The Ring of Thoth

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of detective Sherlock Holmes, is the father of crime fiction. Originally published in The Cornhill Magazine in 1890, 'The Ring of Thoth' sees an Egyptologist visit the Louvre and witness a strange event. Many of the earliest occult stories, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Fantasy, Classics, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1890

About the author

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mummies!

A fervent student of Egyptology travels to France to examine several papyri displayed in the Louvre Museum. Falling asleep in a corner, after studying documents in the library for too long, he awakens in the middle of the night only to find himself locked in the Museum, and everyone gone. Except he’s not completely alone; a hideous looking night watchman with a menacing demeanor is roaming the halls, and seems to be doing something, to the mummies.

This was a great short story, superbly spooky, and surprisingly entertaining. Not the most accessible style of writing tbh, but did managed to strongly captivate me most of the time. Sir Doyle may be massively acclaimed for his Sherlock Holmes stories, but I find his horror stories are not so far behind. Shame they are not more recognized, because they should. Or at least judging by the few I’ve read.

Looking forward to many more. Recommendable, and especially more for Egyptian fans.

It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1890] [36p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recommendable] [Sosra & Atma]
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★★★☆☆ 10. The Complete Sherlock Holmes
★★★☆☆ The Great Keinplatz Experiment and Other Tales of Twilight and the Unseen <--

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¡Momias!

Un ferviente estudiante de Egiptología viaja a Francia para examinar varios papiros expuestos en el Museo del Louvre. Quedándose dormido en un rincón, después de estudiar documentos en la biblioteca durante demasiado tiempo, despierta luego a mitad de la noche solo para encontrarse encerrado en el Museo, y todos idos. Excepto que no está completamente solo; un vigilante nocturno de aspecto espantoso y comportamiento amenazador deambula por los pasillos, y parece estar haciéndoles algo, a las momias.

Esta fue una genial historia corta, magníficamente espeluznante, y sorprendentemente entretenida. No es el estilo de escritura más accesible para ser honestos, pero igual logró mantenerme fuertemente cautivado la mayor parte del tiempo. Puede que Sir Doyle sea masivamente aclamado por sus historias de Sherlock Holmes, pero yo encuentro que sus historias de horror no se quedan muy atrás. Y es una pena que no sean más reconocidas, porque deberían serlo. O al menos a juzgar por las pocas que he leído.

Esperando algún día leer muchas más. Recomendable, y especialmente más para los fanáticos de lo egipcio.

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1890] [36p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recomendable] [Sosra y Atma]
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[Nancy (Busy feeding 6 rescued baby bunnies) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️

An Egyptologist’s visit to the Louvre takes an interesting turn when he witnesses a strange event. "Night at the Museum" vibes minus the humor and a nice little addition to my October reading list.

I can always count on my friend Federico to share great public domain short story finds. You can find the link in his review.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Egyptologist goes to the Louvre to take a look at their Egyptian collection. Unfortunately, the journey getting there was quite rough. So when he gets there and starts taking notes, he falls asleep. When he wakes up, it’s the middle of the night and he finds himself trapped as the museum is locked. But he’s not alone. And that other person seems to be kissing a mummy.


Quite a solid atmospheric little read with a good concept. It makes you think about whether eternal life is something we should actually strive for. The pace of this one is a bit slow, but the execution is still strong enough in that it did manage to hook me. Thanks to my Goodreads friend Federico for putting this story on my radar.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of the story was a bit slow, but then I got hooked it. I could just see this story done as an AIP picture. Doyle wrote some good creepers along with the Holmes stories.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conan Doyle always has exceptional stories, and this one, while less thrilling, perhaps, than his others was a lot of fun to read!

[Tzitzi Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buena trama, buena historia, más que de terror es de misterio.
Pero me agrado bastante, porque, Arthur Conan Doyle 🖤 rápido de leer e interesante

[Hanna Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I finally got to read this today. I can see how much of it inspired Anne Rice. Actually quite a lovely story, if you take away the sheer volume of explanation-via-unbroken-dialogue. Victorians. Nobody does it quite like them.

[Angel Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very interesting take on mummies. Definitely worth the read if you are interested in them as a fictional resource.

Overall the story is pretty simple and cool, it could have been better with a bit more of development and conflict, but regardless of that, this is still a very entertaining story.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The student Smith accidentally sleeps in at a museum, of Egyptian antiquities, seeing some kind of ceremony take place where another man offers a ring to a female mummy.

The stranger is apparently a victim of a curse (elixir of life) and wants to rejoin his love. Smith wishes to leave. “Would Osiris want such a thing?” The man laments about being in love but her growing ill. To properly die, he needs the ring of Thoth. He wants to join his love, a priest beat him to it. “Health as a disease.”

The student leaves as the stranger allows him to. The stranger is able to kill himself and the man reads about his dying embrace to the mummy.

—

A well and good short story about love, life, and conviction.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fabulous and well put together short story. I really enjoyed reading through this one! It will take you back to Ancient Egypt, and the tale of a man who has lived through thousands of years...

Perfect for the beginning of the year!

[Jared Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this was an intriguing story! There was a bit more exposition than perhaps I would have preferred, but it fit the structure rather well. Modern science makes this story feel quite out-dated and silly, but if you can suspend your disbelief it is quite enjoyable. A very thought-provoking commentary on the nature of love and eternity.

[Eda Aydın · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s beautifully written, melancholic, and thought-provoking — a story that lingers long after you finish it, like the faint scent of incense in an empty hall.

Perfect for readers who enjoy Gothic fiction, lost love, and the quiet terror of immortality.

[Scott Delgado · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this. It's subtle. My main reason for reading this was that it was partly the influence for Universal's first "The Mummy" movie.

[maria cot · Rating 3 out of 5]

millor que l'altre. més original i ràpid
Arthur Conan Doyle està obsessionat amb les mòmies

[Julaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Teemu Öhman · Rating 4 out of 5]

ACD had a keen interest in ancient Egypt, but he didn't write too many stories about it. The Ring of Thoth is not the greatest mummy story ever (or ACD's greatest mummy story), but it worked just fine for me. Without spoiling too much, one could say that it's also a wonderful love story.

4.25/5

P.S. I've apparently read it twice, because it was included in The Captain of the Polestar and Other Tales, which I read some time ago. Rather odd that I didn't remember it.

[Joshua O'Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

The inspiration for night at the museum and the notebook.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Egyptian artifact that holds within it the elixir of immortality. The idea of immortal life is so temptful and full of endless possibilities, yet this story delves into the traumatizing effects it can cause on a person's mentality and emotional state. The horror of watching nations rise and fall, the terror of countless wars, plagues and disasters, and also the emotional pain of outliving everything you love and dwelling on it until the end of days. It's an excruciatingly miserable existence, and once you take the elixir there is no undoing it. One must suffer the consequences of their decision for eternity. This story was actually quite a sad take on the old immortality tale.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conan Doyle's 1890 egyptological horror fantasy, a precursor to Bram Stoker's 'The Jewel of the Seven Stars' of 1903, is only one of very many 'mummy stories' that appeared at the end of the nineteenth century.

This particular story is well written but not more than it is - a variant on the Wandering Jew (though the subject is not jewish) interlaced with ancient mysteries and having a slightly hapless English scholar stumbling late at night on something very esoteric in a Parisian museum.

These stories were often attractive because of the symbolic erotic content - the beautiful woman from the distant past whose love persists beyond death or who inspires a love which centuries cannot dim. They are a way of recognising a deep emotion otherwise not to be expressed.

[Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly entertaining read. Sosra’s tragedy of becoming immortal and then losing the one he loves, truly hit a chord with me. And I’m glad he didn’t kill our chronicler John because otherwise we wouldn’t have this brilliant story of love, loss and resilience. I love stories about ancient Egypt, though I thought this had the potential of becoming a long sweeping novel, I’m glad Sir Arthur Conan Doyle kept it short and sweet. There is something very distinct about his prose that makes the reading experience just wonderful overall.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

For AWESOME-tober-fest 2015. Mummies. Overall, this is a really enjoyable, short read. The timeline is very compact and you feel like there is some urgency in the main characters. It keeps the action moving along despite that the majority of the story involves backstory exposition.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange encounter at The Louvre leads to a man telling the unusual tale of his life which started in Egypt and has lasted thousands of years. This can be found on the Classic Ghost Stories podcast narrated by Tony Walker.

[Daniel Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Que bella historia de amor, todo lo que uno hace por amor y tratar de estar con el amor de tu vida por una vida

[Anish Bhowmik · Rating 2 out of 5]

5.5/10

[Wanaka Mannaert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaaag

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.

[Željko Filipin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampire Stories #4: A man dies in a strange way. I'm sure I've read it before.

[Per · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32777...

[James Woodburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

To die for someone you love