NAME.....Bloody Mary
CODE.....HR4705
ORIGIN...Unknown
STATUS...False

A group of girls are having a sleepover, and sometime during the night they decide to take it in turns to tell each other ghost stories. By the time the story telling reaches Anne's turn, all the girls are already feeling freaked out. After thinking hard, Anne decides to tell a story that her Aunty used to tell her. The name of the story is 'Bloody Mary' and goes something like this:

Over one hundred years ago, a woman by the name of 'Mary Worth' was lynched from her family home by an angry mob accusing her of witchcraft. She was tortured and then burned at the stake witnessed by the whole village. As the burning flames engulfed her, she screamed out a curse damning the whole village.

It is said that the vengeful spirit of Mary Worth can be summoned by looking directly into a mirror after it is dark and with no lights on. After repeating 'Bloody Mary' five times, her face will appear in the mirror and…well, no one knows!

After Anne has told her story, the girls are shocked into silence. After a short period they start giggling nervously and dare each other to go into the bathroom, turn out the lights, look into the mirror and repeat 'Bloody Mary' five times. Anne takes up the challenge and tells the girls that it was just a story and that she doesn't believe in Mary Worth anyway.

Anne enters the bathroom, and the girls hear her repeat 'Bloody Mary' five times. After the fifth time there is deadly silence, and the girls start knocking on the bathroom door asking if Anne was all right. After a few minutes the door slowly opens and Anne appears in the doorway. She is visibly shaking and has gone as white as a ghost. She is clenching her fists so hard that she has drawn blood in the palms of her hand.

Anne could never tell the girls what actually happened in that bathroom, and has never been able to talk about it since!

Summary

A story to spice up any sleepover, don't you agree? An absolute classic horror tale that has all the ingredients for a UL, with garnish sprinkled on top. The tale actually incorporates a story within a story, making it seem very real, and very disturbing. The main story centres around a sleepover with a bunch of girls. I am sure that almost everyone reading this (boys and girls) has been involved in a sleepover of some kind, and can relate to the story. I mean, who hasn't told scary stories, trying to spook each other once the lights have gone out?

The story that Anne told was different though, like playing with a Ouija board, innocent fun can turn dangerous. As the old saying goes 'if you play with matches, you will get burnt!' So why did Anne tempt fate by going in the bathroom and summoning the ghost of Mary Worth? I think we all know that answer; it's the thrill of the dare, the excitement of facing the unknown.

The name of the spirit that is summoned varies from version to version; the following are the most popular:

Bloody Mary, Mary Worth, Hell Mary, Mary Worthington
Mary Whales, Mary Johnson, Mary Lou, Mary Jane
Kathy, Sally Agnes, Bloody Bones,
Svarte Madame La Llorna, The Devil

The amount of times that the name is chanted into the mirror also varies from version to version. One variant is that you begin by chanting the name in a whisper, after each chant you raise your voice gradually. After the 13th chant Mary Worth appears in the mirror and slashes your face. Normally the chant is "Bloody Mary", but also can be "I believe in Mary Worth" or "Kathy, come out!"

Final Thoughts

The origins of this UL cannot be easily traced, although throughout the history of mythology mirrors have often been used as a gateway to other dimensions. In the past, mirrors have been covered up after there has been a death in the house. This is so the spirit of the deceased cannot glimpse at it's self in a mirror, damning the spirit to haunt our world forever.