Books about Gothic Egyptomania

Gothic Egyptomania literature blends the supernatural, forbidden knowledge, and the uncanny allure of ancient Egyptian artefacts, often featuring vengeful mummies or haunted relics. Key works in this subgenre range from Victorian classics like Richard Marsh’s The Beetle and Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars to modern retellings like Anne Rice’s The Mummy, or Ramses The Damned.

Here are six great Gothic Egyptomania books and short stories.

1. The Jewel Of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker. This is an Edwardian Gothic Horror novel  (1903) by Bram Stoker is a Victorian Gothic horror novel about a London archaeologist, Abel Trelawny, attempting to resurrect Tera, an ancient Egyptian sorcerer-queen, using a mysterious jewel. Narrated by a young barrister, the plot involves supernatural possession, curses, and deadly, mysterious occurrences.
2. The Beetle by Richard Marsh. Released the same year as Dracula, (1897) Marsh’s Gothic mystery novel about a vengeful Egyptian shape-shifter and a British politician originally sold more copies than Dracula. This Gothic story is told in the traditional multi-narrative way of crime and mystery novels of the time.
3. The Ring Of Thoth by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. First published in the Cornhill Magazine in 1890, this Gothic Egyptomanian tale tells the story of a student who falls asleep in the Louvre, waking up in the middle of the night. What he discovers will confirm everything he ever suspected about eternal life and love.
4. Lot 249 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Another creepy horror story about an ancient Egyptian mummy and the strange Egyptology student who has it in his study. Recently this was adapted for television in BBC’s A Ghost Story For Christmas.
5. The Mummy/Ramses The Damned. A horror tale that blends romance and adventure in Edwardian London. Ramses The Great has awoken in Edwardian London, his heart still longing for his lost love Cleopatra. He is the only one in the world who knows how to make the elixir of life, and there’s no telling what he’ll do with it.
6. The Shade In The Sands And Other Stories. A collection of new Gothic horror stories inspired by Victorian and Edwardian Egyptomania. Cursed artefacts, or just bad luck? These stories explore ancient curses, dark romance, eternal life, love and destruction.

Read more about Gothic Egyptomania here:

Overall, Gothic Egyptomania continues to fascinate to this day. Here’s a pin to save for later! Have you read any of these books?

Horror books about ancient Egypt, Egyptian mythology and Gothic themes such as eternal life, love and vengeful spirits.

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Non-fiction books about Gothic Egyptomania:

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