Did you know that in the 19th century, mummy horror was more famous than vampire horror when it came to supernatural fiction books? In light of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and speculation that The Mummy 4 is potentially making an entrance this year, let’s look at some classic Mummy horror stories to get us in the mood!
Authors who wrote mummy horror in the 19th century.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Conan Doyle is well known for his Sherlock Holmes books but did you know that he also wrote a few short stories inspired by ancient Egypt and Mummy-mania? Conan-Doyle wrote Lot 249 which was adapted recently for a BBC’s A Ghost Story For Christmas . It’s a story about a group of academics at Old College Oxford, and one of them (Abercrombie Smith) notices one of his peers acting strangely. His name is Edward Bellingham, an Egyptology student who owns many ancient Egyptian artefacts, including a mummy. After seeing his mummy disappear and reappear, and two instances of Bellingham’s enemies being attacked, Smith concludes that Bellingham is re-animating his mummy.
This story is chilling and I loved it. It’s easy to get your hands on, and trust me: you’ll never look at a mummy in the museum the same way again.
Conan Doyle also wrote a mummy horror story called The Ring Of Thoth . If you’re looking for a supernatural chiller, you’re not going to find it in this story. When I was researching Gothic Egyptian stories for my own short story collection, The Shade In The Sands And Other Stories, I discovered that Anne Rice had been inspired to write The Mummy/ Ramses The Damned after reading The Ring Of Thoth. It is absolutely a mummy horror story but it’s also a beautiful story about eternity and the cost of living forever. If you love films like Highlander and The Mummy series with Brendan Fraser, you’re going to love this one.
The Jewel Of Seven Stars: Bram Stoker’s lesser known Mummy horror tale.
I was really surprised by this one because (and I’ll be honest) I didn’t love the way Dracula was written. No, I don’t mean the epistolary format (I have an MA in Literature) it was just the way it was so slow and then nothing happened until 2/3 into the book. I could have done without the train timetables (thanks Mina) and Van Helsing repeatedly wandering off ‘to think’ while everyone is in mortal danger.
Saying that, I am glad I read The Jewel Of Seven Stars because it is weird. It is everything I would expect from a mummy horror story and then some.
The Jewel of Seven Stars is about a lawyer named Malcolm Ross who is called to the home of famous Egyptologist Abel Trelawney. His crush also happens to live there. Trelawney is in his study surrounded by Egyptian artefacts and a mummified cat that we later learn might be the long-dead Queen Tera. Trelawney is then unconscious in his study for mysterious reasons. Malcolm, after some clumsy prose and flat dialogue, reveals to us that the “mummy smell” has an effect on those in the room.
This is a creepy Gothic mummy story but wow I struggled with it. Stoker is famous for Dracula because it was revolutionary and the birth of a cultural icon. It was not because Stoker is a phenomenal writer.
Want more Egyptian horror to read? Check out this list of ancient Egyptian Horror books on Goodreads.
Other articles:
The Shade In The Sands And Other Stories
What is Egyptomania and why is it Gothic?
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