Tut’s tomb was opened in November 1922. By December 1922, the press was in a frenzy about the discovery of his tomb. Many journalists and reporters begged for stories. They embellished true stories and invented others for increased readership. The media attributed the death of Lord Carnarvon and others to the curse. Hollywood added to the mania with movies about mummies and Egyptian curses.
Legends Debunked
- When Lord Carnarvon died in a Cairo hotel, all of the lights in the city went out. (Carnarvon died in a hospital. Its lights were out for a few minutes, a common occurrence. An infected mosquito bite caused blood poisoning.)
- Douglas Derry and Alfred Lucas who performed Tut’s autopsy died within a short time of each other. (Derry died in 1969; Lucas in 1945.)
- The Hon. Richard Bethell, Carnarvon’s private secretary, committed suicide. (He died in bed from a cardiac arrest.)
- Bethell’s father, jumped to his death from his London apartment. (There is reasonable doubt as to whether or not this was suicide.)
- Aubrey Herbert, Carnarvon’s half brother, died of peritonitis. (While Aubrey died five months after Carnarvon, this was stretched to be included in the death-by-curse-by-association.)
- A cobra killed Howard Carter’s canary the day the tomb was opened. (The bird lived for a long time after the event.)
- Egyptian Prince Kemel Ali Fahmy Bey was mysteriously murdered in a London hotel. (British police closed the case, attributing the murder to his wife.)
- Bey’s brother committed suicide. (Although his death was violent, police hastily closed the case as death by suicide)
- George Jay Gould caught cold in the tomb, then died of pneumonia. (He didn’t catch cold and came down with a fever after visiting the tomb.)
- Director of Antiquities Mohammed Ibraham who oversaw the Tut exhibit dreamt he was in danger. He was killed in an automobile accident. (He died in the accident in 1966 after begging Egyptian authorities not to let some of Tut’s relics leave the country for an exhibition.)
- Archaeologist Arthur Mace fell into a coma and died in the same hotel Carnarvon died in. (He died in England after writing a letter stating he was being poisoned by arsenic.)
- Thirteen of a group of twenty people who were present at the opening of King Tut's burial chamber died within a few years. (Twenty-six people were present at the opening. Only six died within the next ten years. When King Tut's sarcophagus was opened, twenty-two people were present. Two died within ten years. Ten people watched the unwrapping of the mummy. None of them died during the next decade.)
- There were inscriptions that said those who disturbed Tut’s tomb would die. (An author wrote that there was a clay tablet with such an inscription. One newspaper proclaimed that a curse, written in hieroglyphs, was at the tomb’s entrance. These existed only in their imaginations.)
Scientific Explanations
Laboratory studies prove some ancient mummies carry mold, including at least two potentially dangerous species—Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus The toxins can be harmful. Some tomb walls may be covered with respiratory-assaulting bacteria like Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus
Bats inhabit many tombs. Their droppings carry a fungus that can cause influenza-like respiratory disease.
Scientists have detected ammonia gas, formaldehyde, and hydrogen sulfide inside sealed sarcophagi.
Under certain conditions, all can be deadly.
Related articles:
Ocean Born Mary: Ghost or Legend
Sources:
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved, Colin & Damon Wilson, (Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2000)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0506_050506_mummycurse.html
Strange Stories, Amazing Facts, Eds. not listed, (The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 1976)
