4 Chilling Curses from Ancient Egypt

The infamous treasures of Tutankhamen will soon be on display in London, where the mysterious deaths of the archaeologists that uncovered them are still the subject of hushed whispers. But of course, the enlightened among us know better than to believe in curses... or do we?

The Harbinger of War

Few are aware of the trumpets that have been buried alongside Tutankhamen. In 1939, the BBC convinced the Egyptian Antiquities Service to let them record a broadcast of the trumpets being played. During the broadcast, the lights in the museum died. A blackout fell over Cairo, drowning the city in darkness. And soon after the broadcast made its way to Europe, the continent was plunged into war.

The God of Death and Rebirth

In 1971, Egyptologist Walter Brian Emery found a small statue of Osiris and decided to take it for himself. A few hours later, he felt unwell, and entered a bathroom. In moments, his assistant heard wails of despair from behind the door. The assistant entered the bathroom and found Walter Brian Emery sprawled across the floor, his body paralyzed. What caused his terrible screams? We may never know; a day later, Walter Brian Emery perished, taking his last moments with him.

The Doomed Passenger

A beautiful painted mummy board was passed throughout European institutions and museums. According to legend, it was taken on the Titanic to be put on display in the US... but, disgruntled at its move away from the corpse to which it belonged, the mummy board placed a curse on the ship and sunk the Titanic, dooming hundreds of lives. Thankfully, this is just a legend: the mummy board was in the British Museum at the time. So we're told.

The Unforgiven

History tells us of the brief reign of Akhenaton, who tried to replace the gods of Ancient Egypt with a deity of his own. He forced the nation to worship the sun, while punishing all those who remained loyal to the old gods. After his death, the priests of the old gods gathered and placed a curse on his body, so that his spirit may never rest. To this day, the ghost of Akhenaton wanders the White Desert - harmless but for an unsettling sense of ancient melancholy.

Photo credit American Exhibitions, Inc.