Curse of the pharaohs

Then we'll look at the bizarre, destructive Victorian phenomenon known as Egyptomania, from public mummy unrolling parties to grinding human remains into oil paint, which brought the mummy craze around this time.

And third, we'll look at the actual organic chemistry of mummification and the media myth behind the curse of the pharaohs.

So let's begin with our narrative component, the 1932 film, The Mummy.

Directed by Carl Frunn, this visionary cinematographer behind Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Todd Browning's Dracula, this film doesn't present the mummy as a mindless lumbering brute wrapped in gauze.

That Egyptology transitioned from a destructive treasure hunting to now more of a modern science.

Which brings us to the modern science on mummification chemistry.

The actual chemistry of mummification and the media circus behind the legendary Curse of the Pharaohs is quite interesting here.

Hollywood depicts mummification as a dark ritual involving magical scrolls.

You'll want something hot for this cool autumn stroll down memory lane.

Now please just relax and try not to think of the Pharaoh's curse.

Come in.

Come in.

The rulers were the pharaohs of Egypt, and they left an enduring series of monuments behind them, The Sphinx, the pyramids, the temples of Karnak and Luxor, and most strange of all, their mummified remains, embalmed by a process lost to modern science.

This is the story of one such mummy, and the eternal curse she left to be visited on any violator of her tomb.

Our mystery drama, The Pharaoh's Curse, was written especially for the Mystery Theater by Ian Martin and stars Kim Hunter.

1924, 50 years

All right, well, that's all I've got for now on reader curses.

Uh, but Rob, I know you wanted to talk about the so-called curse of the Pharaohs.

What have you got on that?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

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At any rate, the, the idea of the curse of the Pharaohs continued, uh, with, with various ideas often brought up as to just why the ancient Egyptian tombs killed people.

Again, they didn't, but th- again, we're talking about this, this pervasive myth, this pervasive idea.

All right.

right.Uh, and before we jump in, I wanna, uh, mention too that, uh, last Thursday I attended an online class by Egyptologist and former guest on the show, Colleen Darnell, titled Curse of the Pharaohs.

Uh, I found it super insightful, and, uh, the information and sources presented in that class were part of my initial research for this episode.

Uh, she does, uh, she does these classes on different Egyptology topics, uh, each month.