From ancient Egypt to modern horror, this program traces the origins of the mummy myth—from Egyptomania and King Tut’s tomb to the Hollywood franchise. Join Foy Scalf for a lively exploration of how ancient history fueled pop culture’s most enduring monster.

Foy Scalf is an Egyptologist with a PhD from the University of Chicago and Head of the Research Archives at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on ancient Egyptian intellectual culture, religious practices, and the history of the book, with a special interest in orality and textual transmission. Scalf curated the exhibition Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt and leads several Digital Humanities projects, including the CEDAR Book of the Dead and the ISAC Demotic Ostraca Online database. His work has made significant contributions to the study of ancient Egyptian magic and religion.

This program is presented as part of One Book, One Village. 

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