Remember those fun times we used to spend in front of the mirror, with friends, in the dark...trying to invoke the vengeful murderous spirit of a long dead, childless, queen? Those were the days.
As we already know, (thanks Minky!), over 450 years ago, to the day, the real "Bloody" Mary I Tudor, Queen of England, died. Mary earned the moniker "Bloody" through her persecution of Protestants - burning 300 heretics at the stake during her relatively short 5 ½ years on the throne.
Some believe the chant "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, I killed your baby" references Mary's inability to conceive a child and heir to the throne. She was also reputed to be bat-f%&k crazy in both her zealous religious beliefs and fervour for getting knocked up (resulting in not one, but two hysterical pregnancies).
Not feeling the creep factor yet? Here's some more. Some have interpreted several of Nostradamus' prophecies to refer to the fall of Blood Mary, often with references to her bloody reputation used as confirmation of the connection.
Legends say summoning Bloody Mary in a bathroom mirror successfully will result in a full manifestation of her spirit and she will proceed to rip your face off, or kill you in some other gruesome, grotesque, and gory manner (huzzah for alliteration!). Now we all know that this sounds like a good time, but hysterical pregnancies and questionable sanity aside, it doesn't necessarily mean that Mary I is the historical figure of this myth. The legend is also linked with Mary Worth, accused of killing her children and committing suicide out of grief or guilt, or even more happily being executed for crimes she may or may not have committed. There is little to no historical evidence for any actual figure by this name, accused of the same crimes.
There are gads of variations on this type of summoning. Some reference the Bell Witch instead, and who can forget the 1992 movie classic Candyman.
We'll let the psychologists weigh in on why we're so fascinated with summoning stuff that will murder us.
As we already know, (thanks Minky!), over 450 years ago, to the day, the real "Bloody" Mary I Tudor, Queen of England, died. Mary earned the moniker "Bloody" through her persecution of Protestants - burning 300 heretics at the stake during her relatively short 5 ½ years on the throne.
Some believe the chant "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, I killed your baby" references Mary's inability to conceive a child and heir to the throne. She was also reputed to be bat-f%&k crazy in both her zealous religious beliefs and fervour for getting knocked up (resulting in not one, but two hysterical pregnancies).
Not feeling the creep factor yet? Here's some more. Some have interpreted several of Nostradamus' prophecies to refer to the fall of Blood Mary, often with references to her bloody reputation used as confirmation of the connection.
Legends say summoning Bloody Mary in a bathroom mirror successfully will result in a full manifestation of her spirit and she will proceed to rip your face off, or kill you in some other gruesome, grotesque, and gory manner (huzzah for alliteration!). Now we all know that this sounds like a good time, but hysterical pregnancies and questionable sanity aside, it doesn't necessarily mean that Mary I is the historical figure of this myth. The legend is also linked with Mary Worth, accused of killing her children and committing suicide out of grief or guilt, or even more happily being executed for crimes she may or may not have committed. There is little to no historical evidence for any actual figure by this name, accused of the same crimes.
There are gads of variations on this type of summoning. Some reference the Bell Witch instead, and who can forget the 1992 movie classic Candyman.
We'll let the psychologists weigh in on why we're so fascinated with summoning stuff that will murder us.
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