The legend of Bloody Mary has long been a childhood rite of passage. The most common version of the ritual sees participants staring into a bathroom mirror by candlelight and saying ‘Bloody Mary’ 13 times. Various versions of the conjuring ritual have been around for centuries, with regional incarnations of the legend present across the globe. There are a few potential points of origin, with Queen Mary I (who was eventually dubbed Bloody Mary) being the frontrunner. But seeing as the lore predates the modern era, it’s impossible to say with any degree of certainty precisely where the legend originated. With that in mind, I will give you a primer on each of the possible culprits and let you decide from there.
First Up, Queen Mary I
Queen Mary I is the child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Henry VIII divorced Mary’s mother by labeling the union incestuous. Catherine had been married to the king’s brother for a brief time and used that as justification to invalidate the marriage. The King quickly remarried Anne Boleyn and Mary was ultimately declared an illegitimate child and her title changed from ‘princess’ to ‘lady’. Henry VIII then broke from his Catholic roots and started the Church of England.
Although her parents divorced, Smithsonian Magazine reports that Mary was reluctant to acknowledge the dissolution of the union and only mended ways with her father after Anne was executed in 1536. Upon her father’s death, Mary’s half-brother Edward VI rose to power and adopted Protestant views, much to Mary’s chagrin.
Upon Edward’s death, Mary and her half-sister Elizabeth were in line for the throne but Edward VI went against their father’s wishes and appointed Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant cousin. Not one to back down, Mary rallied supporters, marched on London (with Elizabeth by her side), and reclaimed her birthright. Her ascension to the throne made Mary the first English queen to rise to power of her own volition and not as the spouse of a king. A devout Catholic, Mary reportedly burned as many as 300 Protestants at the stake during her tenure as Queen.
Mary died at the age of 42, leaving the world without an heir to the throne. However, Elizabeth had been by her side and was ready to assume the title.
Though she was dubbed ‘Bloody Mary’ for a perceived penchant for violence, it’s likely that Mary wasn’t any more violent than your average monarch and she may have been mislabeled as violent based on being a woman in a position of power at a time when that was all but unheard of. So, that’s an important piece of historical context to take into account when considering her reign.
Elizabeth Bathory And Her Penchant For Virgin Blood
Elizabeth Báthory is another potential inspiration for the urban legend. The suspected serial killer is believed to have murdered as many as 600 women. She came from an aristocratic family, with familial ties to the King of Poland. Her proclivities led to Bathory being dubbed the ‘Blood Countess’. Although, it’s important to note there is still debate as to whether she is guilty of all the crimes she stands accused of, or if misinformation may be partially to blame.
At age 15, Bathory married Count Ferenc Nadasdy. Some accounts suggest her husband advised her in various torture methods, taking inspiration from his time as a soldier. Bathory is suspected of murdering female servants and noblewomen she was tasked with educating. The majority of her crimes likely took place after the death of her husband in 1604.
Bathory’s victims were tortured in a number of cruel ways. In warm months, she would cover young women in honey and leave them outdoors as insect bait. In the winter months, Bathory would subject her victims to lethal ice baths. She was also known to use genital mutilation and reportedly inserted needles under the fingers of the women she killed.
Although rumors of her bathing in the blood of her victims have long prevailed, Biography notes that those don’t come from firsthand accounts. In fact, the earliest documented claims of that behavior originated at least 100 years after her death.
In 1610, Bathory was sentenced to house arrest. Because of her status, she was kept from serving actual prison time. Several of Bathory’s servants were taken into custody and revealed they had been tasked with burying the bodies of a multitude of victims. However, Bathory’s servants were tortured by authorities, making their statements impossible to take at face value. Speculation abounds that some of the claims against her may have been driven by ulterior motives. However, there is ample evidence to suggest Bathory had a violent streak.
A Witch Named Mary Worth
The third possible source of the grisly legend is Mary Worth, a woman condemned to burn at the stake for the perceived crime of witchcraft. Little is known about Mary Worth and some argue that she is a work of fiction. I am inclined to agree that Mary Worth may be an urban legend. There is very little corroborating information to support her existence. While it’s possible her story is true, it’s more likely she is an amalgamation of several women or entirely made up.
So, there you have it. Bloody Mary was likely inspired by (in order of likelihood) Queen Mary I, Elizabeth Bathory, or Mary Worth. But is there any validity to claims she will appear in the mirror when you say her name 13 times? Not really. However, there are some plausible theories as to how the legend may have come to be.
Perhaps the most likely explanation regarding reports of a specter that emerges from the mirror is the simplest: Staring into reflective glass for extended periods of time has been known to induce hallucinations and can sometimes produce a dissociative effect. That’s easy enough to recognize now. But the time from which such legends originate was a less informed one. One needn’t look too far back into history to understand that superstitions once ran wild. Hundreds of years ago, people were more prone to take what they saw at face value. And If I know anything, it’s that introspection, investigation, and verification are key to understanding the world around us.
Categorized:Editorials Horror IRL
