#creepy mysteries of ancient egypt

[civilizationmysteriesoftheworld]

5 Pharaoh Secrets You’ve Never Heard Of!

Ancient Egypt has long fascinated us with its mighty pyramids and powerful pharaohs. But behind the grandeur lie hidden secrets that few know about. If you’re ready to uncover the lesser-known truths of Egypt’s forgotten rulers, read on and prepare to be amazed!

•Pharaohs Weren’t Always Egyptian

Many assume that all of Egypt’s pharaohs were native Egyptians. However, during the 25th dynasty, known as the Nubian Dynasty, Egypt was ruled by kings from the Kingdom of Kush, modern-day Sudan. These pharaohs weren’t only foreign but also played a crucial role in restoring Egypt’s temples and traditions after years of decline. Despite their non-Egyptian origins, they reigned for nearly 100 years, marking a significant era in Egypt’s history.

Want to see more intriguing facts about Egypt’s rulers? Check out my video here.

•The ‘Cursed’ Female Pharaoh

Meet Hatshepsut, one of the few female pharaohs to have ever ruled Egypt. She was a successful ruler, but after her death, attempts were made to erase her from history. Statues were destroyed, and her name was scratched off monuments, almost causing her to vanish forever. It is believed her stepson, Thutmose III, tried to erase her memory to solidify his rule. However, her story survived the sands of time and remains a fascinating part of Egypt’s legacy.

•The Mystery of Akhenaten’s Appearance

Pharaoh Akhenaten is known for his unusual appearance—an elongated face, wide hips, and a potbelly. Some suggest he had a genetic disorder, while others believe his look was intentional, perhaps to symbolize a divine form. Akhenaten’s unique appearance continues to fuel speculation, even leading some to wonder if there was an extraterrestrial connection!

If you love uncovering the strange and mysterious in Egypt’s history, watch my latest video for more insights

•The Hidden Rooms of the Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid of Giza still holds secrets, even after thousands of years. In 2017, scientists discovered a massive void above the Grand Gallery using modern scanning technology. No one knows exactly what lies inside this space, but some theories suggest it could be an undiscovered burial chamber. The mystery continues, proving that even the most well-known monuments still have surprises in store

•Pharaohs and Their Obsession with Curses

Pharaohs were notorious for protecting their tombs with ominous curses, warning any potential tomb robbers of death or misfortune. The curse of King Tutankhamun is the most famous, with several members of the expedition that found his tomb dying under mysterious circumstances. However, modern science suggests these “curses” might have had a more practical explanation—trapped bacteria and molds inside the sealed tombs could have caused deadly infections for anyone who disturbed them.

Fascinated by these untold pharaoh secrets? Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more hidden gems from ancient history. Every week, I uncover the mysteries of the past, one secret at a time!

[nogetron]

Medjed, the ancient Egyptian smiter. A mysterious god who’s shrouded in the unknown. He belongs to the house of Osiris and presumably hails from Duat. Medjed is never mentioned to participate in the soul’s journey in the underworld despite being of high importance, as Medjed commands the Nile god Hapi, an extremely high ranking god among the Egyptian pantheon. One of the most concretely known aspects of Medjed is his ability to fire beams of light from his eyes, something that is given a great yet unknown significance. Medjed is also described as unseen or invisible.

Medjed has captured the attention of countless people, both researchers and the average citizen. Medjed is only mentioned in two texts, both of which being papyrus renditions of the Egyptian book of the dead. Every ancient artistic rendition of Medjed brings a sense of alienation, as not only was he drawn from a front view, but he also lacked much of the usual hallmarks of Egypt gods, always depicted as a being cloaked in a white cloth with two eyes and feet poking out. The name Medjed translates to smiter. Several different theories have emerged regarding the nature of Medjed, from being a minor and non-worshipped god, to a god of jars. The most likely of these theories was that Medjed was a punisher god who embodied the very act of death. This interpretation explains Medjed’s lack of acknowledgement in any Egyptian writings, as writing or uttering his name could bring unwanted death to you. It also explains his high station, his lack of a true physical form, and his title of the smiter, in this reconstruction Medjed brought punishment and death to Mortals and gods alike.

[ckret2]

How did you come up with your human Bill design?

I described my goal in the first post I made about his design:

After seeing dozens of tall dapper skinny white twinky anime boy Bills, I wanted a design that matches none of those words. My other two goals were to use the show’s art style; and to lightly pay homage to Alex Hirsch’s “canon” human Bill with the triangle body… except not deliberately hideous.

My unspoken final goal was "and I'm gonna make him damn good looking."

All the colors were sampled from Bill & Bipper, except his skin (which I sampled off a background character and tweaked until it looked good with the yellows) and his gold tooth (which I sampled off of Ergman Bratsman's).

On top of the fact that I was tired of specifically white dude Bills, brown skin tone was chosen because of the emphasis on Bill's interactions with ancient Egypt; I wasn't sure at the time how much of an influence I was gonna headcanon he had on the region, and it woulda felt weird depicting Egyptians bowing down to a white dude. (And then I decided to deemphasize his influence on Egypt almost completely lol.) It woulda been more accurate to go darker, but I was worried it would start to tilt his design into Nyarlathotep-esque Creepy Pitch-Skinned Mysterious Demonic Threat From The Orient racist territory, especially when he's already got demon eyes.

The triangular torso is the most important part of his design, I usually draw an equilateral triangle in the sketch layer and then pad it out.

If I were a better artist a year ago, I would have given him a double chin so his head+torso together would be triangular. But when I tried, I couldn't figure out a way to draw it that looked appealing instead of like a mean fat joke. So I took the coward's way out and gave him a skinny neck with a vaguely triangular chin, and now write him complaining about having a neck every few chapters.

I think the skinny neck, thinner face, noodle limbs, and typical baggy hoodie fooled people into assuming he's skinny. I figured out a way to draw a rounder face with less neck that looks more appealing to me than the original face, so I do that now. Can't do anything about the noodle limbs tho, those were chosen to match Bill's canon noodle limbs.

I went for a hoodie instead of the typical suits you see on human Bills for two reasons.

One: several years ago I had an OC I'd conceived of as a dumb kid who'd given Bill permanent standing permission to use her as a puppet, and when letting Bill take over she'd hide her human features by wearing a hooded poncho and tying a blindfold with an eye on it over the hood, and that idea stuck with me.

And two: for the story I came up with this design for, the premise is that Bill's been recently unhappily stuffed in a human body and dumped on his enemies' doorstep. So, he doesn't have the freedom or money to get fancier clothes; he's too depressed over being stuck in a human body to care much about his human appearance; and he's most comfortable in something that obscures his human anatomy and reminds him of his real form. If he was rich, free, and able to ditch the body any time he wanted, he'd be wearing suits.

[haljathefangirlcat]

Someone else who could make a good pov protagonist for Xena-style roam through myth-land show would be Waluburg, a German volva/hellerune/hagzissa operating around the 100s AD. Records about her were found during archaeological digs in the early 20th century. The Romans sailed her down to Egypt to act as a religious consultant. It seems the Romans were quite fascinated by the way Germanic sorceresses saw the future, corresponding them to their own sibyls.

So can you imagine ancient supernatural private eye Walburg, trekking through the Roman Empire and beyond, solving creepy mysteries and advising everyone on how to survive monster encounters?

I didn't actually know about Waluburg, but I'll have to look her up. She sounds absolutely fascinating! I'd love to watch a series about her, or read a novel or two.

She definitely sound like you could write an amazing adventure/fantasy/mystery story about her.

[frostyreturns]

Frosty Ruins The Halloween Tree

I’ve only recently become familiar with the writing of Ray Bradbury, I went through high school without being assigned any of his books, which is probably good because high school reading is typically what makes people hate a book. Last year I read Fahrenheit 451 and really enjoyed it but this year I read From The Dust Returned and thought it was just okay and bordering on bad. My experience with that novel doesn’t bode well for my enjoyment of this cartoon because it was one of his spooky themed novels, but it’s a lesser known novel and not as well liked as Something Wicked This Way Comes…so I’m willing to give some more spooky Bradbury a try.

Right off the bat it gets points for having excellent artwork. All of the scenery looks like a good quality painting. Ray Bradbury as the narrator also works well and gives it the feel of a holiday special right out of the gate... but they lose a point for the blasphemy of suggesting halloween is better than Christmas. In fact Bradbury’s narration reminds me of the first person narration of Ralphie in A Christmas Story. I don’t know if it’s a similar sounding voice or the cadence he speaks in but I keep expecting to hear about a bb gun. Now before you accuse me of looking at the movie with Christmas glasses on, the story does seem to be emulating a Christmas special, and they even mention A Christmas Carol when first approaching the haunted house. And as soon as the one character starts going on about how they don’t know why they’re all dressed up I can already tell this is going to be a “true meaning of halloween” story.

I like the tone of the story as well, it’s appropriately creepy without being over the top and too scary for kids. I think having one of their young friends die and come back as a ghost might be a bit much for some kids even if it wasn’t done in a scary way. I also find it a little weird how obsessed they are with their friend.

One of the reasons I’m split on Bradbury is that his prose is poetic and interesting but when he’s trying to be spooky his descriptions become vague and strange and hard to follow and they will be that even more so for the children that this cartoon is intended for. It’s even worse when he’s describing something odd that you don’t have context for....like when he’s describing ripping off pieces of old signs with pictures of animals on them that are also their souls and they get magically fashioned into a giant kite. I’m imagining trying to picture what he was saying without the weird visual and I would have been lost.

At about a half hour in I have questions, the ovararching premise is clear, as I mentioned before it’s a Christmas special style introduction to halloween and is taking the kids through its origins and traditions. However the plot within the premise is unclear. Their dead friend pip…steals a pumpkin from a mysterious old man who we don’t know anything about except that he’s creepy and mystical in some way. Why is the ghost of their friend interested in stealing pumpkins and why is he running away from them all? What exactly is the halloween tree and why does a pumpkin on it allow them to time travel to ancient egypt? Does their friend know what he’s doing…if so how and why doesn’t he explain? The questions take me out of it a bit because I don’t understand the stakes, why does anything I’m watching matter to the characters? Even if/when it's explained later on it leaves way too long of a period where you have no frame of reference or understanding. The plot is convoluted with partly contrived lore that tries to blend with inaccurate real world historical lore so it gets muddled and I lost interest along the way. I also did not care for the ending where the kids all offer up years of their lives to this clearly magical and malevolent occult figure who’s already misled them.

I also have to take issue with some of their explanations of halloween. For example one of the boys is dressed as a mummy and the guy explains why egyptians used to mummify their dead and how they believed they’d return at some point in some fashion. They conclude from this that this means everyday was halloween to the ancient egyptians…which is a massive reach since ancient Egypt predates halloween, which began as a catholic holiday but has its roots in celtic pagan harvest celebrations which also were not from Egypt. The Egyptians were not dressing up like mummies to celebrate a holiday that hadn’t been invented yet, they were practicing their own separate religious beliefs. You can’t look at ancient practices that bear a loose resemblance to a modern one and claim it as an origin. In fact in a story where they try to show the origins of halloween they don’t really talk about samhain or all saints day or explain what they were all about at all…which kind of seems like a critical failure at the task.

They also outright lie about the origins of the word witch. The movie claims witches were just a group of religious people who pretended to have powers to protect themselves from persecution…and then claims the reason they were targetted for persecution was for being too smart and that “wit”…or having their wits about them was the origin of the word witch. It sounds like something some 16 year old on tumblr would say based on nothing but their imagination because they didn't know the real origin but wanted to sound smart and either tricked themselves into believing their own bullshit...or figured saying it with confidence would trick people into believing them blindly. I mean think about it it's an absurd claim. Medieval men and women were like that persons too smart…they’re a wit we should burn them…but let’s add a ch to the word for no reason and then attach wildly different meaning to the word.

It actually comes from the word wicca or wiccan which were derived from germanic and related to the word wichelen…words which all had meanings related to performing magic or divination and basically using those means to try to control someone. So they’re not just getting it wrong they’re lying to sell a much less sensical politicized version of history to kids. And they didn’t even really relate it to the origin of halloween because the only reason they talked about it was because the one girl was dressed like a witch for halloween. Wiccan is also where we get the word wicked from because they were/are evil and did fucked up stuff. They basically took instances of false accusations of witchcraft and then extrapolated that to be the entirety of what it is. Which is kind of like telling kids that pedophilia is when someone is falsely accused of wanting to have sex with children simply because they enjoy being around children. Like yeah I’m sure that’s happened and is fucked up but that doesn’t mean that is what the thing is. Your explanation of the thing negates the thing existing and is worthless.

Ultimately halloween is a holiday best separated from it’s roots and enjoyed for what it is now…a day for dark creepy stuff, autumn aesthetics, an excuse to dress up, eat candy and party. Even when exploring its origins there’s not really a deeper meaning… no salvation message, no moral lessons or practical significance to the old beliefs it is based on, which is why they were completely absent from the movie. Samhain was just a party, and they celebrated it when they did because it was the appropriate time of year to be celebrating harvest. They’re trying to emulate a Christmas style special but the true meaning of Christmas” is a trope and the true meaning of halloween isn’t for a reason.

Halloween doesn’t need to get back to it’s roots because the beliefs the roots are based on are mostly gone and almost nobody celebrating halloween holds anything even resembling those beliefs. People still believe in God and in Christ so returning Christmas to those religious origins is important to Christians…people who celebrate halloween do not still hold to the pagan beliefs of its origins. In fact the occult origins are really not meant for mass consumption and awareness…occult literally means hidden. Kind of hard to celebrate and acknowledge beliefs and practices that are kept hidden from the general public and done mostly in secret.

People have their own ways and reasons for celebrating and some are more significant than just i want to party and eat candy. Some people like to dress up because they’re struggling and it’s a chance to be somebody or something else for a while. Some people see embodying the spooky as a way to get over a fear of it. Some celebrate to honor a cultural tradition and others avoid the spooky altogether and choose to celebrate the season, or it’s catholic component for religious reasons. The movie at times treats these things with consideration and other times suggests there’s only one real meaning and significance. It can be significant but there is no one true meaning...which to me negates the purpose of the movie.

Ultimately I was annoyed by it, not all that interested in it as it went on...but it did some things well and wasn't completely awful. If not for all the lies it would have rated higher in my books.

C- the literary element and artwork save it from being a complete shitshow.

[spider-xan]

One last thing I will say for now about the ancient Egypt topic, and that's that the way ancient Egyptians have been reduced to some scary creepy mysterious culture is racism and Orientalism, and I was reminded of this a few months ago when I was looking at the Egypt display case at a special exhibit about death and the two people next to me were like, 'The Egyptians were obsessed with death!', which is like, that's not true, they were obsessed with life, that's literally why they mummified bodies in order to continue living in the afterlife.

Also, you are in an exhibit about death and how cultures all around the world and throughout history deal with death! If the ancient Egyptians are 'obsessed with death' for burial traditions and being concerned with the afterlife, then so is every other culture on the fucking planet, including white people!

[nickymortis]

Survive the Final Act: Alone in the Dark Showdown

There's something totally rad and kinda nerve-wracking about reviving a classic survival horror game from 34 years ago while also ensuring you have enough funds to buy Xbox games. Alone in the Dark was the OG in its genre, laying down the foundation for games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. But, you know what? Despite my doubts about bringing back a game that old, this gothic mystery vibe slid right back into its groove like it never left. It delivered intense vibes, killer voice acting, and a bizarre yet captivating story that totally hooked me as I dove into its supernatural Southern world.

Exploring Characters in "Alone in the Dark"

When I fired up the game, I noticed it had some basic accessibility stuff like choosing different subtitle sizes to enhance my experience and maybe even find a good deal to buy PS5 games. But honestly, for a game dropping in 2024, I expected more—like audio descriptions, better options for low-vision players, and text improvements, especially since this game is heavy on text. But I'll dig into that later. If you're into nostalgia and want to revisit your childhood, there's an option to play Alone in the Dark with the original characters in their retro Derceto 1992 costumes. It's got that old-school polygon look and some cool vintage horror filters. I passed on that, though, 'cause I wanted to check out all the visual upgrades. I went with Emily Hartwood to tackle the Jeremy Hartwood mystery. I'm a huge fan of Jodie Comer from Killing Eve, and I was curious to hear her American accent in this 1920s-themed game, even though her face animations were kinda stiff. Next time, I might try Edward Carnby played by David Harbour to see how the story changes—it's cool how NPCs and the manor respond differently to each character but still hit the same story points. That's definitely gonna make me replay it.

Mastering the Puzzles of Alone in the Dark

The story unfolds in the murky bayou of New Orleans, and I was blown away by the sheer size of the sprawling southern Derceto Manor. It's all about soaking in the mood���from the shadows and beams of light peeking through curtains to the Art Deco lamps and nature-inspired architecture of the conservatory. This haunted house spread over three floors, is designed for exploration, and the non-linear gameplay nails it. Beyond Derceto, the vibe stays strong—from Emily's trippy nightmares in the French Quarter to the misty swamps of Louisiana and even surreal Ancient Egypt scenes. And the soundtrack? It's fire, mixing that rhythmic jazz of the 1920s South with just the right amount of creepiness for a whodunnit setting. But what really shines in Alone in the Dark, besides its killer environments, are the puzzles. They range from chill to challenging, clearly showing the devs put serious time and brainpower into crafting these mind-benders—like rearranging meds and paintings, or hunting down keys to crack open locked doors and boxes. Just a heads-up though—if you're not into reading heaps of text, this game might feel like a word salad at times.

Lonely Atmosphere in Alone in the Dark

Man, unraveling the story in this game meant wading through a ton of letters and info dumps. Sometimes, it got so overwhelming—plus, the font was tiny and hard to read unless you were practically glued to the screen. I ended up doing this awkward dance of sitting down and getting up from the couch just to catch all the details, which totally messed with my flow. They really needed better accessibility options for that. It struck me as weird that this lavish mansion, which was supposed to be a sanctuary for the mentally drained, felt so empty. Sure, there were other guests around in cutscenes, but the place itself was kinda desolate. If it wasn't for the puzzles sending me all over the house, it would've been a seriously lonely vibe. I would've loved to see more people wandering around, maybe hearing creaky floorboards or stumbling upon someone unexpectedly—it would've cranked up the creepy factor big time.

Immersive Thrills in Alone in the Dark

Sometimes, moving the character felt awkward, especially during fights with enemies—it wasn't as smooth as it should've been. And when I tried to escape from creatures, I got stuck on invisible walls a few times and had to reload my last save. The devs say they're fixing these issues before release, though. Despite that, Alone in the Dark is totally worth the 15-hour playthrough. The puzzles are solid, the environments are breathtaking, the atmosphere is creepy as heck, and the nightmare landscapes are wild. Unraveling Emily's backstory and how it connects with Jeremy and the Dark Man kept me hooked with well-written story moments that left me hungry for more. But there were parts where I wished they'd expanded more to really elevate this already amazing game.

[i-wanna-be-at-the-gateway-hotel]

Gateway Series Reading Order

Book One | The Four Fingered Man

Official Synopsis: When Amelia’s parents decide to reopen a creepy old hotel, Amelia and her new friend Charlie quickly discover that the place is much more than it seems. The Gateway is no ordinary hotel – and its guests aren’t just visiting from out of town!

Book Two | The Warriors of Brin-Hask

Official Synopsis: The Gateway Hotel is open for business, and Amelia and Charlie are awaiting their newest intergalactic arrivals, the fearsome Warriors of Brin-Hask. But the kids soon discover that the Brin-Hask aren’t their only new guests. A plague of rats has infested the hotel’s kitchen, but these are no ordinary rats . . .

Book Three | The Midnight Mercenary

Official Synopsis: It's a dark and stormy night at the Gateway Hotel, and the latest intergalactic visitor is the most terrifying yet. Why has he come? Who is he after? With their families and the hotel in grave danger, it's up to Amelia and Charlie to save the day . . .

Book Four | The Ancient Starship

Official Synopsis: When an ancient starship is been discovered in the deserts of Egypt, Amelia's dad is whisked away to help. Meanwhile, the first human guests have arrived at the hotel – and they're turning out to be the strangest visitors yet. Are the spaceship and the odd guests connected? Amelia and Charlie may be the only ones who can solve this puzzle . . .

Book Five | The Time Shifter

Official Synopsis: When Amelia and Charlie get caught in a time-loop at the Gateway Hotel, they are forced to live the same day over and over. Each loop brings them closer to catching a suspicious alien visitor - but also closer to danger. Can they stop time to save their lives?

Book Six | The Dark Giants

Official Synopsis: When some unauthorised guests arrive through the gateway, chaos breaks loose – and threatens to spoil Amelia's birthday! 

What are they looking for, and can she and Charlie stop them before it's too late?

Book Seven | The Lost Home World

Official Synopsis: When Lady Naomi's long-lost brother appears through the gateway, everyone is stunned. Finally they might learn something about her mysterious past! But in Forgotten Bay, things are never what they seem. Is Lady Naomi's brother hiding something sinister? It will take all of Charlie and Amelia's wits to figure it out . . .

Book Eight | The Lady from Nowhere

Official Synopsis:

A mysterious woman comes through the gateway's portal, sparking a series of events more explosive than anything Amelia and Charlie have ever seen.

With the precious canister still missing and evil Krskn up to his terrifying old tricks, it could be the end of the Gateway Hotel . . . and the world!

[daveinediting]

Last week I revisited the raw footage of a show we produced a long time ago. It's our first episode of Adventures with Purpose, the one about Egypt.

At the time, we'd been using a lot of classical music from music libraries. This series, though, no matter what genre of music it lent itself to wouldn't be able to paint with such broad strokes like that. The script pivoted too much within sequences so the music would have to be highly crafted.

Okay two things:

The first is that whether library or original, the music we used never pivoted because the narration for a particular place never pivoted. We would have music for a church. Music for boat ride. Music for a particular kind of museum.

The new series wasn't as wedded to places as it was ideas. And the script for a particular location might juggle two or three of these, each with its own vibe.

The second thing's that during the previous summer I was introduced to music loops by teenagers at camp (believe it or not). Loops are individual phrases of music from any and every instrument (or sound effect) that, when you Tetris them just so, create pieces of music.

With those two ideas swimming in my head around the same time, I decided I wanted to have a go at creating a soundtrack for an hour-long travel documentary. Having read the script for the first episode, Egypt, it seemed to me that, more than anything and quite legitimately, I could lean into sound design with loops and create an atmosphere rather than a melodic sound. After all, when you're exploring pyramids and tombs and temples and speaking a lot about death and the afterlife as conceived by ancient Egyptians, crafting a mysterious, ethereal, sometimes creepy design for the sound holds a lot of appeal. I even recorded myself slowly whispering various Egyptian names and playing them backwards with a lot of reverb. In the show, you get a sense of words being spoken... but no idea at all what those words are.

I loved it.

And I loved the way that worked through the entire show.

So then last week I revisited the raw footage of that show to fashion some clips for Instagram. Again: pyramids and tombs and temples and speaking a lot about death and the afterlife as conceived by ancient Egyptians.

For a minute I thought about underscoring it with something orchestral, cinematic. But pyramids and tombs and temples and speaking a lot about death and the afterlife as conceived by ancient Egyptians. You know?

It just begs for mysterious, ethereal, sometimes creepy, and words you can barely sense but can't understand.

Unfortunately, of all the music I composed back then, I don't have any of that music. I don't know why. Where it should be on my drives... it's just not there. So over the last week I crafted some new pieces from scratch.

I can only imagine how much fun I must've had the first time with the amount of work that had to be done. My process starts with a bit of trial and error, listening to likely sounds from particular loop libraries I bought for the occasion and still possess. Once I settle on one or two as the basis for the sound design, then I have a pretty good sense of what I need to add. Of course I don't know exactly what to add and how to add it... which is where the fun comes in. It's trying a bit of this color here, that color there. More reverb. Less reverb. Removing some earlier elements. Futzing with volumes. Getting the timing of everything just so. Dialing in delay if I want it. Running a sound backwards.

It's a lot of fun to play with. To imagine as the sound of exploring tombs in the Valley of the Kings. To imagine what would make it creepier here. Mysterious there. Ethereal as we move on to the afterlife? And then, once imagining it, making it happen and listening all over again later because I picked at this, tweaked and tweaked, over the course of a few days until it was all just so.

And those backward whispering voices? I don't have the exact ones anymore but I do have some from another show. And I'm using them backwards. Know what I mean? It largely doesn't make a difference what the words really are. Also, if I really wanted to, I could record new sound with my Zoom Q2n... but what I've got absolutely does the trick.

So long as no one, you know, plays it back in reverse. 🤔

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: The Mummy (1932)

The Mummy (1932)

Approved by the Production Code Administration of the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-mummy-1932.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

The second classic Universal monster movie I was able to check out at Cinema Salem this October, The Mummy is one of the few such films where the classic 1930s version isn't the definitive example these days. In 1999, Universal remade it as an Indiana Jones-style action/adventure flick starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, and if I'm being perfectly honest, having now seen both movies I kinda prefer the '90s version. The original still has a lot going for it even more than ninety years later, but the remake's pulpy, two-fisted throwback style is just nostalgic for me in ways that hit my sweet spot. That said, I will argue that this was a better and more self-assured film than The Invisible Man, having a monster and effects just as memorable but also remembering to keep a consistent tone and, more importantly, have a compelling non-villainous character for me to root for in the form of its female lead. It is, shall we say, of its time in its depiction of Egypt and its people, but there's a reason why Boris Karloff is a horror legend, and here, he made Imhotep into a multilayered villain and a compelling presence on screen -- rather appropriately given how he's presented here as ominously seductive. At the very least, both it and the Fraser version are a damn sight better than the 2017 Tom Cruise version.

The film starts in 1921 with a tale as old as the first exhibit at the British Museum of ancient Egyptian artifacts, as an archaeological expedition in Egypt led by Sir Joseph Whemple discovers the tomb of a man named Imhotep. Studying his remains and his final resting place, they find that a) he was buried alive, and b) a separate casket was buried with him with a curse inscribed on it threatening doom to whoever opened it. Sure enough, Joseph's assistant opens that casket, reads from the scroll inside, and proceeds to go mad at the sight of Imhotep's mummified body getting up and walking out of the tomb. Fast-forward to the present day of 1932, and Joseph's son Frank is now following in his father's footsteps. A mysterious Egyptian historian named Ardeth Bey offers to assist Frank and his team in locating another tomb, that of the princess Ankh-es-en-amun. It doesn't take much for either the viewer or the characters to figure out who "Ardeth Bey" really is, especially once he starts taking an interest in Helen Grosvenor, a half-Egyptian woman and Frank's lover who bears a striking resemblance to the ancient drawings of Ankh-es-en-amun.

Let's get one thing out of the way right now. Lots of modern retellings of classic monster stories, from Interview with the Vampire to this film's own 2017 remake, often throw in the twist of making their monsters handsome, even sexy, as a way to lend them a dark edge of sorts. In the case of the Mummy, however, doing so is fairly redundant, because Karloff's Imhotep is already the "sexy mummy", if not in appearance than certainly in personality. He is threatening and creepy-looking, yes, but he is also alluring and erudite, his hypnosis of Helen presented as seduction and Frank becoming one of his targets because he sees him as competition. He may be under heavy makeup in the opening scene to look like a mummified corpse, but afterwards, Karloff plays him as an intimidating yet attractive older gentleman, the famous shot of him staring into the camera with darkened eyes looking equal parts like him peering into your soul and him undressing you with his eyes. And if it wasn't obvious when it was just him on screen, his relationship with Helen feels like that of a predatory playboy, especially in the third act when she's clad in a skimpy outfit that would likely have never flown just a couple of years later once they started enforcing the Hays Code. He's a proto-Hugh Hefner as a Universal monster. I couldn't help but wonder if Karloff was trying to do his own take on Bela Lugosi's Dracula here, perhaps as a way to make this character stand out from Frankenstein's monster; if he was, then he certainly pulled it off.

Zita Johann's Helen, too, made for a surprisingly interesting female lead. As she's increasingly possessed by the spirit of Ankh-es-en-amun over the course of the film, she's the one who directly challenges Imhotep on what he's doing to her, pointing out that, even by the standards of his own ancient Egyptian morality, his attempt to resurrect his lost love is evil and in violation of the laws of his gods, reminding him why he was entombed alive in the first place. It's she who ultimately saves herself, the male heroes only arriving after everything is all said and done, which was well and good in my book given that I wasn't particularly fond of them. Not only was the romanticization of British imperialism in their characters kind of weird watching this now (the fact that they can't take the artifacts they collected to the British Museum and have to settle for the Cairo Museum is presented as lamentable), but they didn't really have much character to them beyond being your typical 1930s movie protagonists. Frank is the young boyfriend, Joseph and Muller are the older scholars, the Nubian servant is... a whole 'nuther can of worms, and there's not much to them beyond stock archetypes. This was one area where the Fraser movie excelled, and the biggest reason why I prefer that film to this one.

Beyond the characters, the direction by Karl Freund was suitably creepy and atmospheric. I was able to tell that I wasn't looking at Egypt so much as I was looking at southern California playing such, but the film made good use of its settings, and had quite a few creative tricks up its sleeve as we see Imhotep both assaulting the main characters and observing them from afar. The direction and makeup did as much as Karloff's performance to make me afraid of Imhotep; while this wasn't a film with big jump scare moments, it did excel at creeping dread and making the most of what it had. The reaction of the poor assistant who watched Imhotep get up and walk away from his tomb struck the perfect note early on, letting you know that you're about to witness seemingly ludicrous things but at the same time making you believe in them despite your better judgment. This very much felt like the kind of classiness that we now associate with the original Universal monster movies, a slow burn even with its short runtime as "Ardeth Bey" spends his time doing his dirty work in the background, either skulking around or manipulating people from his home through sorcery.

The Bottom Line

The original 1932 version of The Mummy still stands as one of the finest classic horror movies. Not all of it has aged gracefully, but Boris Karloff's mummy is still a terrifying and compelling villain, and the rest of the film too has enough going for it to hold up.

[worldtouradvicetravel]

8 Days Cairo, Alexandria and Bahariya Package

8 Days Cairo, Alexandria and Bahariya Package

If you want to visit Egypt and have the best vacation ever, World Tour Advice is giving you the chance to do so with their Cairo Alexandria Travel Package, which includes visits to all the country's well-known tourist attractions and your choice of one of our many programs that cover all the archaeological sites. 

World Tour Advice offering to you a variety of different itineraries to Cairo New Year Packages so you get to choose the most suitable one to you, we will make the most out of your short trip to Egypt by giving you the chance and the well secluded itineraries to visit the most famous sites in Cairo.

Don’t waste the chance to visit the great Pyramids of Giza through unforgettable Safari tours in New Year, get to know more about the mysterious structures that were built from 2550 to 2490 B.C as massive tombs of the great Pharaonic Kings, Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus. The most common theory about building the pyramids was that; it was constructed by teams of workers tens of thousands strong as massive tombs of the Pharaohs but some still don’t accept that the ancient Egyptians were capable of such achievements.

Day 1: Arrival Cairo 

Welcome To Egypt World Tour advice representative will be happy to meet you upon your arrival to Cairo airport, then direct transfer to Cairo hotel. Optional tours or free time for leisure

Overnight in Cairo

Day 2: Cairo city tour

Breakfast in Cairo hotel, meet your tour guide, tour to visit the Egyptian museum,Relish our tours to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, It is located north of Tahrir square, The Egyptian museum in Cairo is the richest museum of Egyptian antiquities in the whole world, it contains pharaonic treasures going back to 7,000 years & it is open daily, the gold and alabaster trappings from the tomb of Tut Ankh Amun draw the crowds and there are people whose sole reason for visiting Egypt is to see them, there is no visit to Egypt is complete without a trip to go through this magnificent collection of rare jewelry & treasures of Tutankhamun, Proceed tour to visit the citadel of Saladin, Relish a tasty lunch meal, back to hotel

Overnight in Cairo

Day 3: El Baharyia oasis Tour

Breakfast in hotel, meet your expert tour guide, drive to El Baharyia oasis, meet the Bedouin guide who will take you in a tour in the desert by his 4x4, hiking tours in the black desert, the white desert, the crystal mountain, Aqabat, on your way to the white desert you will stop for a lunch meal in Heiz, About 160 km south of Bahariya Oasis,28 miles north of Farafra oases, the White Desert begins. It is truly white, in clear contrast with the yellow desert elsewhere, The quantity of unearthly and beautiful wind-carved rock formations shaped in the form of giant mushrooms or pebbles is unequalled in any desert in the world. The snow-white desert is actually made of chalk that has been exposed for years to what geologists call "differential weathering," the erosion of soft particles that results in erie protrusions of hard rock. This explains the very beautiful forms that now fill the White Desert including shapes like domes, minarets, castles, towers and so forth.The white desert is totally safe to stay overnight. The only animal you may see (if you are lucky) is the small desert fox that will come late at night and eat the leftovers of your dinner.There are no creepy crawly’ and no one bothers you, You will have 2 options either to stay the overnight in the camp ( sleeping in tend ) in the white desert, It is truly camp, no toilets except behind the dunes in the desert, The second option is to end the tour in the white desert, then back to El Bahariya oasis 

Overnoght in hotel in Bahariy oasis

Day 4: El Baharyia Safari

Breakfast, tours to the best places in El Bahariya, the golden mummies museum, the tombs of the 26th dynasty, the English mountain, return to Cairo. 

Overnight in Cairo

Day 5; Memphis Tour, Saqqara and Giza Pyramids Day tour

Relish your breakfast in hotel, meet your tour guide, relish guided tours to Memphis Old city, which is the first capital of all Egypt after the unification between south Egypt and North Egypt, Memphis was erected by king Narmer Mena 5000 years ago, It is original name was Men Nefer which means the white monument, Memphis in ancient times was surrounded by a white wall, Now there are few ruins of the city, the ruins are collected in an opened are a museum, The most famous thing you will see there is a huge statue of Ramsses II, alabaster Sphinx and the triad of Memphis ( god Ptah, his wife Sekhmet and their son Khonsu ), Proceed tour to scout Saqqara pyramids, where you will relish a tour to the first pyramid ever buolt in Egypt ( The Step pyramid), and you will scout all the complex to see Unas pyramid, entery in Teti pyramid, entry in one mastaba ( Tomb of a noble man) , Enjoy tasty lunch meal, then proceed tour to Giza pyramids, the only survived monument of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, There are located 3 pyramids

 ( Cheops) ( Chephren ) and Menkaure, proceed tour to the Sphinx, the biggest statue of one piece in all the world, it is represented with a head of a man and a body of a lion and it was beleived that he was the guardian of the pyramids, bt anyway all pyramids treasures were stolen, There close to the Sphinx You will visit the valley temple, back to hotel. Overnight in Cairo

Day 6: Cairo - Alexandria 

Breakfast in hotel, meet world tour advice tour guide Starting your day in early morning, Relish  your delicious breakfast, be ready to start a stunning day tour  to scout  Alexandria ( Al Iskandaria in Arabic ),first you will visit Pompay's Pillar, which  is undoubtedly one of the most famous columns of Egypt. Pompey's pillar wa called by this name by mistake, because many ancient travelers thought that the head of  Pompey was put on the top of the column, but really the column was erected many years after pompey death, You will see many things around the column such as two sphinxes, They the only remaining items of a large great temple that was called the Serapuem and was founded in the 3rd century AD. The serapeum was built for the holy bull god Apis, and the best and biggest Serapeum in all Egypt was found n Cairo in Saqqara area, Pompey;s pillar was Constructed out of red granite with the height of 27 meters and a remarkable stone capital,and then drive to visit catacombs, The Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa is the largest and most curious historical burial site in Alexandria. Alexandria catacombs were found in 1900 and, it belongs to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The catacombs show the best case of the mixture and the blend between the Pharaonic, Greek and Roman kind of art and architecture. Then you will have your lunch in a local restaurant in Alexandria ,Now it is time to see Alexandria Mediterranean sea, and to relish a tour to Qaitbay Citadel ( Qalaa Qaitbay in Arabic ) ;The Qaitbay Fort is surely one of the landmarks and most famous historical sites in the all the Mediterranean cities. The Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay erected this marvelous military fortress in 1479. It was built in the same exact location of the ancient Pharos lighthouse and with the some of its stones as well. Pharos lighthouse was one of the ancient 7 wonders of world,  Drive back to Cairo

Day 7: Free Day in Cairo 

Breakfast, free day in Cairo or enjoy or optional guided tours to Islamic and Coptic Cairo, Visit the hanging church, Ebn Ezra synagogue, The holy crypt of the Christian family, Ibn Tulun Mosque. Overnight in Cairo

Day 8: Final Departure

Breakfast, check out, transfer to Cairo airport for final departure

New Year Tour Package Includes

- Meeting and assistance upon arrival to Cairo airport , and in departure

- Airport transfer upon arrival and departure time by private modern AC vans

- All tours transfers by modern private Ac  vans

- All tours are guided tours, All tour guides are professional tour guides with licence from tourism ministry, They studied Egyptology at least for 2 years

- All entrance fees for the mentioned places in our itinerary

- All tours as per itinerary

- Lunch meals during all day tours

- Mineral water on board during day tours

- 6  nights accommodation in Cairo B.B , and one night cam in Bahariya oasis

- Safari tour by 4 x4 in the white and black desert

New Year Tour Package Excludes

- Optional tours

- Meals not mentioned

- Beverages not mentioned

- Tipping kitty

For more info

amanywaw@gmail.com

Website

Mobile and what’s App:

002 01090023837

[corvidaedream]

i just want to find one fucking youtube channel about mysterious internet puzzles and historical ciphers that doesnt just take a hard turn into racism when im five videos in

[dailyreverie]

Museum Nights

A/N: Requested by @mystinky-butt. Thank you so much!! And happy Halloween 🎃🎃

Fall prompts 🍂 "Do you want to hear something scary?"

Pairing: Steven Grant x reader (fem!)

Word count: 787 words

CW: Mentions of death, violence and cann1bal1sm related to ancient egypt legends. A Jeffrey Dahmer reference I'm sorry.

Steven had seen you before, of course he had, and he had developed an insanely big crush on you. You were there every other week, taking notes on various pieces from different exhibits, and he could never take his eyes away from you; scribbling away and checking up facts on the book you carried, he could look at you for hours. You took turns between exhibits every time, taking your time in them and the artwork that had captured your eyes that day, letting Steven admire from afar.

When Halloween arrived just a few weeks after. All the lights were dimmed and tours around the exhibits were horror themed, where every gross and creepy historic fact had a place this time. He somehow knew that you would be there, and he would lie to himself if he said he didn’t prepare to talk to you today. Yet, when he saw you on the Egyptian exhibit this time - not the greek, nor the eastern or western cultures like before, but the Egypt one - his heart began pounding against his ears and his stomach twisted. He actually had a chance, an excuse to go talk to you: if there was someone who could complement your notes on Egyptian culture that was him.

Marc kept nagging at him in his head, going on and on about if he was ever going to make a move. I’m going to murder you if you don’t do something about it. He spoke through the reflection of the case from a nearby statue

“Oh, shut it. I can’t just go.”

If you don’t do something I’m taking control and-

“You can’t take control.”

I have asked girls on dates for you before, I wouldn’t mind doing it again

“Stop it, Marc.”

She’s right at the Khonshu statue man!

“Alright! Alright. Fine.” With a deep breath, Steven began the short walk towards you, straightening his Tour Guide badge so he could at least use it as an excuse. “Do you want to hear something scary?” He started, earning a surprised look from you.

Great one, dude. Marc chastised him.

“At a museum, during Halloween night?” Your face turned from surprise to real intrigue, “Don’t tell me the rooms come alive.” Marc looked at him impressed now, amazed at how it actually had worked.

“No, that would be sick, but no.” Steven chuckled, making you join him. “Some legends say Khonshu ate the hearts of the dead and even ate the rest of the gods.”

“What for?”

“Power. He ate the hearts of the deceased to earn their power.” As he saw you were still invested in his talk, he took the chance to take you to the next statue. “And they say Anubis, whenever she helped to mummify something, she wanted to keep something from the person to herself like body parts and organs.”

“Sounds like those weird killers, like some sort of Jeffrey Dahmer.” You added, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“They better not hear that’s what Egyptian gods used to do, it’s gonna get to their heads.” You joined in his laughter, much to his surprise.

“To be honest with you, uh- Steven,” you said, checking his name tag. “Egyptian gods and their mythology kind of scare me, with or without scary facts.”

“Oh no, it shouldn’t! It’s magical! It is- It is so full of secrets and- and mysteries…” In his excitement he stuttered a little, not that you didn’t mind, he went on for a few seconds letting you stare at him and take in everything he was saying, curls flopping around along with his hands that seemed to recreate every structure with them, mimicking the sky and tracing every stone. Just like him, you could listen to Steven speak for hours. “...I’m sorry, I’m gonna let you go enjoy the night. Happy Halloween.” He interrupted himself suddenly, stopping his previous fact and turning around to leave, and it broke your heart to know that someone out there had silenced him before.

“But I am enjoying the night.” Your words made him look back at you again, his eyes sparkling with joy. “I was starting to wonder if I’m getting a premium scary tour or is this what everyone is getting tonight?”

“This is the ultimate Halloween tour, of course.” Steven began walking to the next statue, ready to pull out the scariest facts he knew, but he interrupted himself in the process. “I didn’t catch your name.

You said it and shook his hand as if it were no big deal, as if you hadn’t been secretly hoping and trying to build the nerve to talk to the cute tour guide on each visit you did to the museum.

🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙

Thanks for reading! Please reblog and comment if you enjoyed it.

[kalkydri]

The Starving of Saqqara, a predynastic Egyptian sculpture discovered before 1950 in the Saqqara burial grounds of Memphis. The inscription on the back is in an unknown writing system that has yet to be deciphered.