that in order to live forever in the afterlife, the body must not be destroyed. The Egyptian afterlife was complicated, and a spirit had to brave many dangers, riddles and games (ZOMG! Yugi-Oh reference!) in order to get the Beautiful West, their equivalent of paradise. In order to help the relative get past these trials, the living would place many spells and magic amulets both in the mummies wrappings as well as around the tomb. These spells were meant protect from both dangers in the spirit world as well as the body still in the earthly world.

Even back in Egypt's height of power, the Egyptians were known to be a magical people, knowing information about healing and architecture that was very advanced. And during Roman times, when they had become a Roman Colony, Egyptians were still feared and considered mysterious. But what brought the Egyptian Mummy to the status of feared monster is 'The Mummy's Curse'.

After the loss of Egypt by the Byzantine Empire to the Persian Empire during the middle ages, almost all of Egyptian culture was entirely forgotten. However, during the 19th century when Egypt was conquered first by France and then by Britain, there was a renewed interest in Ancient Egypt. With the translation of the Rosetta Stone, the interest turned into a frenzy that lasted up until the beginning of the 20th century. At first, Archeology was nothing more than looting and grave robbing, and by the early 1900s, it was pretty much believed that anything of interest in Egypt has long been dug up. Enter Howard Carter and the Legend of Tutankhamun's Curse.

Howard Carter was an art student who became an Archeologist after doing work for other Archeologists in Egypt. After doing work in the Valley of the Kings, he was convinced there was still the possibility of finding tombs with most of their contents still in tact. He got the funding from Lord Carnarvon, an English aristocrat and on November 25th 1922 he unearthed the tomb of Tutankhamun. That is super short version, but this is where the story really begins. On April 5th 1923, Lord Carnarvon died from an infected mosquito bite he cut while shaving and 'Mummy's Curse' was born. Tabloid journalists and sensationalists began stringing together strange incidents and accidents involving people directly and indirectly connected with the tomb. A rumor stated that on the door of the tomb was the warning 'Death Shall Come Swiftly on Wings to Whosoever Disturbs the King' and with Lord Carnarvon's death as the result of a mosquito bite, the Curse frenzy was unstoppable. (BTW, there is no evidence that even a warning similar to the rumored one ever existed).

Naturally with all this hub-bub and interest in curses and Egypt, Hollywood took interest. In 1932 Universal Pictures released the monster classic 'The Mummy' with Boris Karloff, and the movie monster mummy was born.

So is the curse real? It's a matter of opinion, after all, Howard Carter, the man who pursued the tomb and actually opened it, was the first man inside and helped take things out of the tomb lived to be 64. And thousands of tourists tour the tomb and treasures of Tutankhamun in Egypt every year without incident.