The most common element of horror and mummies is ‘the curse’. This extended to fiction where mummies were increasingly featured as romantic partners for the protagonist until the turn of the century which saw them cast as the villains.
Artefacts were put on display, mummies were unwrapped before crowds, and interest surged in all things related to Egyptian culture. During the early nineteenth century, the spoils of Egyptian tombs were a source of wonder for the West.
Mummification is not a process limited to Ancient Egypt but it is certainly from there that most popular culture draws when portraying mummies. Unlike the shambling undead horrors that stalk and terrorise the usual protagonists in modern media, Cheops is shown as an astute political observer who passes his wisdom on to those who befriend him. Fictionalised accounts of mummies coming back to life have been a staple of the horror genre since 1827 with the publication of ‘The Mummy! A Tale of the 22nd Century’ in which the mummy of Cheops (an actual Egyptian pharaoh) was reanimated. Mummies have fascinated popular imagination since the days of their earliest discoveries.
