QuickCheck: Was a curse inscribed on the tomb of Tutankhamun?

ACCORDING to legend, eight people met an unfortunate demise after ignoring the curse that was written on the tomb of Tutankhamun and opened it in 1923.

Is this true?

Verdict:

FALSE

There was (and is) no curse inscribed on Tutakhamun's tomb.

The "curse" was actually just an invention by the tabloid journalists of the time to sell newspapers.

While it is true that eight people died within 16 years of entering the tomb, studies have shown that 58 people were present when the tomb and sarcophagus were opened. Most of the people who were present went on to live normal lives.

Even today, the tomb is considered to be a popular tourist destination with 400 people (pre-pandemic) allowed to enter it per day.

References:

1. James Hamilton-Paterson, Carol Andrews, Mummies: Death and Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 190, Collins for British Museum Publications (1978)

2. David Vernon in Skeptical – a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal, ed. Donald Laycock, David Vernon, Colin Groves, Simon Brown, Imagecraft, Canberra, 1989,

3. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/curse.htm