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{{short description|Folklore legend}} |
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[[Image:Mary_I_of_England.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Mary I of England]]]] |
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[[Mary I of England|Mary I]], the queen of England from [[1553]] to [[1558]] became known as '''"Bloody Mary"''' during the reign of her successor, [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]] on account of the perceived ferocity of her [[religious persecution]]s; she has borne the [[epithet]] ever since. |
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[[File:Halloween-card-mirror-2.jpg|thumb|An early 20th-century [[Halloween]] [[greeting card]] depicts a [[divination]] ritual in which a woman stares into a mirror in a darkened room to catch a glimpse of the face of her future husband. The shadow of a witch is cast onto the wall at left.]] |
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'''Bloody Mary''' is a [[legend]] of a [[ghost]], phantom, [[Witchcraft|witch]], or spirit [[Evocation|conjured]] to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is chanted repeatedly. The Bloody Mary [[Apparitional experience|apparition]] may be [[Wiktionary:benevolent|benevolent]] or [[Wiktionary:malevolent|malevolent]], depending on historic variations of the legend. Bloody Mary appearances are mostly witnessed in group participation play. |
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"Bloody Mary" is also a name for a [[ghost]] or [[witch]] who appears in children's [[folklore]]; other very similar tales use different names. |
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==Ritual== |
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Several fictional characters are also called Bloody Mary. |
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| ⚫ | Historically, the [[divination]] ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight of stairs backward holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to catch a view of their future husband's face.<ref name="Ellis" /> There was, however, a chance that they would see a [[Human skull symbolism|skull]] (or the face of the [[Personifications of death|Grim Reaper]]) instead, indicating that they were going to die before they would have the chance to marry.<ref name="Ellis" /><ref name="Hutton" /> |
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In the [[Urban legends and myths|ritual of today]], Bloody Mary allegedly appears to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name in an act of [[catoptromancy]]. This is done by repeatedly chanting her name into a mirror placed in a dimly lit or candle-lit room. The name must be uttered 3 times (or some other specified number of times).<ref name="Snopes" /> Some stories even say you must chant her name into the bathroom mirror 47 times then she will come out of the mirror.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dundes |first=Alan |date=1998 |title=Bloody Mary in the Mirror: A Ritual Reflection of Pre-Pubescent Anxiety |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1500216 |journal=Western Folklore |volume=57 |issue=2/3 |pages=119–135 |doi=10.2307/1500216 |jstor=1500216 |issn=0043-373X}}</ref> The Bloody Mary apparition allegedly appears as a corpse, witch, and ghost that can either be friendly, evil, or a demonic spirit, and is sometimes seen covered in blood (hence the name). The lore surrounding the ritual states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, cursing them, strangling them, stealing their soul, drinking their blood,{{cn|date=April 2023}} or scratching their eyes out.<ref name="Hallow" /> Some variations of the ritual call Bloody Mary by a different name—"Hell Mary" and "Mary Worth" are popular examples.<ref name="Snopes" /> The [[Urban legend|modern legend]] of [[Hanako-san]] in Japan strongly parallels the Bloody Mary mythology.<ref name="DeVos" /> Additionally, in the 1990s the Bloody Mary ritual was represented pop culture and used as a tool to discuss racial and sexual violence and gender oppression.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Godinez |first=Mac |date=2023-11-29 |title=Violent Reflections: Bloody Mary in 1990s Pop Culture |url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/items/53952287-2d8d-4751-b4fd-445502456dc8 |language=en |doi=10.7275/zmph-jf77 |journal=University of Massachusetts Undergraduate History Journal |volume=7 |issue=1 }}</ref> |
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==In history== |
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==Identification== |
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'''Bloody Mary''' is the name used to refer to Queen [[Mary I of England]] because of her persecution of [[protestantism|Protestants]]. The [[Protestant Reformation]], started fitfully in [[England]] by King [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]], became established policy under the brief reign of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]]. Mary, like her mother [[Catherine of Aragon]], whom Henry VIII had spurned, was a devout [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]]. She contracted an unpopular marriage to the equally devout [[Philip II of Spain]]. The pair, with the assistance of conservative churchmen such as [[Edmund Bonner|Edward "Bloody" Bonner]] and [[Stephen Gardiner]], sought to reimpose Roman Catholicism upon the religiously divided country. |
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There is some debate on the identification of Bloody Mary and if she is based on a real woman.<ref name="Curious Archive-2022">{{Cite web|date=2022-01-24|title='Bloody Mary': Is an English Queen Behind the Haunting Urban Legend?|url=https://www.curiousarchive.com/bloody-mary/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=Curious Archive|language=en-GB}}</ref> A number of historical figures have been put forward as candidates for "Mary" including [[Mary I of England]] (daughter of [[Henry VIII]] and [[Catherine of Aragon]]), who had around 300 religious Protestant dissenters burned at the stake during her reign, earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary";<ref name="Curious Archive-2022" /> [[Elizabeth Báthory]], a 17th-century Hungarian countess who allegedly tortured and killed around 660 girls and women, bathed in their blood, and was accused of [[vampirism]];<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-11-04|title=The Ghost in the Mirror: The Legend of Bloody Mary Revealed|url=https://historycollection.com/ghost-mirror-legend-bloody-mary-revealed/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=HistoryCollection.com|language=en-US}}</ref> and Mary Worth, who has been identified as either a woman who killed slaves escaping the [[American South]] via the [[Underground Railroad]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Legends abound regarding Bloody Mary Worth|url=https://www.shawlocal.com/2013/10/14/legends-abound-regarding-bloody-mary-worth/ano8osd/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=Shaw Local|date=16 October 2013 |language=en}}</ref> or a woman who was burned at the stake during the [[Witch trials in the early modern period]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Laverty|first=Deborah|date=1970|title=Bloody Mary, Marshall County, Iowa|url=https://digital.library.in.gov/Record/WV3_folklore-2723|url-status=live|website=Indiana Memory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126185833/https://digital.library.in.gov/Record/WV3_folklore-2723 |archive-date=2022-01-26}}</ref> |
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During her brief reign of just over five years, Mary had almost three hundred people [[burning at the stake|burnt at the stake]] for [[heresy]]. Her persecutions were notable also for the prominence of their victims; the first person to die was the [[Protestant]] [[John Rogers (religious)|John Rogers]], who had completed and published Tyndale's work as [[Matthew's Bible]]. While heresy trials and executions occurred both before and after her reign, she executed more than twice as many as had been executed for this crime over the preceding century and a half. |
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==In folklore== |
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In [[folklore]], '''Bloody Mary''' is the name of a children's game in which a [[ghost]] or [[witch]] of the same name (or sometimes other names, such as '''Mary Worth''') is said to appear in a [[mirror]] when summoned. One of the more common ways participants attempt to make her appear is to stand before a mirror in the dark and repeat her name three times, though there are many variations. Some include chanting a hundred times, spinning around, or rubbing one's eyes. Most of these are meant to disorient people. In some versions of the legend, the summoner must say "Bloody Mary, I killed your son!" (or "I killed your baby"). In these variants, Bloody Mary is often believed to be the spirit of a mother who [[child murder|murdered her children]], or a woman who was murdered shortly before or after her wedding. Similar rituals are used to summon spirits in the movies ''[[Beetlejuice]]'' ([[1988]]) and ''[[Candyman]]'' ([[1992]]). |
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Bloody Mary Worth is typically described as a child-murderess who lived in the locality where the legend has taken root about a century ago. There is often a specific local [[graveyard]] or [[tombstone]] that becomes attached to the legend. |
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On the other hand, various people have surmised that the lore about taunting Bloody Mary about her baby may relate her tenuously to folklore about Queen Mary I. ([http://www.mythology.com/bloodymary.html], [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/bloody.htm]) The queen's life was marked by a number of [[miscarriage]]s or [[false pregnancy|false pregnancies]]. Had Mary I successfully borne a child, this would have established a Roman Catholic succession and threatened the continuance of her [[religious persecution]]s after her death. As a result, some retellings of the tale make Bloody Mary the queen driven to madness by the loss of her children. ([http://www.ghosts.org/faq/bloodymary2.html]) It is likely, however, that Queen Mary I provided only her nickname to the Bloody Mary of folklore. |
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She is also confused in some tellings of the story with [[Mary Queen of Scots]]. Bloody Mary is sometimes said to have bathed in the blood of her child victims in order to retain a youthful complexion; this would appear to confound her with [[Elizabeth Báthory]]. |
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==In ''South Pacific''== |
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'''Bloody Mary''' is also the name of a major character in the [[Richard Rodgers|Rodgers]] and [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Hammerstein]] musical ''[[South Pacific]]''. She is a native islander, a trader and a somewhat salty character in the play, but there is no known link between the ghost folklore and the musical. [[Juanita Hall]] originated the character on the stage, and also played her in the [[1958]] [[motion picture]] version. |
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A song about her makes [[U.S. Navy]] sailors sing, ''Bloody Mary is the girl I love'', ''her skin is as tender as [[Joe DiMaggio|DiMaggio's]] [[baseball glove|glove]]'', and that she chews ''[[betel nut]]s'', and doesn't use ''[[Pepsodent]]'', with the refrain ''Now ain't that too damn bad!'' |
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==Other Bloody Marys== |
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In the [[fiction]]al universe of [[DC Comics]], "Bloody Mary" is a member of the [[Female Furies]], enemies of the [[New Gods]]. She is a [[vampire]] with the further power of being able to fire dangerous eye beams. |
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The [[Bloody Mary (cocktail)|Bloody Mary cocktail]] likely gets its name from the red [[tomato juice]] or [[V8 juice]] that is its defining ingredient; its only likely relationship with the queen, the witch, or the other characters is the name. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Bloody Mary folklore in popular culture]] |
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* [[List of ghosts]] |
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==References== |
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* [[La Llorona]] |
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{{reflist|refs= |
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* [[legend tripping]] |
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<ref name="Ellis">{{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=Bill |title=Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture |publisher=[[University of Kentucky]] Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8131-2289-2}}</ref> |
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<ref name="Snopes">{{Cite web |last=Staff |title=Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bloody Mary |url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/bloodymary.asp |access-date=2020-12-02 |website=[[Snopes]].com|date=27 April 2001 }}</ref> |
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<ref name="Caputo">{{Cite journal |last=Caputo |first=Giovanni B |year=2010 |title=Strange Face in the Mirror Illusion |url=http://www.perceptionweb.com/abstract.cgi?id=p6466 |url-status=dead |journal=Perception |volume=39 |issue=7 |pages=1007–1008 |doi=10.1068/p6466 |pmid=20842976 |hdl=11576/2502312 |s2cid=32982298 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025085513/http://www.perceptionweb.com/abstract.cgi?id=p6466 |archive-date=2012-10-25 |access-date=October 18, 2012|hdl-access=free }}</ref> |
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<ref name="Hutton">{{Cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |url=https://archive.org/details/stationsofsunhis0000hutt |title=Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (registration required) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-285448-3 |location=Oxford, England |author-link=Ronald Hutton}}</ref> |
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<ref name="Hallow">{{Cite web |title=Bloody Mary |url=http://www.halloween-website.com/bloody_mary.htm |access-date=November 15, 2018 |website=www.Halloween–Website.com |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127015553/http://www.halloween-website.com/bloody_mary.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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<ref name="DeVos">{{Cite book |last=de Vos |first=Gail |date=2012 |title=What Happens Next? Contemporary Urban Legends and Popular Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6HJwCRAlpioC&pg=PA155 |page=155|publisher=Abc-Clio |isbn=9781598846348 }}</ref> |
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<ref name="Illusion">{{Cite web |date=December 2013 |title=''An Optical Illusion that Explains the Origins of Imaginary Monsters'' |url=http://io9.com/5906432/an-optical-illusion-that-explains-the-origins-of-imaginary-monsters |access-date=2020-12-02}}</ref> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [https://gizmodo.com/an-optical-illusion-that-explains-the-origins-of-imagin-5906432 Optical Illusions: Troxler's Fading] |
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{{Ghosts|state=collapsed}} |
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* [http://www.mythology.com/bloodymary.html The Face in the Mirror] is an article with information about the various Bloody Mary ghost legends. |
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{{Urban legends}} |
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* [http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/1997-06-05/feature.html Myths Over Miami] - The supernatural Bloody Mary and related legends among [[homelessness|homeless]] children in south [[Florida]]. |
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* [http://www.ghosts.org/faq/bloodymary2.html Bloody Mary FAQ at ghosts.org] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Bloody Mary (folklore)| ]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Children's street culture]] |
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[[Category:Cultural depictions of Elizabeth Báthory]] |
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[[Category:Female ghosts]] |
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[[Category:Supernatural urban legends]] |
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[[Category:Witches in folklore]] |
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Latest revision as of 17:41, 26 December 2024
Bloody Mary is a legend of a ghost, phantom, witch, or spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is chanted repeatedly. The Bloody Mary apparition may be benevolent or malevolent, depending on historic variations of the legend. Bloody Mary appearances are mostly witnessed in group participation play.
Ritual
[edit]Historically, the divination ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight of stairs backward holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to catch a view of their future husband's face.[1] There was, however, a chance that they would see a skull (or the face of the Grim Reaper) instead, indicating that they were going to die before they would have the chance to marry.[1][2]
In the ritual of today, Bloody Mary allegedly appears to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name in an act of catoptromancy. This is done by repeatedly chanting her name into a mirror placed in a dimly lit or candle-lit room. The name must be uttered 3 times (or some other specified number of times).[3] Some stories even say you must chant her name into the bathroom mirror 47 times then she will come out of the mirror.[4] The Bloody Mary apparition allegedly appears as a corpse, witch, and ghost that can either be friendly, evil, or a demonic spirit, and is sometimes seen covered in blood (hence the name). The lore surrounding the ritual states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, cursing them, strangling them, stealing their soul, drinking their blood,[citation needed] or scratching their eyes out.[5] Some variations of the ritual call Bloody Mary by a different name—"Hell Mary" and "Mary Worth" are popular examples.[3] The modern legend of Hanako-san in Japan strongly parallels the Bloody Mary mythology.[6] Additionally, in the 1990s the Bloody Mary ritual was represented pop culture and used as a tool to discuss racial and sexual violence and gender oppression.[7]
Identification
[edit]There is some debate on the identification of Bloody Mary and if she is based on a real woman.[8] A number of historical figures have been put forward as candidates for "Mary" including Mary I of England (daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon), who had around 300 religious Protestant dissenters burned at the stake during her reign, earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary";[8] Elizabeth Báthory, a 17th-century Hungarian countess who allegedly tortured and killed around 660 girls and women, bathed in their blood, and was accused of vampirism;[9] and Mary Worth, who has been identified as either a woman who killed slaves escaping the American South via the Underground Railroad[10] or a woman who was burned at the stake during the Witch trials in the early modern period.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Ellis, Bill (2004). Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture. University of Kentucky Press. ISBN 978-0-8131-2289-2.
- ^ Hutton, Ronald (2001). Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (registration required). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-285448-3.
- ^ a b Staff (27 April 2001). "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bloody Mary". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
- ^ Dundes, Alan (1998). "Bloody Mary in the Mirror: A Ritual Reflection of Pre-Pubescent Anxiety". Western Folklore. 57 (2/3): 119–135. doi:10.2307/1500216. ISSN 0043-373X. JSTOR 1500216.
- ^ "Bloody Mary". www.Halloween–Website.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- ^ de Vos, Gail (2012). What Happens Next? Contemporary Urban Legends and Popular Culture. Abc-Clio. p. 155. ISBN 9781598846348.
- ^ Godinez, Mac (2023-11-29). "Violent Reflections: Bloody Mary in 1990s Pop Culture". University of Massachusetts Undergraduate History Journal. 7 (1). doi:10.7275/zmph-jf77.
- ^ a b "'Bloody Mary': Is an English Queen Behind the Haunting Urban Legend?". Curious Archive. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "The Ghost in the Mirror: The Legend of Bloody Mary Revealed". HistoryCollection.com. 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "Legends abound regarding Bloody Mary Worth". Shaw Local. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ Laverty, Deborah (1970). "Bloody Mary, Marshall County, Iowa". Indiana Memory. Archived from the original on 2022-01-26.
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