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Mummies
Although the milieu of ancient Egypt and its mythology have long been used in sf/f/h literature, it is more commonly found in romance, murder/suspense, and mystery/detective genres. The ancient Egyptian mummy itself -- non-Egyptian mummies do not hold the same fascination for the public -- became a horror icon through cinema, but use of the icon remains, primarily, on screen. The following all at least have a mummy or part of a mummy involved:
Directed by Karl Freund, this film starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann and David Manners is considered to be the 'mother' of all mummy films.
First film in a series of Kharis films from Universal that were heavily grounded on story and pictorial material from the original 1932 Boris Karloff film.
There have also been soft- and hardcore porn movies, animated cartoons, and television shows scripted with mummies involved. Television series such as Doctor Who, Hart to Hart, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Amazing Stories, The New Adventures of Huck Finn, and Tales from the Darkside have had mummy episodes as have animated series such as Scooby Doo and Jonny Quest. There have been two animated series based on mummies, Mummies Alive! and The Mummy: The Animated Series. Mummies have been used in RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons and are featured in White Wolf's Mummy: The Resurrection. Computer games include those based on recent films as well as Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, The Mystery of the Mummy, and Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy.
The 1932 movie built on public interest in ancient Egypt created by the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. Nineteenth century Egyptomania inspired fiction based in ancient Egypt or in Egyptology and, of course, there were mummy stories. Edgar Allan Poe's "Some Words With a Mummy" (1845) satirized scientific progress and Egyptomania with a revived mummy named "Allamistakeo." Theophile Gautier wrote several Egyptian-themed works including "The Mummy's Foot" (1840) and the romantic "Romance of a Mummy" (1857).
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote several tales with Egyptian connections and one "Lot No. 249" (1892) may have been the first use of a revivified mummy as a sinister character. In Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel Of Seven Stars (1906), a queen's tomb is discovered and—while awaiting full resurrection via a ruby containing a seven-pointed star—her soul inhabits the body of the beautiful daughter of an Egyptologist. Algernon Blackwood's John Silence story "The Nemesis of Fire" (1908) dealt with a revived mummy seeking its stolen scarab. Pulp magazines of the 1920s and 1940s later featured mummy-themed stories.
Ramsey Campbell, writing as Carl Dreadstone, produced a 1977 novelization of the movie The Mummy. Charles Grant published a novel The Long Night Of The Grave in 1986. Cities of the Dead (1988) by Michael Paine is a well-researched, atmospheric novel written in the voice of Howard Carter. Paine returns to the mummy theme with an original novel featuring the classic Universal Studios' mummy for DH Press: The Mummy: Dark Resurrection was published in 2007.
Anne Rice's 1989 The Mummy, Or Ramses The Damned, more of a steamy fantasy romance than horror, was a bestseller. Kim Newman's 1999/2000 Stoker-inspired novella "Seven Stars"—a collection of linked stories—follows the cursed "Jewel of Seven Stars" through eight episodes and a few thousand years into the twenty-first century. There have also been several anthologies of mummy-related stories and a multitude of titles for children.
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