M is for Mummy

Most-Wanted Monsters is thrilled to be one of more than 1500 blogs taking part in the 2012 A -Z Blogging Challenge - 26 opportunities to help you survive a paranormal apocalypse. Don't let our epic monster limericks fool you - the lore we share about the beasties featured in each daily post could literally save your life. Know them before they GET you!

Mummy

Death is just the beginning says the pharaoh's curse

Bandaged, old, and leathery, our existence can't be worse

Raid our tomb

To seal your doom

And quench our endless thirst

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.

SURVIVAL 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!

How many of the Mummy movies did YOU see? Which one was your favorite? Tell us in the comments below and you could win an e-copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of 13 haunting stories.

And then, why not head over to some of the other blogs on the A-Z Blogging Challenge.