Nov. 29, 2002

This Day in Halloween: The opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 sets off what some believe to be a Pharoah’s curse that kills eight people. / Illustrated by Alyssa Fujiwara

A team led by Howard Carter open King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. The disturbance of the mummy’s resting place sets off what some believe to be a Pharoah’s curse that eventually kills eight members of the group present at the opening of the tomb. However, the other 50 people live out their lives without incident. Nevertheless, the stories — real or fictional —also set up much of what the public would come to see about Egyptian mummies through horror movies from Universal’s The Mummy in 1932 to the present.