The Mummy, etc. - Haunted Humpday IV

There's no Halloween without scary movies and The Mummy with Boris Karloff is my all time favorite. I've never been a fan of torture and terror or blood and gore so I give most of the new horror movies a pass. Thankfully, all the old ones from the 20's onward are available online (my DVDs always seem to go missing). While searching for an image of The Mummy movie I discovered this article about Kirk Hammett, a guitarist for Metallica, my favorite band. His book, "Too Much Horror Business - The Kirk Hammett Collection" is a showcase of his posters and memorabilia from early horror movies and is definitely something worth checking out. How awesome is that guitar?

When white pumpkins started showing up in significant numbers a few years back I thought they

were fun and would be cute decorations at Thanksgiving, until I saw one carved into a Mummy!!!!

  

Bwahahaha! It was so obvious, those white pumpkins were just asking for it.

Well, one thing always leads to another and since my first viewing of The Mummy I've had a passion for ancient Egypt. In fact, if it hadn't been for a particularly rotten art history instructor it might have been my career instead of simply affecting the appearance of the jack o'lanterns on my front porch.

Over the years other Mummy related tchotchke have found their way into my home. This happy little guy has served as the artistic inspiration for quite a few Mummy jack o'lanterns as well as

(you might as well sing it with me, you know it's in your head) ... making bath time lots of fun! 

The first mummy jack o'lantern I can remember seeing was in a magazine at the dentist's office. It was all I could do to walk out without stealing it, even though it was January so a really old issue.  

This is Bast or Bastet the ancient Egyptian goddess of cats, protection, joy, dance, music and love. Last week, for HH3 the theme of my post was black cats (sort of) and I totally forgot about the ones I keep up all year. They were made to be sold as souvenirs, like my other Egyptian memorabilia. They're not from my own travels, I haven't been lucky enough to visit there, but hopefully some day.

This pair usually live in my kitchen but are serving as mantle decorations while I try to remember where I put the Halloween stuff. They weigh a ton, I can't imagine lugging them home in a suitcase.  

These postcards (from eBay) are supposedly from the late 1920's after the excavation of King Tut's Tomb. The bottom one is the Temple of Isis at Philae, ancient Egypt's most important goddess. According to one myth Bastet is the personification of the soul of Isis, but as usual it's complicated.    

While browsing in a local "antique" shop I came across these Temple of Isis bookends that don't bear any resemblance at all to the postcard above and like the pair of Bastet on the mantle are weighty.

Another find at the same store was this copper vase with some high steppin' dudes.

On the same vase these ladies appear to be tending papyrus on the bank of the Nile.

My papyrus being ignored in a pot in the driveway.

Stewart declined to wear the King Tut cuff as a crown and scarab bracelet as a collar even after I reminded him that in ancient Egypt he would have been worshiped as a god. 

  Has a movie ever had a big (or small) impact on your life? What's your favorite Halloween movie? So what's your preference for pumpkins? Do you carve your own or go with the pre-lit ones? Last year I did both because it was raining so hard the candles wouldn't stay lit but then I worried someone was going to get a shock from the combination of water and electricity! At least it didn't snow. 

Hope everyone has a Happy Haunted Humpday, I'll be joining the festivities at Incipient Wings.