Who doesn’t like a good mummy story? Certainly, Jonathan E. Lewis (son of former DAPA-EM member Steve Lewis) does. He writes an informative introduction to the history of mummies and supplies insightful comments before each story explaining why the story was included in this fine collection. I was familiar with Poe’s “Some Words With a Mummy” and Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Lot No. 249” but most of these stories were new to me. I especially liked Frank Belknap Long’s “The Dog-Eared God” and the two Sax Rohmer stories: “The Cat” and “The Whispering Mummy.” If you’re looking for some suspenseful Summer fiction, Ancient Egyptian Supernatural Tales will wrap you up in thrills and chills! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Jonathan E. Lewis
Part I: The Genre’s Origins
Excerpt from The Mummy by Jane Webb Loudon
“Some Words with a Mummy” by Edgar Allan Poe
“Lost in a Pyramid” by Louisa May Alcott
“Lot No. 249” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Excerpt from Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker
Part II: The Weird
“The Vengeance of Nitocris” by Tennessee Williams
“Smith and the Pharaohs” by H. Rider Haggard
“The Dog-Eared God” by Frank Belknap Long
“Tarbis of the Lake” by E. Hoffmann Price
“The “Soul of Ra-Moses” by Frank Murray Reynolds
Part III: The Extraordinary and the Exotic
“The Wings of Horus” by Algernon Blackwood
“A Descent Into Egypt” by Algernon Blackwood
“The Lost Elixir” by George Griffith
“The Cat” by Sax Rohmer
“The Whispering Mummy” by Sax Rohmer
Notes for Further Reading
Got a Copy for my Halloween Reading and rally looking forward to it.
Dan, Steve’s son, Jonathan, did a great job putting together this anthology!
Cool. I bet Bill Crider will be all over this one.
Jeff, mummy fans like Bill will be delighted with ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SUPERNATURAL TALES!
Thanks, George. I’m glad you enjoyed the book!
Steve, you should be proud of you’re son’s accomplishment! I hope Jonathan edits more anthologies of this quality!
sounds interesting not sure I’d be able to get to it. right now I’m reading several books, but the one I keep going back to is 4 previously uncollected short stories by P.D. James
Sounds interesting, though not a sub-genre I usually read. I have read just one of these stories, “The Cat”.
Rick, I was surprised that Tennessee Williams wrote a story for WEIRD TALES. “The Vengeance of Nitocris” is a pretty good story for a 16-year-old!
That Tennessee Williams story first appeared in book form in The Pulps, 1970, edited by Tony Goodstone – the first, I think, coffee table book about the pulps. Odds are you have that book in your basement somewhere. R. Austin Freeman worked mummies into 2 or 3 Dr. Thorndyke tales, most notably The Eye of Osiris. No supernatural element, of course – strictly archeology & osteology.
Art, you’re right. I probably have a copy of THE PULPS edited by Tony Goodstone. Steve Lewis taught his son well!
Really looking forward to this one. I get all wrapped up when I’m reading mummy stories.
Jerry, I’m sure you can’t wait to take the wraps off ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SUPERNATURAL TALES!
Grooooan!