'Curse' of the Titanic theories remerge - from 'Egyptian mummies to ghosts'

23 June 2023 , 09:26

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Many believe the stricken ship was 'jinxed' from the moment it set sail in Southampton (Image: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu)

More than 100 years later, the tragic story of the Titanic still fascinates and captures the attention of millions worldwide, with experts and survivors sharing their beliefs of an ill-fated 'curse'.

The mysterious disappearance of the Titanic submarine, which sadly took the lives of five people onboard this week, leads many to question whether the ship is actually 'doomed'.

More than 1,500 people died in the maritime disaster in 1912, and it remains the worst and deadliest peacetime sinking of a cruise ship of all time.

With the vessel, operated by OceanGate, now believed to have catastrophically imploded in the North Atlantic Ocean on Monday, we take a look at the truth behind the 'cursed' rumours.

Similarities have been highlighted between the tourist submarine and Titanic sinking (OceanGate)

Hollywood director and submersible expert, James Cameron, has said he was struck by "similarities with Titanic" days before the debris from the missing submersible was found.

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Mr Cameron, who was the director of the iconic 1997 movie, has spoken out about the tragic sub disaster, saying the ordeal eerily reminds him of the Titanic sinking in 1912.

He told ABC News: "I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result."

Mr Cameron added that he finds the parallels between the two tragedies "astonishing" and "really quite surreal", as divers were warned of the same dangers "at the exact same site".

Titanic director James Camera was struck by the parallels in the warnings issued to both captains (abc)

It has also been discovered that the wife of the sub pilot, Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, is a descendant of passengers who died on the Titanic.

Wendy Rush has great-great-grandparents who were on the ocean liner when it perished in the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg.

Isidor and Ida Straus were two of the wealthiest people on the ship that went down as it headed to the United States.

Isidor is famous for his gallantry in refusing a seat on a lifeboat while there were still women and children attempting to leave the Titanic, in accounts from survivors.

His wife is also said to have refused to leave her husband, and they went down with the ship standing arm in arm on deck.

Wendy Rush is the great-great granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who died on the Titanic in 1912

William Stead, a British editor, was a first-class passenger on the Titanic, and while on board, he entertained other guests by sharing stories about his work.

For years, he had been documenting "Egyptian curses" and writing about "Native American burial grounds", and claimed that a "mummy" was causing destruction in London.

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Some claimed that documenting the mummy had caused the curse to follow Mr Stead, and others claimed that it was on the ship.

Several survivors later said they heard Mr Stead share stories about a "mummy's curse", and word of the story made it back to The Washington Post which ran the headline: "Ghost of the Titanic: Vengeance of Hoodoo Mummy Followed Man Who Wrote Its History."

There were rumours of a 'mummy' onboard the cruise ship that had caused the ill-fate of passengers (PA)

Egyptian artefacts were found on the ship, but Paul Burns, vice president and curator for the Titanic Museum Attractions in Missouri and Tennessee, said survivor Margaret Brown had the historic items with her as she was due to deliver them to a museum in Denver.

Another version of the story states that the mummy was aboard the ship, as the British Museum had sold it to an American who was shipping it home, as Snopes reports.

But, as the History Channel reports, in reality, the so-called "Unlucky Mummy" is still with the British Museum to this day.

The Unlucky Mummy dates back to the 22nd Dynasty, and in the 1900s, journalist Bertram Fletcher Robinson spent months investigating claims that the monument was cursed.

But sadly before he could publish his work, he mysteriously died.

Multiple survivors have spoken out about their experiences of the 'doomed' curse (artist impression image) (AFP/Getty Images)

Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle thought Mr Robinson's death was an unlikely coincidence, and later wrote: "It was caused by Egyptian 'elementals' guarding a female mummy, because Mr Robinson had begun an investigation of the stories of the mummy's malevolence.

"The immediate cause of death was typhoid fever, but that is the way in which the elementals guarding the mummy might act."

It is believed that Mr Robinson's work inspired Mr Stead, who had been invited personally on the Titanic by William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the US.

After the disaster, one survivor, Marjorie Dutton claimed her life was cursed. She was just eight-years-old at the time and travelled as a second-class passenger with her father.

OceanGate divers were warned of the 'exact same dangers' as the Titanic over 100 years ago (OceneGate)

She said: "My father was drowned taking our worldly wealth with him, as in those days people were not as bank-minded as they are now.

"Since that time I have been blessed with bad luck and often wonder if it will ever give me a break, but it just seems to be my lot... I think my name was published at the time as having been drowned."

Another survivor, The Countess of Rothes, shared the after-effects of the terrible incident.

Years later, she said she "suddenly felt the awful feeling of intense cold and horror" while at a public event, and later realised the orchestra was playing The Tales of Hoffman - the last music she had heard on the Titanic.

Many people suffered survivor's guilt after making it to safety when the Titanic sank, as so many people lost their lives.

The five passengers on the vessel sadly lost their lives near the shipwreck in the North Atlantic Ocean this week (COURTESY OF THE DAWOOD FOUNDATION AND FAMILY)

It was announced yesterday that OceanGate believe the crew onboard the submarine tragically died near the shipwreck.

"We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost," the company said in a statement.

"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans.

"Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."

Nia Dalton