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Real or Not? 6 Famous Historical Curses

By Marc Lallanilla, Assistant Editor   
August 05, 2013

Introduction


Credit: Egyptian Museum

Humans can be a superstitious lot, but some historical curses seem too real to be mere coincidence or simple superstition. From King Tutankhamun to the Chicago Cubs, check out these six famous historical curses.

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The Mummy's Curse


Credit: Dreamstime

According to some reports, the tomb of King Tutankhamun was guarded by a stone inscribed with the ominous threat: "Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King." Undeterred, Egyptologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon opened the tomb to worldwide fanfare in 1922. Shortly thereafter, however, strange fates befell those who had entered the tomb. Lord Carnarvon died four months later while in Egypt from an infected mosquito bite (he was already known to be in poor health). A few hours after his death, back in England, Carnarvon's beloved dog Susie let out a yelp and died. Financier George Jay Gould I died of a fever six months after visiting the tomb. Woolf Joel, a South African millionaire, was murdered a few months after his visit to the tomb. A. C. Mace, a member of Carter's archaeological team, was killed by arsenic poisoning. Carter's personal secretary was found smothered in his bed in 1929. But researchers have determined that, of the dozens of people connected with the opening of the tomb, the vast majority lived long and healthy lives. Others have speculated that some of the deaths may be attributed to toxic molds or bacteria that were disturbed when the tomb was opened.

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The Curse of the Hope Diamond


Credit: Creative Commons | KeepOpera

French merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier, according to legend, stole a 115-carat blue diamond from the eye of a Hindu idol in India — for this sacrilege, Tavernier was supposedly mauled to death by dogs. But in reality, he sold the gem to King Louis XIV of France in 1669 and retired a wealthy man. All went well until the diamond fell into the hands of King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, who were beheaded during the French Revolution. After Lord Francis Hope of England inherited the diamond, he married an American showgirl. The pair squandered their fortune, sold the diamond and were eventually reduced to poverty. After Evalyn Walsh McLean bought the stone in 1912, her son was killed in a car accident, her daughter committed suicide and her husband left her for another woman (he eventually ended up in an insane asylum). The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History bought the Hope Diamond in 1958 and hasn't suffered from owning it — but a truck hit the postman who delivered the jewel (he survived). His wife and dog died not long after, however, and his home caught fire.

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The Goat and the Curse of the Chicago Cubs


Credit: Henryk Sadura / Shutterstock.com

In 1945, a man named Bill "Billy Goat" Sianis was ejected from a Chicago Cubs game because he brought with him a pet goat. Outraged, Sianis reportedly cursed the club with the words, "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more!" Sure enough, the Cubs lost the next game and haven't won a World Series in more than a century, despite many attempts over the years to lift the curse (some of them involving goats). While most regard the curse as a silly superstition, many longtime fans take it very seriously. This April, police in Cook County, Ill., found a decapitated goat tied to a tree near a golf course. A few days later, an unknown man delivered a smelly box addressed to Tom Ricketts, the current owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team; inside was a decaying goat's head.

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