Show notes
LOT NO. 249 (PT. 1) by ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories & The Best of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Long before the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb helped ignite the world's fascination with the so-called mummy's curse, Arthur Conan Doyle had already imagined something terrifying awakening from ancient Egypt.
In LOT NO. 249, first published in 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle takes us to Oxford University, where medical student Abercrombie Smith becomes increasingly suspicious of his strange and secretive neighbor, Edward Bellingham, a student of Egyptology surrounded by ancient artifacts and possessing one particularly disturbing acquisition: an Egyptian mummy purchased at auction and identified simply as Lot No. 249. [en.wikipedia.org], [arthur-con...-doyle.com]
Soon, strange sounds begin coming from Bellingham's rooms. The college servant reports hearing something moving around when Bellingham isn't there. And when one of Bellingham's enemies is attacked by a mysterious figure possessing seemingly unnatural strength, Smith begins wondering whether the impossible might actually be true. [en.wikipedia.org]
Could Bellingham have discovered a way of bringing the ancient dead back to life?
And if so, what exactly is he using Lot No. 249 to do?
Today the tale is regarded as an important early landmark in mummy horror. Although reanimated mummies had appeared previously in literature, Doyle's story helped establish the mummy as something genuinely threatening and dangerous, an idea that would become a fixture of horror fiction and movies in the decades that followed. [en.wikipedia.org]
AND THERE'S A FASCINATING 1001 CONNECTION... We recently discussed Arthur Conan Doyle and the extraordinary controversy surrounding the supposed curse of Tutankhamun in our two-part 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries presentation:
THE CURSE OF TUTANKHAMUN (PT. 1) and THE CURSE OF KING TUT (PT. 2): THE DEFENSE SPEAKS
In those episodes, Arthur Conan Doyle's own interest in supernatural explanations became part of our examination of the curse controversy.
And that makes LOT NO. 249 especially fun to revisit.
Here was Arthur Conan Doyle writing a chilling tale about ancient Egypt, mysterious powers and a mummy that may not be quite as dead as everyone assumes 30 years before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. [en.wikipedia.org], [arthur-con...-doyle.com]
If you enjoyed our King Tut investigation at 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries, don't miss this opportunity to hear Arthur Conan Doyle explore some remarkably similar territory through fiction.
But be warned...
Lot No. 249 may have been sold at auction. Whatever came with it was definitely not part of the bargain.
Join host Jon Hagadorn for LOT NO. 249 (PT. 1) by Arthur Conan Doyle, here at 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories & The Best of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
What I changed: I made the King Tut connection a prominent promotional hook without allowing it to overwhelm the Lot No. 249 story itself. The notes establish the Oxford setting and mystery first, then use your recent Tutankhamun episodes as a natural cross-promotion.
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