SHADOW OF THE SPHINX: The Dark Fantasy Classic by William L. Hamling

She was Reborn After Three Thousand Years!

Here is a first-ever reprint of a 1940s Golden Age pulp magazine horror novel. Here is a shuddersome treat for lovers of classic mummy stories and classic mummy movies. When the three-thousand-year-old mummy of Zaleikka, an Egyptian priestess, is stolen from Chicago's famous Field Museum, Assistant Curator Barry Randall finds himself suspicious of a secretive patron, Dr. Anubis.

Spying on Anubis, Barry sees a mysterious parade of visitors admitted to the Doctor's mansion after they give a password, and encounters another spy, Joan Forrest, reporter for the Daily Blade. Soon the two have entered Dr. Anubis' home using the password, where they see Zaleikka restored to the full bloom of her youth, beauty and powers and learn that Anubis is the head of an ages-old secret organization dedicated to making Imperial Egypt the ruler of the world once again with the powers at Zaleikka's command.

Taken prisoner, Barry and Joan find themselves mysteriously transported to the Giza plateau and caverns far beneath the pyramids. There Barry becomes the object of Zaleikka's inflamed passions, while Joan becomes the victim of her fiery jealousy. Then, in the shadow of the Sphinx, which has stood mutely taunting humankind for thousands of years, they discover the key to its mystery but are forced to stand helpless while the Egyptian priestess unleashes a force so potent it can destroy every nation on Earth!

Shadow of the Sphinx is a classic 1940s horror novel, by famed author/publisher William Hamling, which has never been reprinted anywhere since its original appearance in the golden age pulp Fantastic Adventures. The late Lin Carter, an award-winning horror writer and editor, called this tale of Zaleikka, an ancient Egyptian sorceress resurrected from her sarcophagus, "the best story of its kind I read in many a moon. The character of Zaleikka was done to perfection. This is the type of yarn we have all too few of nowadays."

Cover art: Alan White