curse-2
Explanation
This comic features the classic horror/adventure trope of explorers disturbing an ancient tomb and facing a mummy's curse.
In the panel, an explorer has opened a sarcophagus, and the mummy rises up to deliver its curse: "For that you have disturbed my tomb, you shall die at a typical actuarial rate, but perceive it as unusually high!"
The caption below reads: "My favorite genre is Stats Horror."
The joke subverts the classic mummy's curse trope. Instead of threatening supernatural death or terrible misfortune, this mummy's "curse" is simply that the victim will die at the normal statistical rate for humans but will feel like it's happening at an alarming rate. This is actually just a description of normal human anxiety about mortality -- most people die at perfectly average rates but spend a lot of time worrying that death is coming for them unusually fast.
The humor lies in applying actuarial science (the mathematical discipline used by insurance companies to calculate life expectancy and risk) to what should be a supernatural horror scenario. The phrase "typical actuarial rate" is hilariously clinical for a mummy's curse. The caption, "My favorite genre is Stats Horror," drives the joke home by naming this imaginary genre where statistical literacy is the source of terror. It's a joke about how understanding statistics can make ordinary facts of life feel either more or less frightening, depending on your perspective -- and how the scariest "curse" might just be heightened awareness of your own mortality.