The Truth About The Curse Of King Tut's Tomb
The Curse Of King Tut's Tomb
When Howard Carter and his team opened the tomb of King Tutankhamun 100 years ago, it sparked not only a phenomenon known as “Tutmania”, but also the modern era of Egyptology.
One part of the event that people found particularly compelling was a potential “curse”. The rumors about it have persisted ever since—but is there anything to it?
Not The Only Curse Out There
The King Tut incident wasn’t the first time that stories spread about a cursed tomb. Although rarer than the gossip would suggest, there were in fact some Egyptian tombs that contained warnings about potential curses.
These types of warnings were the exception, though—as the mere idea of disturbing a tomb, especially one belonging to a ruler, was unimaginable.
Strange Occurrences
Of course, that didn’t stop strange stories from spreading. In one incident, a cobra—one of the most prominent symbols of Ancient Egypt—was found in Carter’s home, having ingested his pet canary, soon after they worked on opening the tomb.
And things only got worse once they actually entered it.
Howard Carter
The First Victim
In April of 1923, the excavation’s financier, Lord Carnarvon, succumbed to blood poisoningafter nicking a mosquito bite while shaving. Immediately, the news caused a sensation among media outlets, which began to spread stories about the tomb’s curse.
Many got in on the action, including Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Elementals
Doyle supported the existence of the tomb’s curse and claimed that elemental spirits were responsible for Lord Carnarvon’s untimely demise. According to Doyle’s theory, the elementals had been summoned by King Tut’s priests to guard his tomb.
Doyle’s comments stoked the media frenzy—and so did the misfortunes of Sir Bruce Ingham, the second victim of King Tut’s curse.
Bain News Service, Wikimedia Commons
