It gets “cursier.” The Guardian reports that Helmut Simon, the man who first stumbled across Otzi’s long-frozen visage, disappeared on a hike. He was later discovered at the base of a 300-foot tall cliff, leaving little doubt that his final few seconds involved rapid movement between two fixed geographical points on a vertical plane. Adding to the whole ancient curse vibe, Helmut reportedly died a bitter man, resentful that his find had not brought him rewards and acclaim. Then the man who helped find Helmut died while attending his funeral, and Konrad Spindler — the then-leading expert on the Iceman — also died suddenly. Speaking about the curse, Spindler is on record as saying: “I think it’s a load of rubbish. It is all a media hype. The next thing you will be saying I will be next.” Awkward.

Which brings us to the seventh and last known case of the Iceman’s Curse (so far). In 2005, the scientist whose analysis of Otzi revealed so much about the doomed man’s likely final moments was found dead in his home. The Independent article reports that the autopsy … proved inconclusive.

If you weren’t keeping count, that’s a total of seven unusual deaths among people directly involved with Otzi. Given the scores of archaeologists, mountaineers, and journalists involved in studies of the Iceman over the years, Otzi’s hit-rate isn’t likely high enough to warrant full-blown panic. But maybe think twice if you’re ever asked to participate in research involving goat bacon.