Mummy's Curse
Running head: ASSIGNMENT 1: ESSAY "MUMMY 'S CURSE"
Assignment 1: Essay "Mummy 's Curse"
Strayer University
World Cultures 1
HUM 111
Assignment 1: Essay "Mummy 's Curse"
As a young girl living in Pennsylvania, I can remember first hearing about the famous Pharaoh King Tutankhamen. This was during the time when an exhibit, known as the Treasures of Tutankhamen, traveled the United States. Along with all the stories about the beautiful treasures from the tomb, were also the stories of King Tut’s curse, which traveled like wildfire among my young friends and I. Late night sleepovers were a fun, but often scary time when we turned the lights out and told scary stories about ghosts and mummies. It was also about that time that Steve Martin wrote and performed the famous song about King Tut. Everyone I knew was doing the Egyptian dance and Egyptian jewelry was all the rage. As attention-grabbing as this story was, people soon began debating whether the mummy curses were fact or fiction. Certain scientists and archeologists believed it was true due to the alleged writings on the entrance to his tomb which stated, “Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King.”(The Museum of UnNatural History, n.d., ¶ 1). After the opening of the tomb in the early 1920’s, rumors spread that animals and people connected with the tomb opening were dying of unusual circumstances. First said to die was Howard Clark’s pet canary, which was supposedly bitten by a cobra, which represents Egypt and the Pharaohs. Lord Carnarvon, the financial backer for Howard Clark’s excavation of King Tut’s tomb took ill several months after the opening and died. The lights in Cairo were reported to have gone out and his beloved dog was said to have dropped dead at the same time of Lord Carnarvon’s demise. Others connected with the tombs’ opening were stated to have fallen ill and even one suicide was reported. The rumors continued to
Assignment 1: Essay "Mummy 's Curse"
Strayer University
World Cultures 1
HUM 111
Assignment 1: Essay "Mummy 's Curse"
As a young girl living in Pennsylvania, I can remember first hearing about the famous Pharaoh King Tutankhamen. This was during the time when an exhibit, known as the Treasures of Tutankhamen, traveled the United States. Along with all the stories about the beautiful treasures from the tomb, were also the stories of King Tut’s curse, which traveled like wildfire among my young friends and I. Late night sleepovers were a fun, but often scary time when we turned the lights out and told scary stories about ghosts and mummies. It was also about that time that Steve Martin wrote and performed the famous song about King Tut. Everyone I knew was doing the Egyptian dance and Egyptian jewelry was all the rage. As attention-grabbing as this story was, people soon began debating whether the mummy curses were fact or fiction. Certain scientists and archeologists believed it was true due to the alleged writings on the entrance to his tomb which stated, “Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King.”(The Museum of UnNatural History, n.d., ¶ 1). After the opening of the tomb in the early 1920’s, rumors spread that animals and people connected with the tomb opening were dying of unusual circumstances. First said to die was Howard Clark’s pet canary, which was supposedly bitten by a cobra, which represents Egypt and the Pharaohs. Lord Carnarvon, the financial backer for Howard Clark’s excavation of King Tut’s tomb took ill several months after the opening and died. The lights in Cairo were reported to have gone out and his beloved dog was said to have dropped dead at the same time of Lord Carnarvon’s demise. Others connected with the tombs’ opening were stated to have fallen ill and even one suicide was reported. The rumors continued to
References: Handwerk, B. (2005). Egypt’s “King Tut curse” caused by tomb toxins. Retrieved May 3, 2013, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/75681321.html The Museum of UnNatural History (n.d.). Howard Carter and the curse of King’s Tut’s mummy. Retrieved April 26, 2013, from http://www.unmuseum.org/mummy.htm