Today, mummies rank high on our Most-Wanted Monsters hit list, but ancient folklore speaks of a more sentimental, if not romantic past for these bandaged undeads rather than monstrous intent.
Unwilling to leave their loved ones in the hot desert to decompose, early Egyptians practiced embalming techniques that preserved soft body tissue long after death. Corpses were wrapped tightly in strips of linen soaked in resin – a process that took several hours. Impressive to be sure, but in most cases the bandaging did little to stop decomposition.
Modern mummies should be handled with extreme care – (hello – they’re crumbly!) They are also considered dangerous, some are even classified as cold-blooded killers. No, really – a common preservation method is burying the body in ice.
LIFE-SAVING TIP: Proceed with caution. An Egyptian pharoanic curse states that whoever disturbs the tombs or mummies of ancient Egypt’s Pharoah’s will be struck down with bad luck, or worse – death!