THE MUMMY

Now first up we have a truly shocking revelation! Stone me, if it isn't actually a card that firstly bears an accurate representation of a famous monster, and what's more, it even has the correct ruddy name! Completely the opposite of what we've come to expect from the vintage Horror Top Trumps decks! But hey, credit where credit's due - for accuracy aside this is a wonderfully atmospheric portrait of eveyone's favourite ancient Egyptian undead - the Mummy!

But before we break out the Tana leaves for a celebratory brew-up, which Mummy actually is this? For there have been countless movies featuring the bandage-swathed walking dead, and contrary to the received wisdom (and luckily for me) they don't all look exactly alike! So whose Mummy is this?

Well, first we can rule out many low budget efforts as this Mummy features some fairly elaborate wrapping. And it's very distinctive too! Secondly, unlike many movie mummies, this one has no visible mouth, and that too really narrows down the field. Sadly the background is too shadowy and composed of generic old skool temple/ruins to be much use. But luckily we do have enough to go on...

...For each cinematic mummy have their own distinct wrappings. And from the bandaging on display here I can confirm that this card is based on the classic first Hammer Mummy movie made back in 1959. And although you can't tell from the card, it's the late great Sir Christopher Lee under all that the wrapping!

And for more about mummies in the movies do check out my Mysteries of the Mummy podcast series. However after this tour de force of art and accuracy, perhaps inevitably the next card in the deck would see a drastic reversal of fortunes...