April 14th Anniversary
Of all tales of
the supernatural, this one is perhaps the best documented, the most
disturbing and the most difficult to explain.
The Princess of Amen-Ra lived some 1,500 years before Christ. When she died, she was laid in an ornate wooden coffin and buried deep in a vault at Luxor, on the banks of the Nile. In the late 1890s, four rich, young, Englishmen visiting the excavations at Luxor were invited to buy an exquisitely fashioned mummy case containing the remains of Princess of Amen-Ra.
They drew lots. The man who won paid several thousand pounds and had the coffin taken to his hotel. A few hours later, he was seen walking out towards the desert. He never returned. The next day, one of the remaining three men was shot by an Egyptian servant accidentally. His arm was so severely wounded it had to be amputated. The third man in the foursome found on his return home that the bank holding his entire savings had failed. The fourth man suffered a severe illness, lost his job and was reduced to selling matches in the street.
Nevertheless, the
coffin reached England (causing other misfortunes along the way),
where it was bought by a London businessman . After three of his
family members had been injured in a road accident and his house
damaged by fire, the businessman donated it to the British Museum .
As the coffin was being unloaded from a truck in the museum
courtyard, the truck suddenly went into reverse and trapped a
passer-by . Then as the casket was being lifted up the stairs by two
workmen, one fell and broke his leg . The other, apparently in
perfect health, died unaccountably two days later . Once the Princess
was installed in the Egyptian Room, trouble really started . Museum's
night watchmen frequently heard frantic hammering and sobbing from
the coffin . Other exhibits in the room were also often hurled about
at night . One watchman died on duty; causing the other watchmen
wanting to quit. Cleaners refused to go near the Princess too . When
a visitor derisively flicked a dust cloth at the face painted on the
coffin, his child died of measles soon afterwards. Finally, the
authorities had the mummy carried down to the basement . Figuring it
could not do any harm down there. Within a week, one of the helpers
was seriously ill, and the supervisor of the move was found dead on
his desk.
By now, the papers had heard of it. A journalist photographer took a picture of the mummy case and when he developed it, the painting on the coffin was of a horrifying, human face. The photographer went home then, locked his bedroom door and shot himself.
Soon
afterwards, the museum sold the mummy to a private collector. After
continual misfortune (and deaths), the owner banished it to the
attic. A well known authority on the occult, Madame Helena Blavatsky,
visited the premises. Upon entry, she was seized with a shivering fit
and searched the house for the source of "an evil influence of
incredible intensity". She finally came to the attic and found
the mummy case. "Can you exorcise this evil spirit ?" asked
the owner . "There is no such thing as exorcism. Evil remains
evil forever . Nothing can be done about it. I implore you to get rid
of this evil as soon as possible". But no British museum would
take the mummy; the fact that almost 20 people had met with
misfortune, disaster or death from handling the casket, in barely 10
yrs, was now well known.
Eventually, a hard-headed American archaeologist (who dismissed the happenings as quirks of circumstance), paid a handsome price for the mummy and arranged for its removal to New York . In April of 1912, the new owner escorted its treasure aboard a sparkling, new White Star liner about to make its maiden voyage to New York.
On the night of April 14, amid scenes of unprecedented horror, the Princess of Amen-Ra accompanied 1,500 passengers to their deaths at the bottom of the Atlantic. The name of the ship was Titanic.
The Princess of Amen-Ra lived some 1,500 years before Christ. When she died, she was laid in an ornate wooden coffin and buried deep in a vault at Luxor, on the banks of the Nile. In the late 1890s, four rich, young, Englishmen visiting the excavations at Luxor were invited to buy an exquisitely fashioned mummy case containing the remains of Princess of Amen-Ra.
They drew lots. The man who won paid several thousand pounds and had the coffin taken to his hotel. A few hours later, he was seen walking out towards the desert. He never returned. The next day, one of the remaining three men was shot by an Egyptian servant accidentally. His arm was so severely wounded it had to be amputated. The third man in the foursome found on his return home that the bank holding his entire savings had failed. The fourth man suffered a severe illness, lost his job and was reduced to selling matches in the street.
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| The Unlucky Mummy at the British Museum |
By now, the papers had heard of it. A journalist photographer took a picture of the mummy case and when he developed it, the painting on the coffin was of a horrifying, human face. The photographer went home then, locked his bedroom door and shot himself.
 |
Eventually, a hard-headed American archaeologist (who dismissed the happenings as quirks of circumstance), paid a handsome price for the mummy and arranged for its removal to New York . In April of 1912, the new owner escorted its treasure aboard a sparkling, new White Star liner about to make its maiden voyage to New York.
On the night of April 14, amid scenes of unprecedented horror, the Princess of Amen-Ra accompanied 1,500 passengers to their deaths at the bottom of the Atlantic. The name of the ship was Titanic.
According to sources like wikipedia, this is a urban legend and has no basis in fact, but it is a good story anyway ;) You can read more about the Unlucky Mummy at the British Museum clicking on the first picture, and read an article and see an interesting infograph about
Setting the Stage for the Titanic Tragedy
published by the New York Times clicking on the next one.
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