Mummy (undead)

Steps of forensic facial reconstruction of a mummy

Mummies are commonly featured in horror genres as undead creatures wrapped in bandages.

History

The original inspiration for undead mummies in fiction comes from the process of mummification.

Literature

• One of the earliest examples of undead mummies is The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century, an 1827 novel written by Jane C. Loudon. This early science-fiction work concerns an Egyptian mummy named Cheops, who is brought back in to life in the 22nd century.
• Marvel Comics has its own mummies like N'Kantu, the Living Mummy.
• The mummies are featured in The Kane Chronicles.

Television

• Robot mummies were featured in a Doctor Who story, Pyramids of Mars, in the 1970s, while the Hammer Horror film series had also included what had become a stock genre character.

Film

During the 20th century, horror films and other mass media popularized the notion of a curse associated with mummies (see Curse of the pharaohs). The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter brought mummies into the mainstream.

• One of the earliest appearances was The Jewel of Seven Stars, a horror novel by Bram Stoker first published in 1903 that concerned an archaeologist's plot to revive an ancient Egyptian mummy. This book later served as the basis for the 1971 film Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.
• Films representing such a belief include the 1932 movie The Mummy starring Boris Karloff as Imhotep; four subsequent 1940s' Universal Studios mummy films which featured a mummy named Kharis, who also was the title mummy in The Mummy, a 1959 Hammer remake of The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb; and a remake of the original film that was released in 1999 (and later spawned two direct sequels and prequels and a spinoff movie). The belief in cursed mummies probably stems in part from the supposed curse on the tomb of Tutankhamun.
• In 1979, the American Broadcasting Company aired a TV holiday show, The Halloween That Almost Wasn't, in which a mummy from Egypt (Robert Fitch) arrived at Count Dracula's castle without speaking.
• Slapstick comedy trio The Three Stooges humorously exploited the discovery in the short film We Want Our Mummy, in which they explored the tomb of the midget King Rutentuten (and his Queen, Hotsy Totsy). A decade later, they played crooked used chariot salesmen in Mummy's Dummies, in which they ultimately assisted a different King Rootentootin (Vernon Dent) with a toothache.
• A Mummy was featured in the film Mad Monster Party?. He doesn't talk and is among the monsters invited by Baron Boris von Frankenstein's castle on the Isle of Evil. The Mummy's sarcophagus was carried to Baron Frankenstein's castle by the Hunchback. In one scene, the Mummy dances with Monster's Mate to "It's the Mummy" by Little Tibia and Fibias.
• A Mummy was featured in Mad Mad Mad Monsters voiced by Allen Swift. He is among the monsters invited by Baron Henry von Frankenstein to attend the wedding of Frankenstein's Monster and his mate at the Transylvania Astoria Hotel on Friday the 13th.
• A new Hollywood series of films featuring an immortal undead High Priest began with The Mummy in 1999.^[1] The film was a box-office success and was followed by two sequels, The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008. The first two movies featured the Mummy of Imhotep (portrayed by Arnold Vosloo) and the third movie featured the Mummy of Emperor Han (portrayed by Jet Li).
• The 2017 film The Mummy will feature the Mummy of Ahmanet (portrayed by Sofia Boutella).

References