These 3 instances may help you believe that jinxes are real

Instances abound though; curses have been depicted in movies like Diamond Ring, in television shows, in music and if you could manage to stay awake past 10 pm in the early and mid-2000s, in paranormal shows like Labe Orun and Nkan Nbe.

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But if all that isn’t enough, here are 5 real-life instances that may help you believe that curses are real.

(1) The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb:

In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were buried with rich tranches of gold and valuables in elaborate tombs in the desert.

To discourage marauders from unsealing the tombs and stealing all these goodies, heavy curses were placed on the tombs.

For a long time, this remained a part of folklore. Most people were well aware of the scale of Egyptian tradition but not many knew just whether the curses were real.

In 1922, Howard Carter, a famous Egyptologist, opened the tomb of King Tutankhamen. One of his colleagues, James Henry Breasted reported how Carter sent a messenger on an errand to his house.

On approaching his home, the messenger thought he heard a “faint, almost human cry”. Upon reaching the entrance he saw the birdcage occupied by a cobra, the symbol of Egyptian monarchy.

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Carter’s canary had died in its mouth and this fueled local rumours of a curse. Among the many artefacts unearthed from Tut’s tomb, a paperweight was given to Carter’s friend Sir Bruce Ingram composed of a mummified hand with its wrist adorned with a scarab bracelet.

The bracelet was marked with, “Cursed be he who moves my body. To him shall come fire, water and pestilence.” Soon after receiving the gift, Ingram’s house burned down, followed by a flood when it was rebuilt.

Over the next few years, about 12 members of the original team died prematurely in mysterious circumstances.

They included two relatives of Carvanon’s, as well as Howard Carter’s personal secretary, Richard Bethell.

Bethell was found dead in his bed at home in London. His death drove his father to commit suicide by jumping off a building.

(2) The Hope Diamond Curse:

The Hope Diamond is the largest single diamond in the world but it’s also famous for a curse supposedly attached to it.

The Diamond was reportedly stolen from the eye of a Hindu idol in India by the French Merchant and Journeyman, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in the 17th Century.

There’s a myth that the Frenchman met his death when he was torn apart and mauled by rabid dogs, ostensibly as punishment for his theft.

Everyone who’s owned the diamond since then has met a sketchy, inglorious end.

King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette owned the diamond before their hopes were cut short and both were beheaded during the French Revolution.

Lord Francis Hope who inherited the diamond, squandered his fortune and died poor. A wealthy socialite, Evelyn Walsh McLean bought the diamond in 1912.

After losing both her children to a car crash and a suicide respectively, she was admitted to a lunatic asylum. The diamond has since been placed in the Smithsonian Museum where the staff say it has brought nothing but “good luck”.

(3) Otzi’s Curse:

What do you do when you find a 5,000-year-old frozen mummy in the mountains? When archaeologists found the body called “Otzi” in the Alps on the border between Austria and Italy, the excitement was intense. But the tone soon moved to one of sorrow and sadness.

Helmut Simon, the man who discovered the mummy died from a fall while hiking in 2004. One of the members of the rescue team which found Simon’s body, Dieter Warnecke died of a heart attack hours after Simon was buried.

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The forensic pathologist who examined Otzi, Rainer Henn, died in a car accident. Konrad Spindler, who led the scientific team that recovered and examined Otzi’s body died of multiple sclerosis.

Traces of blood were found on Otzi by Tom Loy, a molecular biologist who died of a blood disease not long after.

Later, Rainer Holz, who made a documentary about the events would die of a brain tumour.