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St. Michan’s Church Vaults and the Irish Mummies

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Deep down in the vaults under the St. Michan’s Church in Ireland, there is a crypt filled with coffins of mummified corpses. Some of prominent families in the local area, and some nameless that are perhaps a millennial year old. 

Hidden behind Dublin’s Four Courts on Church Street, just a stone’s throw from the Jameson Distillery in Smithfield, stands St. Michan’s Church, an ancient place of worship with a history as chilling as it is rich in Dublin. 

Established in 1095 as a Norse chapel, this parish church holds the distinction of being the oldest on the northside of Dublin and that has a Viking foundation. Its rebuilt exterior, dating back to 1685, conceals a treasure trove of eerie secrets that beckon to those brave enough to explore its depths.

The Mummies in the Vault

Beneath the church’s hallowed grounds, a world of the macabre unfolds. Through imposing metal doors secured by chains and down a narrow stone stairway, visitors find themselves in burial vaults that cradle the mummified remains of Dublin’s most influential families from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

Read More: Check out all of the ghost stories from Ireland

The question that lingers in the minds of all who visit St. Michan’s crypts is how these bodies have been preserved for centuries. Some attribute it to the constant dry atmosphere, others to the limestone walls, and yet others to the mysterious methane gas seeping up from the damp ground beneath. Whatever the cause, the result is a chilling tableau of history frozen in time.

St. Michan’s Church Vaults: Underneath the old church from Norman viking times, there is a burial vault filled with mummified corpses that dates back almost a millenia ago.//Source: wikimedia

Family Feuds in Death

The vaults under  St. Michan’s Church was once the property of wealthy families, and this ownership extended even beyond the grave. Some coffins are elaborate, exuding opulence with gold accents and intricate designs. 

Venturing inside the individual vault under St. Michan’s Church cells reveals a haunting sight: coffins stacked haphazardly, generations of families laid atop one another as in anyone’s messy cupboard or room guests are not allowed to enter. 

Some of the coffins in the vault, unable to bear the weight of those above, have collapsed, leaving skeletal limbs protruding into the dim light.

Crypt’s Best-Known Residents

The vaults are home to legendary figures, including the Sheares brothers, republican revolutionaries who faced the gruesome fate of being hung, drawn, and quartered after their involvement in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. 

They were arrested on the eve of The Irish Rebellion of 1798, and executed at Newgate Prison. Now their mummified bodies have an eternal rest underneath St. Michan’s Church. At least so far. 

The Irish Rebels: The Sheares Brothers, Henry (1753–98), and John (1766–1798) were Irish lawyers and republicans. After witnessing revolutionary events in Paris, in 1793 they joined the Society of United Irishmen. They were arrested on the eve of the risings of 1798 and executed at Newgate Prison and buried and mummified in the vaults of St. Michan’s Church.

The Earls of Leitrim, their highly decorated coffins adorned with gold studs and ornate plaques, rest here alongside Wolfe Tone’s haunting death mask. But it is not necessarily the big names that have made St. Michan’s Church Vaults known, but rather the really old ones that no one really have a name for: 

The ‘Big Four’ in St. Michan’s Church

The most conspicuous occupants of the vaults are four mummified corpses displayed without coffin lids, each covered in a layer of dusty skin. These eerie figures, known as the Unknown, the Thief, the Nun, and the Crusader, appear shockingly lifelike despite being nearly a millennium old.

The Nun as well as The Unknown, are both women that we don’t really know much about. Who they were or how they died, it is all a mystery.

The Big Four: Some of the oldest mummies found in the burial vault is dubbed the big four as they have no names attached to themselves anymore. The Unknown, the Thief, the Nun, and the Crusader is now all exposed without their lids for anyone that chooses to visit the vaults.//Source: James Walsh/Flickr

The Crusader, a giant by the standards of his time, rests with his legs broken and crossed beneath him to fit within his casket. One of his hands stretches out, fingers slightly raised, a superstition claiming that those who touch his finger will be blessed with good fortune.

In 2019 the 800 year old Crusader’s head was actually decapitated and stolen, after a man in his 20s broke in and vandalized the vaults of St. Michan’s Church. 

“The Thief,” another mummy among the ‘Big Four,’ suffered a grisly fate, with his feet severed and his right forearm missing, supposedly as punishment for his crimes. While modern research has cast doubt on the authenticity of these stories, they continue to add an air of mystery to these chilling figures.

Echoes in the Darkness

But what about the rumors about the vaults being haunted? Who of these mummies are said to haunt their eternal resting place?

The Bram Stoker Connection: These burial vaults are just some of the places in Ireland htat Bram Stoker visited and found interesting. Could they have helped giving an inspiration to his writings?

Are these vaults truly inhabited by the restless spirits of the departed? Some certainly think so and since Victorian times, those daring enough to descend the vault steps have encountered the enigmatic St. Michan’s mummies.

Even Bram Stoker, the author of “Dracula,” is believed to have explored these crypts, as his family’s burial plot resides here. Some even claim that the macabre and haunted places in Ireland and its history helped him carve out the story of Dracula, perhaps more than even himself realized?

Over time, the legends and mystery keeps growing about what happened down in the crypts, in sort of the same macabre interest people have for the Catacombs in Paris for comparisons. What should be an eternal resting place for our ancestors, turns into something scary and dangerous for the living. 

Could the vaults underneath the ancient church of St. Michan’s Church in Dublin be haunted by the restless ghosts of the mummies? Could there be something vampiric going on behind the closed doors? The many legends and rumours only continue to grow as time passes and the mummies stay the same.

For those who seek eerie inspiration and eccentric sightseeing, St. Michan’s Church Vaults beckon, promising a spine-tingling adventure into the unknown. If you dare to court the supernatural, venture forth into this cryptic world—a place where history and the supernatural converge in a macabre dance that continues to captivate the curious and the brave.

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References:

Sheares brothers – Wikipedia 

https://thefairytaletraveler.com/2014/10/14/st-michans-church/

St. Michan’s Church, Dublin – Wikipedia 

Supernatural Dublin – St Michan’s Church Man arrested after 800-year-old skull stolen from St Michan’s Church in Dublin – Irish Mirror Online

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The Haunted Mysteries of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings

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In the mysterious Valley of the Kings, among the tombs of Pharaohs and their Queens, it is said that some are still lingering. Visitors claim to have seen a spectral figure on horse as well as the infamous curse of the tomb of Tutankhamun still haunts the empty graves.  

The Valley of the Kings in Egypt along the Nile’s western bank, is renowned for its regal tombs and the treasures they hold. However, beneath the golden sands and storied hieroglyphs lie tales of mystery and spectral encounters, making this archaeological wonder a contender for one of the most haunted places in Egypt.

The Valley of the Kings

Known in Egyptian Arabic as وادى الملوك (Wādī el-Mulūk) and in Coptic as ϫⲏⲙⲉ (Džēme), also referred to as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings (وادى ابواب الملوك Wādī Ebwāb el-Mulūk), is a historic site in Egypt ranging from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty of over 500 years.

The Valley of the Kings resides within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The site comprises two main sections: the East Valley, housing the majority of royal tombs, and the West Valley, also known as the Valley of the Monkeys and the valley is known to contain 63 tombs and chambers.

Read also: Khonsuemheb and the Ghost of Theban Necropolis

Serving as the primary burial ground for major royal figures of the New Kingdom and privileged nobles, the royal tombs feature intricate decorations depicting scenes from Egyptian mythology. These artistic representations provide insights into the funerary practices and afterlife beliefs of the time.

The Temple of Ramses II: Built during the 19th Dynasty by Pharaoh Ramses II in the 13th century BCE, the temple served as a memorial to the pharaoh’s reign and a place for the worship of the deities, particularly the god Ra-Harakhty. The Ramesseum is renowned for its colossal seated statue of Ramses II. The temple complex includes a large courtyard, a hypostyle hall, and various chambers adorned with intricate reliefs depicting scenes from Ramses II’s military victories and religious ceremonies.

Despite signs of ancient looting, the Valley of the Kings offers a glimpse into the opulence and authority of Egypt’s pharaohs. Since the late 18th century, Egyptologists and archaeologists have focused their attention on this area, and ongoing exploration and conservation efforts keep the site a focal point of research. 

The valley became a royal burial ground for pharaohs such as Tutankhamun, Seti I, and Ramses II, as well as queens, high priests, and other elites of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties.

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 catapulted the Valley of the Kings into global fame, and in 1979, it earned recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the broader Theban Necropolis. Today, ongoing efforts and a new tourist center ensure that the Valley of the Kings continues to captivate visitors and scholars alike.

The Royal Burial Ground

While the Valley of the Kings is celebrated for its historical significance, it is not exempt from tales of supernatural occurrences. The allure of ancient Egyptian treasures, combined with the mystique of royal burials, has fueled stories of ghostly encounters within the hidden chambers.

There seems to be especially two ghost stories about the Valley of the Kings that seem to echo through the valley. that is the haunted story about the tomb of Tutankhamun and the pharaoh riding the fiery chariot. 

The Ghost of the Pharaoh and his Fiery Chariot

At any given day there are thousands of visitors in The Valley of Kings. Visitors and archaeologists exploring the Valley have reported eerie encounters and unexplained phenomena. 

The valley’s night watchmen say they have heard odd screams echoing through the desert valley as well as angry shouting. There are also mysterious footsteps and wheels clattering heard in the dead of night. These mysterious sounds are thought to come from the ghosts of the deceased kings and queens.

Some claim to have seen shadowy figures flitting through the tomb corridors, while others speak of disembodied whispers echoing within the ancient chambers in the Valley of the Kings. The presence of an otherworldly energy is said to intensify during the silent hours of the night, when the Valley rests in an eerie stillness.

Most popular though is the tale of the pharaoh in a chariot riding around in the Valley of the Kings. According to legend he rides with fiery horses and has been spotted by many night guards. Some claim it is a fiery chariot pulled by black horses. 

The ghost is often also described as being short in a full Egyptian Pharaoh outfit controlling the reigns of the horses. Who this pharaoh is supposed to be, is unclear though. Could it be the story of the infamous Tutankhamun whose tomb was found in the Valley of the Kings?

The Curse of the Pharaohs

Before getting into the story about tutankhamun, we need too look a he history of the phenomenon he curse of the pharaohs.

The Curse of the Pharaohs, commonly known as the Mummy’s Curse, is a legendary curse believed to afflict those who disturb the mummies of ancient Egyptians, particularly pharaohs. This curse is said to bring bad luck, illness, or even death, indiscriminately affecting both thieves and archaeologists. While some argue that scientific explanations such as bacteria or radiation may underlie the curse, its origins trace back to cultural narratives rather than scientific evidence.

Despite stories of curses dating back to the 19th century, stories about them increased after Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. However, no curse was found inscribed in the pharaoh’s burial chamber, although strange rumors started about what happened to the crew present after.

The Pharaohs’ Restless Spirits

On November 4th that year a group led by the British Egyptologist Howard Carter descended the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley. Tut was a pharaoh believed to begin his rule as a 9 year old in 1333 BCE until his untimely death in 1323 BCE. After he was mummified and buried he stayed that way in peace for 3000 years. Until 1922 that is. 

The Death Mask: Tutankhamuns mask is one of the most iconic artifacts from ancient Egypt made of gold and weighs 11 kg. It covers the head and shoulders of the Tutankhamun and is detailed with inlaid semi-precious stones and colored glass. The mask served both a protective and ritualistic purpose, believed to assist the pharaoh in the afterlife. Today, Tutankhamun’s death mask is housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Carter and his team spent the end of November excavating their way down to his tomb and burial chamber. When Carter reached the door to this room, he made a tiny hole and saw the room filled with treasures and the final resting place for the Egyptian pharaoh. And it is believed that when they opened that door, they also opened up the curse that lingered inside of the tomb. 

The widely publicized belief in the curse surged after the deaths of Lord Carnarvon and others associated with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. The 5th Earl of Carnarvon was a keen amateur Egyptologist who was financing the project and joined Carter as they opened the door. He died aged 56 of blood poisoning, and so did the rumors of the curse that killed off the crew in a decade begin.

He was not the only one people thought were cursed though. Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey of Egypt, shot dead by his wife in 1923. People have speculated that he actually was cursed by the mummy. So was allegedly Sir Archibald Douglas Reid, who supposedly X-rayed the mummy and died mysteriously in 1924. 

Sir Lee Stack was the governor-general of the Sudan and he was assassinated in Cairo in 1924. Arthur Mace of Carter’s excavation team, said to have died of arsenic poisoning in 1928. Carter’s secretary called Richard Bethell died his bed in 1929 by smothering and his father committed suicide in 1930.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and spiritualist interpretations further fueled the superstition and he told a reporter: “An evil elemental may have caused Lord Carnarvon’s fatal illness.”

But Howard Carter remained skeptical and called the curse ‘Tommy Rot’.. Carter himself lived until 1939, long after the curse was supposed to take him. Scientifically, the deaths attributed to the curse have been questioned, with some proposing links to toxic fungi.

Despite the sensationalized deaths linked to Tutankhamun’s curse, a study showed that six of the 26 present during the tomb’s opening lived long and healthy lives. Ancient curses, occasionally found in tombs, are rare and often directed towards protecting the tomb’s ritual purity rather than warning against intrusion. Skeptics argue against the curse’s validity, highlighting that many individuals associated with the excavation had no ill fate.

Modern Exploration and Preservation

Despite the enduring tales of haunting, the Valley of the Kings continues to be a hub of archaeological exploration more so than speculations about curses and ghosts. Researchers and Egyptologists work tirelessly to unravel the mysteries hidden within the tomb-laden cliffs, while also preserving the site’s historical and spiritual integrity.

The Valley of the Kings is a part of Egypt’s rich history and the quest for immortality pursued by its pharaohs. Yet, beneath the golden veneer of antiquity lies a tapestry woven with spectral threads. Whether fueled by ancient curses, mysterious deaths, or the ethereal energy that echoes through the tombs, the haunted mysteries of the Valley of the Kings persist, inviting those who dare to explore its depths to uncover the secrets that lie beyond the veil of time.

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References:

Valley of the Kings: Information and Facts | National Geographic 

Curse of the pharaohs – Wikipedia 

Haunted Places: Valley of the Kings – Joshua Dowidat 

Excavation King Tutankhamun’s Tomb Begins 

Tutankhamun’s Curse? | History Today 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/curse-of-the-mummy

King Tut’s tomb, discovered 100 years ago, unleashed a deadly ‘curse’ – The Washington Post 

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The Legend of the Ghost in the Louvre Museum

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Find out about the Red Man haunting the gardens that has reportedly been seen by visitors to Louvre Museum since before its opening and many strange and haunting rumors started to unfold from this world famous museum. But how many of them are actually rooted in other than fiction and fear?

Since its opening as a museum in 1793, Louvre Museum has had a mysterious supernatural entity lurking within its walls even before they started to bring all the historical artifacts inside. It is the most visited museum in the world and around 15 000 people visit this museum each day, many of them claiming to have seen a ghost or two. 

It is said if you spend 30 seconds looking at each piece of art without any sleep or breaks it takes 100 days to see all the artwork they display to this day inside of the Louvre. The museum is covered in urban legends, everything that Mary Magdalene is buried underneath, That the Mona Lisa is bigger than she is and that the pyramid in the courtyard contains 666 panes of glass like the mark of the beast. 

Read about more Haunted Museums across the world: Here

The History of the Louvre Palace in Paris

The building that Louvre in Paris is in has been a part of French history since 1190 when it was built as a fortress against the vikings by King Philippe Auguste. From the 1300s it worked as the official royal residence and was known as Palais du Louvre and saw kings and queens come and go for centuries. 

Read about more Haunted Castles from the world

The Louvre palace in Paris was the palace where the royal family resided and held court until the sun king Ludvig XIV had built the Chateau de Versailles and moved there in 1682. 

Too much Art from all over the World to See in one Lifetime

Putting all this culture and history into the same building kicks off the dust of the haunting these artifacts bring with them, and many of the haunted rumors in the Louvre come from stories about haunted objects or paintings or cursed artifacts from the ancient world. 

One of the most iconic features of the Louvre Museum is its vast collection of famous paintings, including Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese. 

Read Also: Cursed and Haunted Paintings

In addition to these celebrated works, visitors can also explore the museum’s numerous galleries filled with masterpieces from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; 18th century French art; and many more. Despite being known for its wealth of artworks, the Louvre also holds its place in history as one of Europe’s most haunted buildings.

Reports of visitors experiencing supernatural occurrences have been documented since the museum’s opening in 1793 after the French Revolution and the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture decided this was where they would show the masterpieces the nation had to offer. 

Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre – The Mummy Haunting the Museum

One famous story comes from fiction, just like the pyramid actually contains 673 panes, not 666. It is true that the Louvre Museum has a mummy inside, but the haunted legend that is about the spirit of a mummy at the Louvre comes from fiction. 

Stories about mummies coming back to haunt or leaving curses at those who disturb their graves are plentiful, and the Louvre has one of them. Belphegor was a 1927 crime novel by the French writer Arthur Bernede and was made into a tv-series as well as a film later. 

The Louvre museum actually does have a mummy embalmed and it is the only mummy there is in the Louvre. Throughout the years there have been more mummies displayed at the Louvre, but today this is the only one.  

It is a man who lived in the Ptolemaic Period (305 BCE). The mummy is called the Mummy of Pacheri and has been at the Louvre since 1826. His name is either Pacheri or Nenu as the writing is hard to make out and his face is covered with a mask and many attribute the supposed hauntings to the mummy. 

This story has made people actually think that the Louvre is haunted by a vengeful mummy. Or was it the haunting that inspired the novel?

Read the Khonsuemheb and the Ghost of Theban Necropolis for an actual Egyptian ghost story.

The Red Man Haunting the Gardens

Another supposed ghost that is often talked about in connection to the  Louvre is the Red Man of the Tuilerie gardens that are adjacent to the museum. According to this legend there was a henchman of Catherine de Medici who was assassinated because he knew too many of the dark secrets of the royal family. 

After his death he came back to curse the entire royal family and the people living there in the palaces that existed, including those living in the Louvre Palace. 

Read the full story of The Red Man haunting the Jardin Tuileries in Paris

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References

12 things you should know about Louvre: A haunting history | Arts Culture – Gulf News

The Guardian of Egyptian Art

momie d’homme ; garniture de momie – Louvre Collections 

Mummy of Pacheri – Egypt Museum

ancient, article, egypt, Ghost

Khonsuemheb and the Ghost of Theban Necropolis

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Khonsuemheb and the Ghost is one of the oldest ghost stories we have in written form about a high priests quest to honor the dead whose tomb were disturbed in the Theban Necropolis in ancient Egypt. The question remains: did he actually complete his mission?

When did people start to tell ghost stories? It is difficult to say exactly when as the earliest ghost stories were probably older than our written language and so old that it is lost like any of the first original stories. What we do have though, are fragments of those who were carved in stone and scribbled on the walls. Perhaps human have always told ghost stories and the real question is if we will ever stop.

One of the more ancient ghost stories we have in writing is the story of Khonsuemheb and the Ghost. This ghost legend comes from Egypt, around 1200 B.C during the Ramesside period. The story was found in four pieces of pottery by  Ernesto Schiaparelli, and translated in 1915 by Egyptologist, Gaston Maspero (1846-1916).

The Normalising of Ghosts in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death, and in the book “Book of the Dead”, they wrote down a series of spells they thought would help them reach the afterlife. The people living at the time thought of the afterlife as a sort of continuation of life were it would be paradise to end up in. So why on earth do we still have ghost stories of people that never reach this perfect afterlife?

In ancient Egypt ghosts (called akh) were somewhat similar to their former self, more a piece of the soul of the living person, the immortal and transformed part of the soul. Interactions between ghosts and living people were seen in a lesser supernatural way than in modern depictions, just as the ghost in Khonsuemheb and the Ghost was more of a task to be handled than something unnatural happening.

Anubis God of Lost Souls: is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head. If the family didn’t do the funeral rites correctly or were cheap with the money, the Gods would sort of grant the part of the soul, the akh permission to go back and complain and haunt the family or its grave.

The akh was a consequence of the burial ritual not being right, the tomb being destroyed or so forth. This ritual was important as it was the way into the afterlife. An akh could harm the living, giving them nightmares, feelings of guilt, punish people or sickness. But it could also do good deeds to help their living family members, influencing for the better etc.

As well as coming on their own volition, they could be invoked by prayers or written letters left in the tomb’s offering chapel, just like what happened in Khonsuemheb and the Ghost.

Read Also: If graves or tombs are not well kept, bad things can happen. Read about The Haunted Barbie Doll in The Shrine and how they take care of that ghosts final resting place.

The Story of Khonsuemheb and the Ghost

The beginning of the story is lost forever, as it being a fragment of some pottery. So the full length of it, is nowhere to be found. But it is implied the story is set in Theban Necropolis, a burial place near the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.

The burial city was built at the west bank of the Nile, near the ancient city of Thebes, which at the time was the capital and the perhaps even the biggest city in the world at that time. The ruins of the city lies within the modern day city, Luxor, in Upper Egypt. At this time in the New Kingdom, Thebes reached new height of prosperity. It was the time right before the decline of the great city, and it would soon fall into unrest, strikes, looting of the Necropolises.

Ruins of Medinet Habu (Arabic: مدينة هابو)  is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, Egypt. it is the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III. This is where the ruins of Thebes can be found.

The Servant in the Place of Truth

But before all this, a man had to spend the night next to a tomb in the Theban Necropolis, literally meaning the city of the dead. He is unnamed in the fragment of Khonsuemheb and the Ghost. Perhaps he was just walking by, perhaps he was a looter. Perhaps he was a Servant in the Place of Truth. That was an ancient Egyptian title of the people working in the Necropolis.

The servants in the Place of Truth constructed the eternal dwelling of the kings, and isolated themselves to safeguard their secrets. They lived in the village Set-Maat (Place of truth) in the Holy Land of the Dead, today known as Deir el-Medina. The village that happens to be were the last bit of fragment of the story was found.

A Night at Thebes Necropolis: The man in the story spent the night in the desolated place of Theban Necropolis, a place outside of today’s Luxor in Egypt. //Source: wikimedia

The man was woken by the ghost residing in the tomb. Was he afraid? Perhaps not if he worked there. Perhaps he was terrified, especially if he was a looter, trying to steal the possessions in the tomb. In any case, he went to the High Priest of Amun, Khonsuemheb, and told what happened in the tomb.

The High Priest Invoking the Ghost

The High Priest of Amun, takes matters into his own hands. He stands on his rooftop, calling to the gods to summon the ghost. Invoking the gods of the sky and the gods of the earth, southern, northern, western and eastern, and (the) gods of the underworld, saying to them: “Send me that august spirit.” And it does. “I grew, and I did not see the rays of the sun. I did not breathe the air, but darkness was before me every day, and no one came to find me,” the ghost says (translation by Maspero).

Khonsuemheb asks his name. Nebusemekh, son of Ankhmen and of the lady Tamshas, the ghost answers. So how does one please an ancient egyptian ghost? Khonsuemheb at least offered to rebuild his tomb, making it better with a gildet ziziphus-wood coffin to make peace with the ghost. But the ghost doesn’t trust Khonsuemheb and his intentions. So what do they do?

The Ghost story on the pottery: Ancient Egyptian ostrakon with the beginning of the Ghost story of of Khonsuemheb and the Ghost. Terracotta from Deir el-Medina, 19-20th Dynasty, New Kingdom. Found by Schiaparelli in 1905. Turin, Museo Egizio.

Khonsuemheb sits down with the ghost, starts to cry and shares his unhappy fate. “I will remain here] without eating or drinking, without growing old or becoming young. I will not see sunlight nor will I inhale northerly breezes, but darkness shall be in my sight every day. I will not get up early to depart.”

Then the ghost proceeds to tell about his life on earth, how he was an overseer of the treasuries and a military official under pharaoh Rahotep. When the ghost, Nebusemekh died in the 14th regnal year of pharaoh Mentuhotep, the ruler gave him a canopic set, an alabaster sarcophagus and a ten-cubits shaft tomb.

But time took over the tomb, and over the centuries, the tomb partially collapsed, allowing wind to reach the burial chamber. Nebusemekh also told Khonsuemheb that others before him offered to rebuild his grave, but never did. Khonsuemheb says to the ghost that he will do it and also offers to send ten servants to make daily offerings at his grave. But the ghost says that wouldn’t be necessary or of any use.

Only Fragments of the Ending Left

Here, the text of Khonsuemheb and the Ghost on the pottery breaks, and in the next fragment three men are sent out by Khonsuemheb to search for a proper place for Nebusemekh new tomb. They find it at Deir el-Bahari, near to the causeway of the mortuary temple belonging to pharaoh Mentuhotep the second.

This is the end, the text suddenly ends here. But perhaps Khonsuemheb honored the last wish of Nebusemekh, giving peace in his afterlife the Egyptians were all so desperate at having.

The Afterlife in Ancient Egypt: Egyptian religious doctrines included three afterlife ideologies: belief in an underworld, eternal life, and rebirth of the soul. The path to the afterlife for the deceased was a difficult one with gates, doors and pylons located in Duat, the land of the underworld. Ultimately, the immortality desired by ancient Egyptians was reflected in endless lives. By doing worthy deeds in their current life, they would be granted a second life for all of eternity.

The tale of Khonsuemheb and the Ghost is a piece of fragment, written in another era of time entirely and there are of course dispute how much of it is an historical account of something that happened and a cautionary tale of what could happen if the living didn’t honor the dead. And the details of the tale are still open to interpretations. Particularly the identity of the to pharaohs in Nebusemekh’s time, and in the ghost actually got to rest in peace and finally enjoy paradise in the afterlife.

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References:

Ghosts in Ancient Egypt – World History Encyclopedia 

Theban Necropolis – Wikipedia 

Khonsuemheb and the Ghost – Wikipedia

A Ghost Story of Ancient Egypt – World History Encyclopedia