| Mummies | |
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 Cover to Forbidden Worlds #18 | |
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Members |
See Below |
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First Appearance |
Ancient Egypt (2800 BC) |
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Created by |
Ancient Egyptians |
Origin[]
An illustration by Martin van Maële of the mummy from "Lot No. 249" an 1892 Gothic horror short story by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle.
Mummies are commonly featured in horror genres as undead creatures wrapped in bandages. Similar undead include skeletons and zombies.
The mummy genre has its origins in the 19th century when Egypt was being colonized by France and, subsequently, by Victorian Britain. The first living mummies in fiction were mostly female, and they were presented in a romantic and sexual light, often as love interests for the protagonist; this metaphorically represented the sexualized Orientalism and the colonial romanticization of the East. Notable examples of this trend include The Mummy's Foot by Théophile Gautier, The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker, The Ring of Thoth by Arthur Conan Doyle, She: A History of Adventure and Smith and the Pharaohs by H. Rider Haggard, My New Year's Eve Among the Mummies by Grant Allen, The Unseen Man's Story by Julian Hawthorne, and Iras: A Mystery by H. D. Everett; the latter actually has the protagonist marry a mummy which takes on the form of a beautiful woman.
Starting from the 1930s, the "romantic mummy" was supplanted by the "monster mummy", pioneered by Boris Karloff in the 1932 movie The Mummy; mummies thus joined the pantheon of 19th century Gothic monsters, alongside Count Dracula and Frankenstein's monster.
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.
The Mummy's Foot (1840) by Théophile Gautier concerns a ghostly Egyptian princess who, hoping to recover her lost foot, takes the protagonist on a journey through time to her homeland.
Some Words with a Mummy (1845) by Edgar Allan Poe is another early example of a story about a resurrected mummy named Allamistakeo, though played for satire instead of horror.
Lost in a Pyramid; or, The Mummy's Curse (1869) by Louisa May Alcott is an early example of the "mummy's curse" genre.
Lot No. 249 (1892) by Arthur Conan Doyle has been called "...the first to depict a reanimated mummy as a sinister, dangerous creature." Doyle's 1890 short story The Ring of Thoth also features a mummy, though of a more benevolent nature.
The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903) by Bram Stoker is an early tale of possession by a mummy. In the story, Queen Tera sought to possess Margaret Trelawny, the daughter of an Egyptologist who bears a striking resemblance to Tera .
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (1924) attributed to illusionist Harry Houdini but ghostwritten by H. P. Lovecraft, tells the first-person story of Houdini's encounter with a mummified cult in a hidden temple beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza.
Out of the Aeons (1935) by H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald links a mysterious mummy (albeit one not of Egyptian origin) to his Cthulhu Mythos.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of mummies from before January 1, 1929 are public domain in the US.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century (1827)
- The Mummy's Foot (1840)
- Some Words with a Mummy (1845)
- Lost in a Pyramid; or, The Mummy's Curse (1869)
- My New Year's Eve Among the Mummies (1880)
- She: A History of Adventure (1887)
- The Ring of Thoth (1890)
- Lot No. 249 (1892)
- The Unseen Man's Story (1893)
- Iras: A Mystery (1896)
- The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903)
- Smith and the Pharaohs (1912-1913)
- Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (1924)
- The Grinning Mummy (1926)
- Out of the Aeons (1935)
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb (1899)
- The Mummy (1911)
- Die Augen der Mumie Ma (1918)
- The Fool and Death (1920)
- The Riddle of the Sphinx (1921)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Prize Comics v2 #8: The Green Mummy was the alternate identity of Charles Forbes, a wealthy man who owned an extremely valuable blue diamond.He was eventually stopped by the Black Owl.
- Beware! Terror Tales #1-8: The Mummy was the spectral narrator of the second of Fawcett's horror line, Beware! Terror Tales.
- Skeleton Hand in Secrets of the Supernatural #2: Seta, also known as Goddess of All Serpents or the Were-Serpent of Karnak, who after being awakened after 4000 years as a mummy. She turned all of her followers (descendants of her original followers 4,000 years earlier) to snake people resembling Lamia.
- Daredevil Comics #2: Dr. Pierce and his men discover Princess Sheba in an ancient crypt. Pierce knows he can revive her using the venom found in a golden cobra in her tomb. She is brought to life and soon kills Pierce. Sheba tries to take control of Daredevil, but he refuses the kiss and later tricked by Daredevil to throw her cobra containing the venom at him, smashing it against a wall which reverts her back to her mummy state.
- Fighting Yank #1: Mystico was a seer of ancient Egypt, who died some 3000 years ago. His mummy was stolen from a museum by Dr. Slade, a mad scientist who resurrects him with his life-restoring "vita-ray."
- Web of Mystery #1, 21, 23, 25, 27:
- In Issue #1 featured two mummy stories. In the first, Archeologist Damon Knight excavates an ancient egyptian tomb. He is warned by the ghost of the 8,000 years old mummy of Kali-Dahn not to desecrate his burial chamber. As Knight continues, he gets lured into the tomb and has to take the mummy's place. The second story was titled The Persevering Mummy.
- Issue #21, 23, 25, and 27 had stories about a mummies in the feature True Tales of Unexplained Mystery.
- Forbidden Worlds #5, 18:
- Priestess of the Sphinx
- The Mummy!
- Beware #16: The Mummy's Bride!
- Baffling Mysteries #15: Baffling Mysteries
- Chamber of Chills Magazine #15: The Living Mummies
- Web of Evil #15,20:
- The Demon Coat
- Death from the Tomb
- Witches Tales #6,11:
- Servants of the Tomb!
- The Unburied Mummy
- Ghostly Weird Stories #120: The Mummy's Hand...
- The Beyond #16, 18:
- Vault of the Winged Spectres
- True Tales of Unexplained Mystery
- Adventures Into The Unknown #6: True Ghosts of History: The Case of the Malignant Mummy
- Spook #30: The Mummy
- Hand of Fate Mystery #9: A Hand of Fate Mystery
- The Thing #12-13
- The Mummy's Curse!
- A-Tisket A-Casket!
Public Domain Comic Appearances of Ibis the Invincible[]
- All Hero Comics #1
- Danger and Adventure #22
- Gift Comics #1-4
- Holiday Comics #1
- Ibis the Invincible #1-6
- Mighty Midget Comics: Ibis the Invincible
- Wheaties Giveaway
- Whiz Comics #2, 7-60
- X-Mas Comics #1-7
Public Domain Comic Appearances of Taia of Thebes[]
- Whiz Comics #2, 7-60
- Ibis the Invincible #1-6
- Master Comics #28
- America's Greatest Comics #4
- All Hero Comics #1
- Danger and Adventure #22
- Gift Comics #1-4
- Holiday Comics #1
- Mighty Midget Comics: Ibis the Invincible
- Wheaties Giveaway
- X-Mas Comics #1-7
Public Domain Comic Appearances of Tutankhamun[]
- Blue Bolt v1 #9-10
- George Pal's Puppetoons #15
- Jumbo Comic #123
- Kid Eternity #1
- More Fun Comics #7-8
- New Fun Comics #6
- Sparky Watts #10
- Man in Black #3
Notes[]
- A list of mummy characters on this wiki can be found here .