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Look, I-I may not be an explorer or-or an adventurer or-or a treasure seeker or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am. I...am a librarian.

–Evelyn Carnahan drunkenly explaining herself to Rick O'Connell., The Mummy

Evelyn O'Connell (née Carnahan) was born in London, England to Howard Carnahan. At a young age, Evelyn acquired an interest in Egypt and its history, namely its artifacts. Commencing her career as a librarian, Evelyn ventured on an expedition to the ancient City of the Dead, Hamunaptra, where, along with others, she encountered an ancient cursed mummy known as Imhotep, which she helped to defeat. This act brought various adventures in the years to come as Evelyn, along with her husband Rick O'Connell, their son Alex O'Connell, and Evelyn's brother Jonathan Carnahan, encountered many ancient powers and forces.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Evelyn Carnahan was born in London, England, the daugther of Howard Carnahan, a famed explorer that loved Egypt so much that he married an Egyptian woman who became the mother of Evelyn and Jonathan Carnahan. Evelyn's interest in Egypt and its ancient history commenced when she learned, in her youth, of the Book of Amun-Ra, the finding of which she marked as a sort of a life's pursuit.[1] At some point in her girlhood, Evelyn fell through the ice at a lake, resulting in a lifelong terror of falling through the ice. Evelyn studied under professor Julian Winter at the University of Oxford in England and harbored a schoolgirl crush on him, a notion that caused her brother laughter years later.[2]

Evelyn and Jonathan's parents were killed in a plane crash attributed to a curse connected to a mummy that Evelyn's father had disturbed, and as a result, Evelyn and her brother received a yearly stipend of several hundred pounds, which Evelyn spent according to her need, while Jonathan wasted the vast majority on liquor.[3] Evelyn, despite being experienced in Egyptology, was denied an application by the Bembridge scholars in England at first, as they had insisted that she lacked experience. She was employed as a librarian at Cairo Museum of Antiquities, apparently only because her deceased parents were the library's finest patrons. By 1926 she owned a white cat[1] named Cleo.[3] and sometime sported a pair of glass,[1] despite she only wore them for close-up work.[3]

Search of Hamunaptra[]

One day, Evelyn was working at the museum's librarian while filing out books in the "S" section of the library, she came across a mis-shelved book on Tuthmois, and attempted to shelve the book under the right category by leaning over on the ladder that she was using,[1] despite her glasses were messing with her depth perception.[3] The ladder ended up acting like a pair of stilts which left Evelyn to stand upright ten feet in the air. Falling forward, Evelyn knocked down the bookshelf that she was working on, which knocked over the next bookshelf, on and on until the books were all askew and the shelves on the floor. Dr. Terence Bey, Evelyn's employer, came in furious at the damages done, asking ruefully why he had hired Evelyn to begin with. Evelyn defended herself by citing her qualities of reading hieroglyphs and being able to catalog items properly, but Dr. Bey stated that she only had her job because her deceased parents were the library's finest patrons, leaving Evelyn to straighten out the books, regardless of time or effort.[1]

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At that moment, Evelyn heard a sound coming from a display area where mummies and sarcophagi were kept. Taking a torch into the room, Evelyn peered into one sarcophagus, which saw a rotted mummy pop out shrieking at her: the mummy was simply controlled by her brother Jonathan, who stopped by to see her. Demanding that he leave, as he would likely ruin her career the way that he had been ruined, Evelyn denied that Jonathan was succeeding in finding artifacts, Jonathan being an archaeologist as well. Evelyn was cross also due to the rejection of her application to work with the scholars of Bembridge, who attested that she had little experience in the field. Jonathan tried to cheer her up by reminding her that she always had him, and Jonathan brought a trinket along that Evelyn at first derided as worthless, as most of his findings were forgeries, but which turned out to be a real find: a small, golden puzzle-box with eight keyed ends. Pressing the box's bottom in silent amazement, Evelyn beheld an ancient map that was folded up within the box.[1]

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Evelyn and Jonathan bring the puzzle box to Dr. Bey for closer study.

Taking the box to the curator for further studying, Evelyn showed Dr. Bey the map, stating that if her research was correct, that the map led to the lost City of the Dead, Hamunaptra. Dr. Bey derided the notion while he examined the map, only to mistakenly expose the map to a lit candle on his desk. The map was put out by Evelyn and Jonathan, but the section with the lost city was burned off, Dr. Bey replying that it was for the best, as others had gone seeking the ruins of Hamunaptra, with none ever finding it. Dr. Bey then stated that the box might fetch up a small sum, but Evelyn would have none of it and, taking the map and Jonathan, headed out the door.[1]

In Cairo prison[]

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Evelyn and Jonathan find Rick O'Connell in Cairo Prison.

Evelyn had learned that her brother had obtained the puzzle box not on a dig in Thebes, as he had claimed, but from the pocket of a drunk at a seedy bar known as the Sultan's Casbah. The drunk in question was subsequently arrested and placed in Cairo Prison, where Evelyn and Jonathan had gone to find him, led by the warden, Gad Hassan. Stopping at one cell, Hassan stated, when asked about the man's crime, that he did not know what the charges were, but that the prisoner was "just looking for a good time". Bringing the prisoner forward, the guards revealed an American man named Richard O'Connell, a former Corporal in the French Foreign Legion, who revealed to Evelyn that the box that he had found, and been relieved of, was found at Hamunaptra; Jonathan suggested that O'Connell was lying, at which point the American recognized Jonathan as the man who stole his box and in response, punched Jonathan in the face. Evelyn then asked if O'Connell was actually at Hamunaptra and asked him if he could tell her how to get there; O'Connell signaled Evelyn to come closer so that he might whisper it to her, kissing her full on the lips and telling her to get him out of prison. With that, O'Connell was beaten by the guards and taken away; Evelyn asked the Warden where it was that the American was being taken, the answer was that he was being taken to be hanged. Soon after, Jonathan pointed out that the Foreign Legion had no jurisdiction in Egypt, and so could not have the man hung; the Warden replied to the Carnahans that for a cut of the profits made from the Legion, the prison relieved them of the duty of extradition.[1]

At the time of O'Connell's hanging, Evelyn attempted to bribe the Warden with various amounts of money, none of which appealed to the Warden as he ordered O'Connell hung. Finally, Evelyn revealed that O'Connell knew the location of Hamunaptra. The Warden was disbelieving at first, but soon after agreed to spare O'Connell's life on the condition that the Warden receive twenty-five percent. Evelyn agreed, and O'Connell's life was spared.[1] Later Rick convinced Evelyn to give him twenty pounds to cover expenses and supplies for the travel.[3]

At Giza Port[]

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Evelyn and Jonathan reach Giza Port.

Evelyn and Jonathan met at Giza Port wondering if O'Connell would show up to take them on their journey. As Evelyn spoke on about how unreliable he seemed, O'Connell turned up, shaven, trimmed, and in clean clothes. In awe, Evelyn stood taking in the sight of O'Connell's new appearance before regaining her cool composure and asking if the search that they were about to conduct for Hamunaptra was not some money-making scheme devised, to which O'Connell replied the truth: his garrison believed in Hamunaptra so much that they, without orders, marched across Libya to find the ruins, finding only death. With that, O'Connell tersely walked aboard, taking the Carnahans' bags for them, and leaving Evelyn to stare on, fixated at his looks. At that moment, the Warden of Cairo Prison walked up to Evelyn, who was dismayed to see the Warden, who declared that he was going along with them so as to protect his investment.[1]

Aboard the Sudan[]

That night, Evelyn and the three others in her group sat at a dinner table aboard the riverboat Sudan with other passengers, saying nothing of their mission to the others at the table. Later on in the evening, Evelyn sat down at a table reading[1] A Passage to India[3] by candlelight when O'Connell found her and spoke with her about her true intent behind going to Hamunaptra, which Evelyn revealed: she intended to find the fabled Book of Amun-Ra, the ancient golden book that contained the texts and archaic incantations of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the idea that sparked her interest in Egypt as a child, her life's pursuit is to find the book and prove its existence. O'Connell then asked if the book is crafted from pure gold made any difference to her, the question which Evelyn was impressed to hear, demonstrating that O'Connell knew his history. Changing the subject, Evelyn wished to know why O'Connell had kissed her back at the prison, to which O'Connell replied that he was about to be hanged and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Evelyn, cross at having heard this, stormed off angrily, but stood by, petting some camels that were in the stables onboard the riverboat.[1]

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That night, as Evelyn brushed her hair and tried to read a book, her mind still wandered to O'Connell kissing her, and, trying to convince herself to forget about it, she continued to brush her hair, dropping her book. When Evelyn picked it up and looked into the mirror, she saw a scarred man in dark robes that had a hook-shaped blade where his right hand was standing behind her; the man held her at the point of his blade and demanded to know where the map was. Evelyn, fearing for her life, pointed to the table behind him, where the map lay. The man then demanded to know where the "key" was, and Evelyn asked what key he was talking about, at which point O'Connell, guns drawn, burst into the room to face the assailant. The man in black took Evelyn behind his blade, threatening to kill her, when two other men dressed in black appeared from the portholes of the ship: O'Connell blasted those men away as Evelyn jammed a large candlestick into her assailant's eye. Evelyn ran out through the halls but stopped when she had remembered that she left the map, and ran to get it back: O'Connell took her away from the burning room, as he was the essential map to Hamunaptra. On deck, more men dressed in black began to fight against the boat's passengers, and O'Connell joined in the fight, blasting down as many of the black robe-swathed men as he could. Evelyn met O'Connell on deck and when asked if she could swim, Evelyn replied that she could if the occasion called for it, which served as O'Connell's cue to throw Evelyn overboard so that she might escape the burning boat.[1]

Journey to Hamunaptra[]

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Evelyn, along with the other passengers aboard the Sudan, made it to shore, complaining that they had lost everything from tools to equipment, and Evelyn's wardrobe as well, but she, Jonathan, O'Connell, and the Warden made it to shore well enough, finding help the next morning when a caravan of Bedouin traders helped them after having seen the smoke coming from the river. Jonathan's money supply survived the swim and so he managed to buy some camels for the group, while Evelyn had gone into a tent where she purchased a dark blue Bedouin gown, complete with a veil. Evelyn's new outfit caused O'Connell to look on with even more interest than before and the four then continued their journey to Hamunaptra, Jonathan complaining about the camels all the while as Evelyn responded that she found them adorable. The travelers continued on until the evening, when they all stopped to camp out before rising in the early morning so that the sun would not come down on them. Evelyn, being cold in the desert night, huddled up with O'Connell as they slept, but returned to her own sleeping spot before her brother and the Warden saw and got the wrong impression.[1]

The journey continued the next morning with Jonathan and Warden Hassan arguing about who was snoring, their quarrel stopping once the group's camels walked past a section of sand where many human skulls and bones were, O'Connell knowing some of the deceased men there. The Warden revealed that the skeletons were those of other men that had tried to find Hamunaptra and failed.[1]

Further on, O'Connell's group had met up with Beni Gabor's group, which consisted of Beni (another former Legionnaire), three treasure-seeking Americans, their Egyptologist consultant, and a large number of native fellahin diggers. As both groups stood facing one another, one of the Americans, Henderson, reminded O'Connell of a wager that he had placed, entitling whichever group reached Hamunaptra first to five hundred dollars. O'Connell told Evelyn to get ready for the sunrise, for it would show the way to Hamunaptra: indeed, as the sun rose, it illuminated the ruins of the City of the Dead, causing all present to drive their mounts in a race to reach the ruins first. Evelyn drove her camel faster and faster on and reached the city before any others did, earning her group five hundred dollars.[1]

Into the Tunnels[]

Evelyn and her group had set up camp within the ruins, intending to enter the underground tunnels of the ruins by using a tunnel near a statue of the god Anubis, which was partially below ground, and was said by the scholars at Bembridge to be the location of the golden book of Amun-Ra. Evelyn had used several ancient mirrors around the entrance of the tunnels as part of a trick that she knew of, and was then given a small brown leather kit by O'Connell, who inarticulately revealed that it was a gift; Evelyn opened the kit and smiled with joy as she found several picks, brushes and assorted digging tools. The group then ventured underground by rappelling down the tunnels.[1]

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Evelyn stated that they were standing inside a chamber that no one had entered in three thousand years as she turned one of the mirrors inside the chamber, illuminating the room with light from the sun. Identifying the chamber as a Sah-Netjer, Evelyn explained that the room was once used for preparations for the afterlife, where mummies were made. The group moved on through the corridors, stopping as they heard a loud chattering sound coming from the walls, a sound like insects; after the group had gone through the corridors further, they found the statue of Anubis, partly sunken into the ground with the top half on the surface, and were about to search for the compartment when they heard echoing voices coming from around the statue. O'Connell, Jonathan, and Warden Hassan pulled out their guns, ready to face whatever was causing the voices, and found the three Americans, Egyptologist, Beni, and a number of native diggers.[1]

The Americans were as frightened by the smaller group as the smaller group was afraid of the Americans, and had drawn out their guns, along with Beni. Burns, seeing Evelyn's toolkit, called out that it was his but retracted his claim once O'Connell pointed his pistol towards him. Evelyn tried to send the larger group away but could not, as both groups continued pointing pistols at one another. As the hostilities continued, Evelyn surreptitiously toed some pebbles into a crevice on the ground, seeing that another chamber was below them, and, with a calm, chipper tone, surrendered the statue base to the Americans.[1]

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Evelyn, O'Connell, and Jonathan moved to the lower chamber and began to pry at the ceiling, Evelyn telling that according to the hieroglyphs, they would come up between the statue's legs, Jonathan continuing the idea by remarking that they could steal the golden Book from under the statue while the Americans were not paying attention. Evelyn remained adamant that they could find the compartment, assuming that the Americans hadn't found it first.[1]

After some time had passed, the three took a short rest: Jonathan amused himself by hitting away at pebbles with a pickaxe as though they were golf balls, and Evelyn regaled O'Connell with the process of mummification. As they talked, Jonathan hit one pebble that jarred loose a large stone object from the ceiling, which came crashing to the floor: a sarcophagus that was buried at the base of Anubis, indicating that whoever was entombed was either someone of great importance or that he "did something very naughty", as Evelyn had put it.[1]

The sarcophagus was closely examined and was observed to have a lock on it of some kind, that appeared octagonal as the puzzle-box that Jonathan had done, which Evelyn herself had pocketed from him as she remarked that earlier the hooked warrior on the riverboat was searching for a key. Placing the key on its lock, Evelyn showed that the key pertained to it, the notion being interrupted when a scream ran out from the corridors: Warden Hassan had been clutching at his head, tearing at his scalp, and shoved Evelyn, Jonathan and O'Connell out of the way as he ran screaming into a stone wall, ending his life.[1]

That night, Evelyn examined the late Warden's body, noting that it had some form of bite on its foot, though his cause of death still remained unknown, as O'Connell pointed out that the three American treasure-seekers had deaths as well: three of their diggers were burned to death with salt acid that erupted from the statue base of Anubis. As O'Connell and Jonathan pondered the notion of Hamunaptra truly being cursed, Evelyn derided the notion entirely, stating that if she could see it and touch it, it was real. O'Connell responded, with a cock of his elephant gun, that he believed in being prepared, while Jonathan decided to look in the late Warden's bag, finding a broken bottle of 12-year old Glenlivet whiskey and sand, the apparent remnants of the items taken by the Warden. The sound of far-off hoofbeats came from the desert and O'Connell left the siblings to investigate as Evelyn tried to follow him; drinking from the bottle, Jonathan tried to chase after her.[1]

A band of Medjai warriors had come storming into the camp, tearing down tents, killing diggers, and terrorizing the expeditionaries. O'Connell, the three Americans, and Jonathan had all fired back, as did Evelyn: Evelyn, still holding O'Connell's elephant gun, fired at one Medjai while he was on horseback, however, fell down due to the recoil. The attacks ceased once the Medjai leader, Ardeth Bay, gave the order for his fellow Medjai to cease their attacks, claiming that they would shed no more blood, but that the expeditionaries must all leave Hamunaptra or die. Giving them one day to leave, Ardeth and his fellow warriors rode out. O'Connell helped Evelyn up, showing true concern for her, and heard the American treasure-seekers insist that the treasures of Seti must be under the sands for the warriors to protect them so. O'Connell replied that the Medjai were desert people that would value water over gold, and would be less interested in keeping treasures for themselves. Burns suggested then that the groups could combine forces at night and simply be rivals instead of being enemies.[1]

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That night, after O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan had all taken some of the late Warden's whiskey, O'Connell attempted to give Evelyn an impromptu boxing lesson, which was hindered by her drunkenness after having taken some whiskey. Shortly after, Evelyn drunkenly explained her motives for finding Hamunaptra: Egypt was in her blood, her father, being a famed explorer, had married an Egyptian woman and sired Evelyn and Jonathan. O'Connell responded that her story explained her parents and Jonathan but her motives still were not clear: Evelyn went on to stagger to her feet and proclaim that she was no treasure-seeker, explorer, or another adventurer, but that she was proud of being a librarian. Evelyn then tried to kiss O'Connell but passed out due to the drink.[1]

A mummy[]

The next morning, despite a hangover, Evelyn, Jonathan and O'Connell were none worse for the wear, turning their attentions instead towards the opening of the sarcophagus that they had found. Evelyn expressed her joy at the opening of the sarcophagus, as she had hoped to open one since she was young. As the lid was being opened, Evelyn noted that the sacred spells had been chiselled off, condemning whoever was inside into the next life as well. The lid was pried open, causing a mummy to burst out, due to the pressure of the air inside its sarcophagus; the mummy was noticeably moist even after three thousand years and still decomposing. Evelyn examined the lid of the sarcophagus, where an inscription was made with fingernails by the condemned mummy when he was still alive: the message stated "Death is only the beginning".[1]

That night, Evelyn examined the coffin further, finding scarab exoskeletons inside, she was about to take them to her campsite and show them to her fellows when she looked in Dr. Chamberlain's tent and saw that he had the Book of the Dead, the Egyptologist tried to force it open with his bare hands until he saw that he could not, and Evelyn explained to Dr. Chamberlain that he would need a key to open the Book.[1]

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Evelyn went on to her campsite and showed the scarabs to her fellows, explaining that the scarabs could stay alive for years, feeding on a corpse, though the scarabs that she had found were still alive when they started eating the condemned man. Evelyn explained that, according to her research, the mummy that had been found suffered the Hom-Dai, a curse reserved only for the worst blasphemers, never used by the Egyptians of the time because they feared its effects: those condemned with the Hom-Dai would bring back the Ten Plagues of Egypt, should they be resurrected.[1]

As Dr. Chamberlain slept that night in his tent, he held on to the Book of the Dead and a canopic jar; Evelyn, knowing that he had the Book of the Dead with him, snuck into his tent and took the obsidian book from him while he was asleep. Taking the book back to her own campsite, she sat in front of the fire with the book as O'Connell lay awake, pretending to be asleep: O'Connell pointed out that she was stealing the book, but Evelyn replied that according to O'Connell and Jonathan, it was borrowing. Wondering what it was, O'Connell was informed that the book was the Book of the Dead, not the Book of Amun-Ra, which he believed it was. Using the puzzle box that Jonathan owned, Evelyn opened the Book's locked covers, releasing another gust of wind. Evelyn looked on the obsidian pages and saw hieroglyphs, which she began to read aloud so as to translate them to O'Connell, not knowing that as she spoke the words, the mummy that she, Jonathan, and O'Connell had found below in the tunnels was coming to life, roaring loudly as it awoke. Dr. Chamberlain had also awoken, screaming out at Evelyn that she must not read from the Book. Just then, a droning sound began, coming from the horizon, awaking all the others in the campsite as they looked onto the distance outside the camp and saw a vast horde of locusts that swarmed onto the camp, covering up tents and those that could not run away fast enough, including Dr. Chamberlain, who stood in silent shock.[1]

To escape the locusts, O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan reached a hallway where O'Connell stated that the locusts were one of the Ten Plagues that Evelyn had brought up before, but Evelyn replied that the grasshoppers of Egypt occasionally reached massive breeding numbers, resulting in their swarms. With that, the floor had become covered in frogs at once; Evelyn offered no explanation for that occurrence, for soon after, in another corridor, a large sandy mound erupted from the floor, and swarms of scarabs came bursting from the sand. The scarabs chased the three explorers through the halls as O'Connell threw a torch at them and fired at the insects, scattering them somewhat, but the scarabs finally chased the three in separate directions, O'Connell and Jonathan reaching a stone platform away from the scarabs' path, while Evelyn reached what she thought was a wall, actually a trapdoor that took her into another chamber before sealing itself.[1]

Evelyn wound up in a dark chamber, alone save for Burns, who stood with his back towards her; at that moment, Burns turned around and moaned in agony as his eyes were gone, as was his tongue. Evelyn, in shock, stepped backward and beheld a walking mummy, the same mummy, in fact, that she had helped find. Screaming in terror, Evelyn stepped back, petrified at the sight of the moving corpse, which squinted at her with Burns' torn-out eyes, licking its dried chops with Burns' tongue and referring to Evelyn as "Anck-Su-Namun". Evelyn, backed up against a wall, saw the mummy speak to her in ancient Egyptian, offering its hand. Just then, O'Connell ran into the chamber to get Evelyn back but stopped in shock when he saw the mummy. The mummy then saw Jonathan, Daniels, and Henderson as they stumbled onto the scene, and roared loudly, which O'Connell reciprocated by blasting the mummy in two with his elephant gun, buying them all enough time to run away.[1]

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As the expeditionaries all ran up to the campsite they came face-to-face with the Medjai, who had already taken Dr. Chamberlain captive. Their leader, a warrior named Ardeth Bay declared that they had all done a serious damage by awakening the mummy that he and his people had feared for over three thousand years. O'Connell casually remarked that the mummy was no longer a threat, but Ardeth Bay replied that no mortal weapons could kill the creature, as it was not of this world. Two Medjai then brought Burns forward; the man's eyes and tongue had been ripped out, and his companions angrily blamed the Medjai, but Ardeth Bay stated that they had saved him before the mummy could do worse, concluding by commanding the expeditionaries to leave Hamunaptra before the creature killed them all. As both teams and their diggers left the ruins, Evelyn noted that Dr. Chamberlain still had the Book of the Dead and his canopic jar with him, and the decision was made to let him simply keep the Book, as they all wanted to escape before anything worse happened.[1]

Cairo[]

Two days later, both expeditions and their diggers reached Fort Brydon in Cairo, and stayed in the guest quarters within the fort, speaking to no-one of their experiences. For the next set of days, the expeditionaries stayed in their quarters, slept, and came out only to have meals until Evelyn had decided that she was ready to return to Hamunaptra to find a means of stopping the mummy; O'Connell tried to convince her to skip town with him before the mummy could find them, but Evelyn insisted that they must stop the mummy, for his curse would spread further once he was reborn. O'Connell reminded Evelyn that he signed on to her expedition for something different: he was only meant to take her to the deserts and to bring her back; having done that, the contract was terminated, and he told her that she could either come along with him and leave town or stay behind to fight. Evelyn decided that she would stay, and O'Connell, with nothing else convincing to say, left her quarters.[1]

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O'Connell had come back to Evelyn after having seen the Plagues manifest themselves as waters turned to blood and hail and fire fell from the skies, decimating Cairo. As the pair stood outside Evelyn's residence, Beni appeared running down a staircase; O'Connell caught him for a moment, but lost him once Beni had run away, having heard a loud roaring sound. O'Connell and Evelyn then ran upstairs to see that Burns was dead, having been drained of his organs and fluids, and at the end of the room stood the mummy himself, who was regenerating his flesh as it crept up his bones.[1]

The mummy then strode towards O'Connell and Evelyn; Jonathan, Henderson, and Daniels having entered the room as well, the four men opened fire on the mummy, their bullets having no effect on the corpse as it shoved O'Connell out of the way into Jonathan, Henderson, and Daniels. The mummy then went on towards Evelyn, thanking her for bringing him back from the Underworld, and trying to kiss her until Evelyn's cat Cleo showed up, frightening the mummy away as it turned into a small sandstorm and burst out of the window.[1]

Answers[]

Only one man could give Evelyn sufficient answers: her employer, Dr. Bey, who she went to see in the museum, along with O'Connell, Jonathan, Henderson, and Daniels. The group reached Dr. Bey, but the Curator was already speaking with another man, the Medjai warrior Ardeth Bay; the four expeditionary men drew out their arms as they recognised the Medjai. Evelyn demanded to know what Ardeth Bay was doing in Cairo, and Dr. Bey sardonically asked whether they'd like to know or if they would prefer to just shoot him and Ardeth Bay. The others lowered their guns and listened: Dr. Bey and Ardeth were part of a secret society that guarded the City of the Dead for over three thousand years to ensure that no man could find the remains of the former High Priest Imhotep and bring him back to life: because of Evelyn's mistake in reading the Book of the Dead, the mission had been failed. Evelyn wanted to know if their goals were actually worth the taking of innocent lives, but the Medjai were certain that it was worth a few deaths to protect mankind from the curse of Imhotep. It was revealed that the mummy feared cats because they were the guardians of the Underworld, and he would fear them until he was fully regenerated, at which point he would fear nothing. Evelyn then pointed out that at Hamunaptra, Imhotep had called her Anck-Su-Namun and that while they were in Burns' quarters, he tried to kiss her; Dr. Bey revealed that it was due to Imhotep's love for Anck-Su-Namun that he was cursed, and that after three thousand years, he was still in love with her.[1]

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Dr. Bey theorized that Imhotep would try to bring his lover back from the dead and that Evelyn was likely his intended human sacrifice. Dr. Bey explained that the turn of events might give them the time that they would need to kill the creature, but Ardeth Bay observed, looking up at the skylights, that Imhotep's powers were growing, as the Sun was being blocked by the moon in an eclipse, one of the plagues resulting in gradual darkness over Cairo.[1]

Returning to their quarters, Evelyn asked the two remaining Americans who were present when the chest was opened: only Burns, who had been killed, Daniels, Henderson, and the Egyptologist were present; Beni ran off before the chest was opened. Evelyn stated that they must find the Egyptologist and bring him back to the fort before the mummy could find him. O'Connell agreed, and told Evelyn to stay behind while he would go off with Daniels, Henderson, and Jonathan, much to the protest of the others. Evelyn was displeased at being left behind, but could do nothing about it, as she was picked up by O'Connell, left in her room, and locked in, O'Connell ordering the two Americans to guard the door so that no one would go in or come out; O'Connell then left with Jonathan to find the Egyptologist's office, but they were too late, as the mummy had claimed the Egyptologist's life as well.[1]

As O'Connell and Jonathan were out, Daniels left Evelyn's bedroom doorway to go and get a drink, offering Henderson, who stayed behind to guard the door, a bourbon as well. Henderson, however, was caught by surprise by the mummy, who had blasted in through the window, and was killed like his fellows before him. Imhotep, then almost fully regenerated, became sand and sifted in through the keyhole of Evelyn's door, materialising at her bedside. Evelyn was asleep, having nightmares when Imhotep closed his eyes, imagined his lover, and kissed Evelyn as she slept; Evelyn's touch as a mortal, however, corrupted Imhotep's being as her touch was causing his freshly-regenerated face to rot away. Evelyn screamed, muffled, as the mummy's rotting jowls touched her lips when O'Connell and Jonathan burst into the room, stopping Imhotep, who hissed words in ancient Egyptian when O'Connell brandished Evelyn's cat to the creature, scaring the mummy away as he burst out the window in a sandy cloud.[1]

Taken by Imhotep[]

That night, O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Daniels all left to reach the Cairo Museum, where Evelyn noted that O'Connell was somewhat protective of her when Imhotep had kissed her, but Daniels, in a panic, was in no mood to hear them talk about kisses or romance, and yelled at them to stop talking about it. Once they had reached the museum to find Dr. Bey and Ardeth Bay, Evelyn hypothesised that the Book of the Dead had brought Imhotep back to life, and with that, the Book of Amun-Ra might be able to kill him again. As they set forward to decipher the hieroglyphs on display for possible answers, the group heard chanting coming from outside: the people of Cairo had been enslaved by Imhotep's power to do his bidding. As the townspeople outside tried to burst in through the doors, Evelyn and Dr. Bey went on reading one tablet on display to find answers until the mob finally broke in: Evelyn had reached the conclusion that the Book of Amun-Ra was in Hamunaptra under the statue of Horus.[1]

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Jonathan had left the group to start his car when he was confronted by the townspeople, who had almost set upon him when he pretended to be one of them, moaning and shambling along; his performance had deceived them, and he brought the car to the front of the building so that the others might escape. At that moment, Beni, having been in Imhotep's service, screamed out to his master, who saw that the resisters were escaping and so sent out the enslaved townspeople to attack them. Jonathan, driving the car, managed to drive far away from the library when the car reached an alley blocked off by the enslaved townspeople. O'Connell slammed on Jonathan's foot and floored the car right through the masses, with many of the enslaved townspeople hanging onto the sides of the car: the passengers managed to throw them all off, but the townspeople had succeeded in pulling out Daniels, who had fallen out of the car and onto the streets where he was soon met by Imhotep, who killed him as he had Daniels' fellows.[1]

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The car drove on until it hit a fire hydrant and the passengers escaped the car but were cornered into a wall by the townspeople, who parted as Imhotep strode through them with Beni behind him. Imhotep spoke to them as Beni translated, stating that Evelyn must come with him, for he would spare her friends if she did. Evelyn reluctantly stepped forward, to O'Connell's chagrin as he pulled out his gun at Imhotep; Evelyn told him otherwise, stating that he still had to take her to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual. O'Connell swore to Imhotep that he would see him again and Evelyn carried on looking back at O'Connell as she was escorted by Imhotep, who ordered the townspeople to kill the others. O'Connell opened a manhole cover on the streets, allowing Ardeth Bay and Jonathan to escape, but Dr. Bey opted to stay behind to fight off the enslaved people: as O'Connell escaped with the others, Dr. Bey was killed.[1]

Return to Hamunaptra[]

After Imhotep had left the scene with Evelyn and Beni, he blasted out of Cairo with his servant and victim in tow in the form of a sandstorm. The sandstorm had stopped in the Sahara in front of Hamunaptra; Evelyn looked up into the skies and saw a yellow biplane flying high; she knew it must be O'Connell coming to rescue her. Imhotep, displeased at O'Connell's return, conjured up the sands of the desert and started another sandstorm that raged on after the plane. The storm engulfed the plane and its passengers as Evelyn pleaded to Imhotep that he stop it. Imhotep, deep in his trance to conjure up the sandstorm, could not be stopped until Evelyn, with no other choice, ran forward and kissed Imhotep deeply, breaking his concentration, which stopped the sandstorm. The plane, however, had come crashing down into the desert sands after it had come out of the sandstorm. Believing his enemies to be defeated, Imhotep left for Hamunaptra with Beni and a disheartened Evelyn.[1]

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Imhotep led Evelyn and Beni down into the tunnels where he paused for a moment after having heard a gunshot erupt from a corridor; with that, he opened a canopic jar that had once contained Anck-Su-Namun's heart and pulled out the withered organ, holding it gently for a moment before crushing it into dust. The resulting dust was blown towards the walls by Imhotep, and the walls contained illustrations of two Egyptian priests; Imhotep recited incantations aloud that brought the illustrations to life as they cracked out of the walls: the "illustrations" were actually the mummified remained of Imhotep's priests that had been pressed into the wall. Imhotep ordered the priests to kill the intruders and to awaken the other priests. With a powerful smack of the hand, Imhotep had knocked Evelyn unconscious; when she awoke, Evelyn saw a rat on her chest and tossed to throw the creature off, and screamed as she saw that she was chained next to the mummified corpse of Anck-Su-Namun, surrounded by undead mummified priests, all chanting. At first, their words did not sound clearly to Evelyn, even though Evelyn herself knew ancient Egyptian well, until she realized that the mummies were all speaking ancient Egyptian, but since some were missing jaws, tongues, and all, their words were garbled, to her slight amusement. It was then that Imhotep opened the Book of the Dead with the key, intending to use Evelyn as his sacrifice and Evelyn screamed for help from O'Connell and Jonathan.[1]

Imhotep was performing the incantations, summoning Anck-Su-Namun’s soul out of the black moat in the ceremonial chamber, which placed itself in her mummified remains and awakened next to Evelyn, who was chained on the altar. Imhotep was on the verge of stabbing Evelyn with the ceremonial dagger when Jonathan burst in, shouting that he had found the Book of Amun-Ra. Evelyn demanded that Jonathan get her out of there, telling him to use the book to stop him, but Jonathan replied that he needed the key to stopping him, which, Evelyn replied, was in Imhotep's robes.[1]

At that moment, O'Connell lunged in with a golden sword taken from a nearby statue, cutting the chains binding Evelyn to the sacrificial altar and severing the mummy priests surrounding her to shreds, cutting down all when one of the halves of a severed mummy grabbed O'Connell by the ankles, pulling him down. In the fall, O'Connell dropped the golden sword and another mummy stepped forward with a large stone block to drop on the adventurer when O'Connell reached for a still-moving mummy's hand that had grabbed the sword and cut the mummy with the block down, crushing it with the block that it was holding. It was then that Jonathan, still attempting to use the Book of Amun-Ra, read an inscription on its cover, summoning up a number of mummified soldiers that came forth in rows to do battle with O'Connell. Evelyn informed Jonathan that he could control them by finishing the inscription on the cover and was promptly attacked by the mummified Anck-Su-Namun, who struck out at Evelyn with the ceremonial dagger so as to complete the ritual, Evelyn dodging the blows as O'Connell staved off the mummified soldiers but was soon overpowered by them. Evelyn continued running from the mummified concubine and Jonathan, still trying to read the symbols on the book, asked Evelyn as she ran what the last symbol translated as: Evelyn, though being held in a strong chokehold by Anck-Su-Namun, managed to call out its phonetic pronunciation, which Jonathan then read aloud, stopping the mummified soldiers from killing O'Connell. Jonathan then prompted the mummified soldiers to kill Anck-Su-Namun, sparing O'Connell and ending the concubine as they would have done in the ancient past.[1]

Then, once Imhotep reached out to Jonathan to strangle him, O'Connell rushed in, slicing the mummy's arm off, while Jonathan was pickpocketing the mummy for the key, which he successfully extracted from his robes. Evelyn rushed in to find the correct inscription to vanquish Imhotep, looking through the golden pages as O'Connell was thrashed about, finally finding the right incantation, which she read aloud, summoning the ancient god of mummification, Anubis, who appeared in his chariot to steal away Imhotep's immortality, taking it away to the Underworld. Angrily, Imhotep, who remained still alive, lunged forward to kill O'Connell, but O'Connell, sword in hand, stabbed the priest, Evelyn pointing out that Imhotep was rendered mortal. Staggering into a nearby moat, Imhotep was stripped bare of his flesh, reduced to his previous withered state, speaking out the words that he had clawed into his sarcophagus thousands of years back, which Evelyn translated as "Death is only the beginning".[1]

Not long after, Beni, who had been pilfering the treasury, had mistakenly triggered the mechanism that prompted Hamunaptra's fall, compelling O'Connell, Evelyn, and Jonathan to leave the City of the Dead at once. During their escape, Jonathan stumbled and dropped the Book of Amun-Ra into a moat, much to Evelyn's dismay which was replaced promptly with a determination to leave further by O'Connell and Jonathan; soon after it was Evelyn that caused Jonathan to hurry along when he desperately implored them to stay long enough to take some of the treasures within the treasury. As the three escaped, they ran into Beni, who was also making good his own escape but trapped once he was unable to escape in time due to the great stone doors nearly crushing him.[1]

O'Connell, Evelyn, and Jonathan, alone managed to escape the ruins as they came crashing down, witnessing the great stone necropolis' oblivion when Ardeth Bay approached them, informing them that they had earned the respect and gratitude of the Medjai for bringing down Imhotep, praising them in Allah's name, then riding off into the sunset.[1]

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Jonathan sarcastically remarked that Ardeth Bay was leaving them empty-handed once more, to which O'Connell, standing with Evelyn in an embrace, replied otherwise, sharing a passionate kiss; with her, after; which the three of them rode off into the sunset, unknowing that; within the saddlebags of the camels was a small fortune in ancient Egyptian gold.[1]

After Hamunaptra[]

After Terence Bey's death Evelyn was made the curator of the Cairo Museum of Antiquities.[4]

O'Connell and Evelyn married[5] and during their honeymoon they were summoned by Professor Julian Winter to a dig site and instructed to bring the Orb of Destiny. The two did so, along with Jonathan, not knowing exactly what is up, leaving the orb in their hotel room as they joined the crew at the dig. Reopening the tomb, the group was attacked by a group of animal apparitions. Guns proved useless against the phantoms and Rick instinctively grabbed an old stone tablet as a shield and it seems to frighten off the beasts. Examining the tablet, Evie realized it is a map to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Gods, with the hieroglyphs describe it as "where those who must be worshipped await their awakening." Soon, the group has traveled to the specified location, to find nothing but desert sand. Then, suddenly, twin pillars of sand swirl up to form towering giant warriors, trapping the group between them.[2]

After surviving such adventure[6] Evelyn continued to be the curator of the Cairo Museum until 1927, when she retired to raise a family with her husband.[5] She later had a son,[5] Alexander Rupert,[7] in Egypt.[8]

In 1930 she wrote a book called Curse of the Pharaohs: Myth and Mystery.[4] By 1933 the O'Connells had moved to live[5] in a Tudor-style manor house a few miles west of London, in the lushest countryside to be found near to the city. Evelyn never sold her house in Cairo because her work took her very frequently to Egypt.[4]

The Mummy Returns[]

In 1933, Rick O'Connell and his wife Evelyn explored ancient ruins with their son, Alex, where they find the Bracelet of Anubis. In London, the bracelet locks onto Alex, showing him a vision directing him to Ahm Shere.[5]

Later adventures (1933-1945)[]

By the late 1930s the O'Connells often left Alex in the care of Ardeth Bay when they are away. In 1937 she and Rick where in England for three weeks as she presented a paper to the Bembridge scholars. She was later offered a teaching position by the Bembridge scholars and the family was moved back to London.[9] She accepted the job and took a job teaching Egyptology at Bembridge.[10]

During World War Two Evelyn and Rick worked as spies for the British Foreign Offices.[7]

While not involved with the events regarding Xango, Evelyn sent a letter to Rick and Alex.[11]

By 1946 she had written two books based on her adventures with Imhotep called The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.[7]

The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor[]

Personality and traits[]

Evelyn was an English woman living in Cairo, hoping to reach the greatness that her father before her had in Egyptology, in 1926. Skittish at times, and confidant in some situations, Evelyn was relentless in her goals. A young, attractive woman with brown hair and hazel eyes, Evelyn was said to have inherited her looks from her mother; but; regardless of her looks; which turned heads often, she did not see herself as particularly unattractive or attractive, often wearing mannish outfits; such as jodhpurs and oversized cardigans; ten years afterward, this habit was changed, as she began to wear clothes made from fabrics from Egypt. Evelyn, having inherited her father's love of egyptology, knew how to read and write ancient texts well, and understand ancient tongues. From time-to-time in her youth, Evelyn wore rimmed spectacles to read books, although she did not need them.

In Evelyn's married years, she retained her passion for knowledge, but had also become more mature and less frightened.

Logical and resourceful, Evelyn believed strongly that; if she could touch something and see it, then it was real; which led; to her brother, Jonathan remarking that; she was an atheist, although whether it was true she never said, although Evelyn used phrases; such as "my God in Heaven" from time to time. A Feminist in her younger days, Evelyn said that; she had no time for romances; despite her feelings; to the contrary; when finally wedded to Rick O'Connell, Evelyn was inseparable from him. Insistent on achieving her goals, Evelyn spared little chance to study artifacts in the field.

Originally Evelyn had very little if any kind of combat skills, generally relying on her intelligence to get her out of dangerous situations. But after marrying Rick and going on several adventures; she became a highly competent combatant in her own right; displaying proficiency in martial arts, swordsmanship and marksmanship. These were only enhanced; when the memories and combat skills of her previous incarnation as Nefertiri were fully unlocked; with Evelyn's resurrection; by the Book of the Dead.

Possessions[]

Appearances[]

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Behind the scenes[]

Evelyn O'Connell was portrayed by actress Rachel Weisz in the first two films. Weisz declined to return for Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, citing that she had some conflicts with the script, specifically how Evy was being written.

Maria Bello was cast to take over the role from Weisz for the third film. Before Bello accepted the role, the writers had planned to have Evelyn's character be killed off due to a bombing in London during the Second World War as Weisz would not reprise her role, but with Bello accepting the role of Evelyn, the idea was discarded.

Grey DeLisle voiced the character in the animated series.

Trivia[]

  • Rachel Weisz was the only actress who was offered her part.
  • Rachel Weisz was not a big fan of horror films, but did not see this film as such. As she said in an interview, "It's hokum, a comic book world".
  • Stephen Sommers cast Rachel Weisz after seeing her performance in The Land Girls (1998).

Notes and references[]

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