Pharaoh’s Curse 1957

In 1902 Cairo, a street riot erupts as a small squad—Captain Storm, supported by Sergeant Gromley and Sgt. Smolett—is tasked with retrieving the members of an unsanctioned archaeological expedition hiding in the Valley of the Kings, who are chasing the fabled lost tomb of Rahateb. The mission grows more complex when they must also escort the expedition leader’s wife, Sylvia Quentin, as the group follows a planned route. A mysterious woman, Simira, crosses their path, claiming to have ties to Rahateb’s quest through her brother, Numar, though Storm resists her offer to lead them on a swifter shortcut. He relents only after Sylvia is stung by a scorpion, and the party presses on toward the tomb.

By the time they reach the site, Simira announces they are too late: Robert Quentin and his faction have already opened a sarcophagus, and Numar collapses to the floor. Quentin is furious at returning to Cairo and learns that Sylvia has come to end their relationship in person. Returning to the tomb with Storm close behind, they discover the mummy is missing, and eerie cat footprints trail from the sarcophagus to a solid wall. Quentin confronts Numar, sensing something is off about the guide’s involvement, and soon realizes the guide’s true nature.

That night, Numar reappears in the tomb complex as Sergeant Gromley discovers one of the animals drained of blood. Storm confines the uncooperative Simira to her tent while the group chases the suspect, splitting up and later reuniting upon finding Gromley similarly drained. During Gromley’s autopsy, Captain Walter Andrews—Captain Walter Andrews—and Hans Brecht translate a stone tablet that describes Rahateb’s high priest, executed in ritual suicide and bound to a three-thousand-year curse that will kill intruders by possessing another body.

Storm leads another expedition into the tomb and encounters a dying Brecht, who exits the Chamber of Bastet after an encounter with Numar. Storm makes a desperate move to seize Numar, who tumbles back into Rahateb’s chamber and loses an arm in the struggle. Dr. Michael Farraday—Dr. Michael Farraday—deduces that Numar’s body has decomposed to a fragile state. Simira warns that the remaining survivors must leave, or be killed.

In a tense turn, Sylvia spots a cat-like shadow, while Simira enters her tent. Sgt. Smolett finds Sylvia and brings her to Storm, who resolves to press on in search of Simira. Quentin then forces Andrews to locate a path to Rahateb’s resting place, and the party is admitted by the decaying Numar, only to fall victim to a rigged cave-in. After Storm and Beauchamp—Claude Beauchamp—confirm Quentin’s death, Beauchamp discovers Simira’s amulet as the group begins to depart.

Back in the tomb, the lid of Rahateb’s high-priest sarcophagus has been replaced, and the mummy inside reveals itself as Numar. The survivors piece together the truth: Numar is the reincarnation of Rahateb’s high priest, and Simira is Bastet in human form. With the tomb’s existence to be kept secret, the group agrees to cover up what occurred and never speak of their expedition again. The events unfold with a careful balance of restraint and awe, as the desert’s ancient curses intertwine with human fears, leaving the fate of the tomb—and its sinister occupants—shrouded in silence.