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* The 2006 film ''[[Bloody Mary (2006)|Bloody Mary]]'' is based on the legend.
* The 2006 film ''[[Bloody Mary (2006)|Bloody Mary]]'' is based on the legend.
* In [[Clive Barker]]'s ''[[Candyman (film)|Candyman]]'' films, the Candyman is summoned in a similar way.
* In [[Clive Barker]]'s ''[[Candyman (film)|Candyman]]'' films, the Candyman is summoned in a similar way.
* The 2006 film, ''[[Urban Legends: Bloody Mary]]'' is part of the ''[[Urban Legend (film)|Urban Legend]] film series
* In 2008 film, ''[[The Legend of Bloody Mary]] by director John Stecenko, the character Amy goes missing for good after playing the game "Bloody Mary"
* In 2008, for its annual "[[Halloween Horror Nights]]" event, [[Universal Studios Florida]] developed a new variation of the legend. In their version, "Mary" was a doctor who studied fear by exposing her patients to it. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_orlando/2008/09/universal-craft.html|title=Universal crafts Bloody Mary bio for Halloween Horror Nights|first=Dewayne|last=Bevil|publisher=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=2008-09-25|accessdate=2008-10-14}}</ref>
* In 2008, for its annual "[[Halloween Horror Nights]]" event, [[Universal Studios Florida]] developed a new variation of the legend. In their version, "Mary" was a doctor who studied fear by exposing her patients to it. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_orlando/2008/09/universal-craft.html|title=Universal crafts Bloody Mary bio for Halloween Horror Nights|first=Dewayne|last=Bevil|publisher=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=2008-09-25|accessdate=2008-10-14}}</ref>
* The legend was [[Parody|parodied]] in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[Hell on Earth 2006]]" with Bloody Mary replaced by [[The Notorious B.I.G.|Biggie Smalls]].
* The legend was [[Parody|parodied]] in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[Hell on Earth 2006]]" with Bloody Mary replaced by [[The Notorious B.I.G.|Biggie Smalls]].

Revision as of 19:45, 23 October 2011

For other uses, see Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary is a

witch featured in English folklore. She is said to appear in a mirror
when her name is called three times or sometimes more while in a dark room, depending upon the version of the story, often as part of a game or dare.

Overview

One of the more common ways participants attempt to make her appear is to stand before a mirror (usually in the dark) and repeat her name 3 times, though there are many variations including chanting more than 3 times, chanting at midnight, spinning around, rubbing one's eyes, running the water, or chanting her name thirteen times with a lit candle. In some versions of the legend, the summoner must say, "Bloody Mary, I killed your baby." In these variants, Bloody Mary is often believed to be the spirit of a young mother whose baby was stolen from her, making her mad with grief, eventually committing suicide. In stories where Mary is supposed to have been wrongly accused of killing her children, the querent might say "I believe in Mary Worth." This is similar to another game involving the summoning of

deceased person until 11:08a.m., when Bloody Mary and the dead person asked to speak to will vanish. Still other variations say that the querent must not look directly at Bloody Mary, but at her image in the mirror; she will then reveal the querent's future, particularly concerning marriage and children.[1]

Divination rituals such as the one depicted on this early 20th century Halloween greeting card, where a woman stares into a mirror in a darkened room to catch a glimpse of the face of her future husband, while a witch lurks in the shadows, may be one origin of the Bloody Mary legend.

Bloody Mary Worth is typically described as a child-murderer who lived in the local city where the legend has taken root years ago, somewhere in the west. There is often a specific local

tombstone that becomes attached to the legend and a destination for legend trips
.

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, also known as "Bloody Mary," whose life was marked by a number of miscarriages or false pregnancies.[2][3] Speculation exists that the miscarriages were deliberately induced. As a result, some retellings of the tale make Bloody Mary the queen driven to madness by the loss of her children.[4] The mirror ritual by which Bloody Mary is summoned may also relate to a form of

skull-face of the Grim Reaper instead; this meant that they were destined to die before they married.[1][5]

Cultural references

The legend of Bloody Mary has served as inspiration for a number of

movies and television shows dealing with the supernatural.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-8131-2289-9
    .
  2. ^ a b "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bloody Mary". Snopes.
  3. ^ "Bloody Mary, Mary Worth and other variants of a modern legend". MythologyWeb.
  4. ^ "Bloody Mary". Obiwan's UFO-Free Paranormal Page.
  5. ISBN 0-19-285448-8
    .
  6. ^ Bevil, Dewayne (2008-09-25). "Universal crafts Bloody Mary bio for Halloween Horror Nights". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  7. Internet Movie Database
    .

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloody_Mary_(folklore)&oldid=457029705"