Does the mummy who inspired Bram Stoker now reside in Manchester?

The question of which real-life person inspired Stoker's famous literary trope has been debated for over a century. Now, a curator at the Manchester Museum thinks he has the answer

Dear members — Happy Halloween! Today we have an appropriately spooky story for you. Over a century ago, Irish-born author Bram Stoker, most famous for creating Dracula, played a significant role in popularising the reanimated ancient Egyptian mummy trope who continues to stalk modern Halloween traditions to this day. It’s been widely assumed that a mummy now on display at Hull’s Hands on History Museum first inspired Stoker when he visited Whitby in the late 1800s. But curators at the Manchester Museum are convinced that it was actually the remains of Tasheriankh, or ‘the living (female) child’, now in their collection, who lit that famed spark. 

Culture and history reporter Indi Bains takes us along on the twisty tale. Did you know that the discovery of radioactivity and electromagnetic waves in Victorian times led many to believe that telepathic signals might be transferred through these mysterious rays, permitting communication with the spirit world? Read all about how a heady blen…