No one really knows for sure if there's any truth to these curses, but if you want to take James Dean's car for a spin or dig up an ancient mummy, don't expect us to help!
1. James Dean and "Little Bastard"
On September 30, 1955, James Dean was killed when the silver Porsche 550 Spyder he called "Little Bastard" was struck by an oncoming vehicle. Within a year or so of Dean's crash, the car was involved in two more fatal accidents and caused injury to at least six other people. After the accident, the car was purchased by hot-rod designer George Barris.
While getting a tune up, Little Bastard fell on the mechanic's legs and crushed them. Barris later sold the engine and transmission to two doctors who raced cars. While racing against each other, one driver was killed, the other seriously injured. Someone else had purchased the tires, which blew simultaneously, sending the driver to the hospital.
Little Bastard was set to appear in a car show, but a fire broke out in the building the night before the show, destroying every car except Little Bastard, which survived without so much as a smudge. The car was then loaded onto a truck to go back to Salinas, California. The driver lost control en route, was thrown from the cab, and was crushed by the car when it fell off the trailer. In 1960, after being exhibited by the California Highway Patrol, Little Bastard disappeared and hasn't been seen since.
 Tutankhamen's curse affected those who opened his tomb. |
2. The Curse of Tutankhamen's Tomb
In 1922, English explorer Howard Carter, leading an expedition funded by George Herbert, Fifth Earl of Carnarvon, discovered the ancient Egyptian king's tomb and the riches inside. After opening the tomb, however, strange and unpleasant events began to take place in the lives of those involved in the expedition.
Lord Carnarvon's story is the most bizarre. The adventurer apparently died from pneumonia and blood poisoning following complications from a mosquito bite. Allegedly, at the exact moment Carnarvon passed away in Cairo, all the lights in the
city mysteriously went out. Carnarvon's dog dropped dead that morning, too. Some point to the foreboding inscription, "Death comes on wings to he who enters the tomb of a pharaoh" as proof that King Tut put a curse on anyone who disturbed his final resting place.
Read about more famous curses in history on the next page.
