Now, Stephen tells his disbelieving son that Kharis will hunt down and kill all those who desecrated Ananka's tomb. The high priest had been sentenced to be entombed alive to serve as the guardian of Princess Ananka's tomb: Kharis secretly loved the princess and attempted to restore her to life after she died when he was discovered, eternal life and mummification were his punishment.
He tells him that when he read from the Scroll of Life, he unintentionally brought back to life Kharis (Lee), the mummified high priest of Karnak. Three years later, back in England, Stephen Banning comes out of his catatonia at the Engerfield Nursing Home for the Mentally Disordered, and sends for his son. Outside, members of the archaeological team hear his screams and rush into the tomb to find Stephen in a catatonic state. After Joseph leaves to tell John the good news, Stephen finds the Scroll of Life and reads from it. Stephen and Joseph ignore him, and discover within the sarcophagus of Ananka. Before they enter, an Egyptian named Mehemet Bey ( George Pastell) warns them not to go in, lest they face the fatal curse against desecrators. John has a broken leg and cannot accompany his father and uncle when they open the tomb. In Egypt in 1895, archaeologists John Banning (Cushing), his father Stephen ( Felix Aylmer) and his uncle Joseph Whemple ( Raymond Huntley) are searching for the tomb of Princess Ananka, the high priestess of the god Karnak.