18 



From this intormation we may construct a scenar- 

 io for the story. Henry Field describes the mummy in 

 the incident as "one of the naked, withered bodies," 

 adding that "it had fallen off its base and was lying face 

 down on the linoleum." How did the mummy fall off 

 the trestle? A number of possibilities present them- 

 selves. Did some minor earth tremor strike the Chicago 

 area in 1933, just strong enough to dislodge the mum- 

 my? Could strong vibrations from nearby street or rail- 

 road traffic have been responsible? Perhaps an em- 

 ployee with a key to the case was up to some mischief, 

 trying to have a little fun by frightening other staff 

 members on duty that night. Inspiration for such a 

 prank could well have been horror movies with mum- 

 mies, popular at the time, among them The Mummy 

 (1932), starring Boris Karloff. 



The Magic of Mummies 



Mummies have this very special fascination for us, 

 morbid and otherwise, because we know they were 

 once live human beings, much like ourselves. Though 

 as much as 4,000 years old, they commonly retain the 

 hair, skin, and personal facial features that they pos- 

 sessed in life. Those that are still wrapped provide us 

 with another kind of fascination: We know a mummy is 

 inside — at least we suspect that is so. But what does 

 that concealed mummy look like? Just exactly who is 

 that person within? And certain mummies have a very 

 personal mystique: Who would fail to be moved by gaz- 

 ing on the mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses II (reigned 

 1279-1212), now in the Cairo Museum (fig. 3), when 

 it is more than likely that the face of this mummy is the 

 very same that Moses looked into when he bargained 

 for the Exodus of the Israelites, some 3,200 years ago? 

 Then there is the mummy of that pharaoh's 

 father, Sety I (reigned 1291-1279). Gaston Maspero, a 

 former director of Egypt's Antiquities Department, re- 

 marked that Sety's mummy (fig. 4), looked better than 

 many living persons he was acquainted with. 



While museum visitors may see in these preserved 

 bodies something that is unnervingly close to life, the 

 ancient Egyptians believed that mummies were able to 

 sppak, could move about and act — that they were truly 

 ali%'e. The Opening of the Mouth, the ritual intended 

 to restore life, was performed on each mummy at its 

 burial (fig. 5). 



In an ancient Egyptian story, from a cycle set 

 around the person of Setne-Khaemwas, we see a con- 

 frontation between a mummy of a deceased Old King- 

 dom noble and Setne (high priest of the temple of Ptah 



3. Mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses II, in the Cairo Museum. 2064 



at Memphis, based on a real prince, son of Ramesses 

 II). The deceased noble had illegally obtained an en- 

 chanted scroll belonging to the god Thoth. The posses- 

 sor of this scroll had the power to converse with birds 

 and fish and could actually see the solar god. Re, as the 

 god sailed across the sky in his divine barque. 



Possession of the scroll had cost the noble his life, 

 as well as that of his wife and child. In exchange for a 

 bribe, Setne learned of the scroll's whereabouts — in 

 the noble's tomb — from a corrupt priest. 



When Setne entered the tomb to seize the scroll. 



