Some Words with a Mummy (Edgar Allan Poe)

I'd like to offer a Summer Reading preview with one of the titles that inspired this idea.  I've read this short story by Poe before, but I thought it would be fun for a reread.

Our unnamed narrator is awakened in the middle of the night by a friend of his who wants him to come and see the mummy that he is going to unwrap that night.  As he tells us this story, the narrator admits that he's not sure if it was real or a dream brought on by eating too much Welsh rabbit.  Either way, we know we're in for a wild ride.

I guess it should go without saying, but please bear in mind that there might be some spoilers ahead.  Thanks!

The unwrapping party is a little different than one might expect, since after the bindings are removed, the group notices that this mummy is not prepared in the traditional way.  He appears to have glass eyes, and his internal organs have not been removed.  Someone has the bright idea to shock the corpse with a battery and see what happens.  Well, what happens is that he comes to life!

So, the first thing that makes our mummy, Allamistakeo stand out is that he's not the sort of violent, deadly terror one comes to expect from a fictional mummy.  In fact, apart from one scene where he quite literally kicks someone out the window (surprisingly, no one was hurt), he's pretty docile.

Rather than being upset and confused about being awakened from his eternal slumber, Allamistakeo reveals that he was part of a special sect of Egyptians who are mummified in a special way, in order that they could be revived in the future to share history and other information with future generations.  This leads to a lively discussion between the gathered friends and Allamistakeo about religion, technology, and other things.

To rate this mummy, I'd say that he was charming and not at all scary.  Bonus points for being incredibly strong and smart.  A mummy that I would not mind meeting.

I would like to point out as a final aside, that the narrator's comments about too much grilled cheese and beer (and even the mummy's name, All-a-mistake-o) points to this being a pretty vivid dream.  A delightful story all the way through, and a pleasantly witty one from the master of the macabre.