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The Mummy: Stories of the Living Corpse
Collection of 16 chronologically-arranged stories on the theme of mummies (usually Egyptian) as revenants, or possible revenants, written over a period spanning much of the 19th and 20th centuries. The authors are British and American, and include Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ray Bradbury, E. F. Benson, and Sax Rohmer.
- GenresHorror
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 27, 1989
31 people want to read
About the author
Peter Haining
331 books99 followersPeter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 1, 2015
Note, April 1, 2015: I edited this just now to correct a misspelled author's name --it's Prichard, not Pritchard!
Practically since the dawn of Egyptian archaeology, the idea of reanimated mummies has captivated the imaginations of both writers and readers. Haining was as indefatigable an editor of anthologies of both mystery and macabre fiction as was Alfred Hitchcock; many of the former's collections are built around a theme, so it isn't very surprising that this became one of them. The result shows his usual solid selection, and his insightful historical introduction to the treatment of mummies in literature and film (beginning with British authoress Jane Webb's 1827 novel, The Mummy!) is a added treat.
In tone, the stories here vary from lightly or satirically humorous, as in the case of Poe's "A Few Words With a Mummy," to ominous and horrific, as represented by Doyle's "Lot No. 249." Usually the premise is supernatural, but sometimes it's more science-fictional; Bradbury's "Colonel Stonesteel's Genuine Home-Made Truly Egyptian Mummy" (which is one of the best tales in the collection) is neither. Two of the stories feature Peruvian mummies, though as noted in the book description, most are Egyptian. The Lovecraft selection is a good example of that writer's many "collaborations," in which he did the actual development and writing of a story from an idea suggested by someone else, in this case famed magician Harry Houdini (who appears as the protagonist). One story is an adaptation of the 1944 film The Mummy's Ghost, a sequel to the original 1932 classic The Mummy -- which actually would have been a better subject for an adaptation; I've seen both movies, and the later one is decidedly weaker. Reincarnation (as in the modern movie The Mummy Returns) is the premise behind a couple of the stories.
Besides the titles mentioned above, one of my favorites is "The Story of Baelbrow" by "E. and H. Heron" the pen names of the mother-son writing team of Kate and Heskith Prichard, which features their series character, occult investigator Flaxman Low. Other outstanding selections here include Robert Bloch's "The Secret of Sebek," which first appeared in Weird Tales in 1937, and A. Hyatt Verill's "The Flying Head," one of those that feature an Andean mummy (and a distinctly nasty one!). But virtually all of them are well worth a read for any fan of the macabre.
Practically since the dawn of Egyptian archaeology, the idea of reanimated mummies has captivated the imaginations of both writers and readers. Haining was as indefatigable an editor of anthologies of both mystery and macabre fiction as was Alfred Hitchcock; many of the former's collections are built around a theme, so it isn't very surprising that this became one of them. The result shows his usual solid selection, and his insightful historical introduction to the treatment of mummies in literature and film (beginning with British authoress Jane Webb's 1827 novel, The Mummy!) is a added treat.
In tone, the stories here vary from lightly or satirically humorous, as in the case of Poe's "A Few Words With a Mummy," to ominous and horrific, as represented by Doyle's "Lot No. 249." Usually the premise is supernatural, but sometimes it's more science-fictional; Bradbury's "Colonel Stonesteel's Genuine Home-Made Truly Egyptian Mummy" (which is one of the best tales in the collection) is neither. Two of the stories feature Peruvian mummies, though as noted in the book description, most are Egyptian. The Lovecraft selection is a good example of that writer's many "collaborations," in which he did the actual development and writing of a story from an idea suggested by someone else, in this case famed magician Harry Houdini (who appears as the protagonist). One story is an adaptation of the 1944 film The Mummy's Ghost, a sequel to the original 1932 classic The Mummy -- which actually would have been a better subject for an adaptation; I've seen both movies, and the later one is decidedly weaker. Reincarnation (as in the modern movie The Mummy Returns) is the premise behind a couple of the stories.
Besides the titles mentioned above, one of my favorites is "The Story of Baelbrow" by "E. and H. Heron" the pen names of the mother-son writing team of Kate and Heskith Prichard, which features their series character, occult investigator Flaxman Low. Other outstanding selections here include Robert Bloch's "The Secret of Sebek," which first appeared in Weird Tales in 1937, and A. Hyatt Verill's "The Flying Head," one of those that feature an Andean mummy (and a distinctly nasty one!). But virtually all of them are well worth a read for any fan of the macabre.
Displaying 1 of 1 review