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Yes, there are very dangerous fungi. One or two of them may have been tomb curses....
Anyone who watches certain films knows that much was made in the 1920s in gossip and the print press of the Pharaoh's or Mummy's curse, when many people died after opening King Tut's tomb.
Theories have been discussed for years--not a curse, surely, but what else in those ancient sealed chambers could have slowly killed any who entered? (And what if the ancient Egyptians intentionally left mold as a trap for grave robbers? That wasn't asked in these articles--but what if?)
This happened again in the early 1970s, when ten of twelve conservationists who entered a Polish King's tomb died weeks or months later. The same fungus was found in Casimir IV Jagiellon's tomb.
That pernicious something could have been the fungal mold Aspergillus flavus.
https://bigthink.com/the-past/mummys-curse-fungus-mold-aspergillus/
Now, it turns out this fungus may have attributes that will be an excellent treatment for some cancers.
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-toxic-ancient-tomb-fungus-anti.html
Theories have been discussed for years--not a curse, surely, but what else in those ancient sealed chambers could have slowly killed any who entered? (And what if the ancient Egyptians intentionally left mold as a trap for grave robbers? That wasn't asked in these articles--but what if?)
This happened again in the early 1970s, when ten of twelve conservationists who entered a Polish King's tomb died weeks or months later. The same fungus was found in Casimir IV Jagiellon's tomb.
That pernicious something could have been the fungal mold Aspergillus flavus.
https://bigthink.com/the-past/mummys-curse-fungus-mold-aspergillus/
Now, it turns out this fungus may have attributes that will be an excellent treatment for some cancers.
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-toxic-ancient-tomb-fungus-anti.html