Who Was Bloody Mary?

How to play. This urban legend has different versions of how to play. The way I was introduced to the game was to chant Bloody Mary 13 times in a mirror in a dark room. No matter what version who were taught, one common theme seems to be going into a bathroom with a candle. You turn off the lights, light the candle, and chant a name or phrase. Upon completion, you either see a bloodied woman named Mary (or Kathy or Agnus or etc) or a demon.

Besides Bloody Mary, other names she goes by are: Bloody Bones, Hell Mary, Mary Worth, Mary Worthington, Mary Whales, Mary Johnson, Mary Lou, Mary Jane, Sally, Kathy, Agnes, Black Agnes, Aggie, and Madame Svarte.

This game could have started in the late 19th or early 20th centuries with a divinity ritual. Young women would walk up a dimly lit staircase backwards, while holding a candle and a mirror. As they walked, they were supposed to see the face of their future husband. If they didn’t, then they were supposed to see a skull or the Grim Reaper. In that case, that meant they were to die before they got married.

But who was Mary? There are theories. Many people believe that the possibilities include a witch, Mary I of England, Mary Queen of Scots, a young girl who died of an illness, or Elizabeth Bathory.

Let’s look into these women.

The Witch. I personally could not find a lot of info on a witch named Mary. At least not one associated with Bloody Mary. But this young woman had supposedly practiced black magic. She wasn’t very well liked because of this. She had been hanged and buried on her property.

Mary I of England (1516-1550). Mary Tudor was the daughter of Henry VIII. That’s right - the same one who killed all of his wives. Mary ruled for five years, from 1553 to 1558, when she died at the age of 42. In those five years, however, she did a lot of damage. If you know anything about English history, then you might know that there were high tensions between Protestants and Catholics. Mary was a devout Catholic. So much so that she ordered 280 Protestants to be burned at the stake. She did pass away from either uterine cancer, ovarian cysts, or influenza. Her half-sister, Elizabeth, claimed the throne upon the death of Mary.

Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587). There isn’t much to back up the idea that this Mary is the infamous Bloody Mary. She was known as a vain queen, but didn’t necessarily kill anybody. Rumor has it that she had a hand in murdering a husband, though.

Mary, the young woman. This cone could be an urban legend within an urban legend asI yet again couldn’t find a whole lot of information. This story revolves around a young woman named Mary who likely had Cataplexy. (That’s when people tend to fall asleep, it’s hard to find a pulse, and the individual’s breathing has slowed. Many people with narcolepsy suffer from it.) Thankfully, Mary lived in a time when they had bells someone could ring if they were prematurely buried. So when Mary had a cataplexy episode, they had thought she died. The only natural next step was to bury her. When she awoke, she rang the bell but there was no one there to dig her up. She died, buried alive.

Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1615). There’s a lot to the Hungarian countess, so we’ll stick to the evidence that makes her Bloody Mary. In 1610, she was accused of murdering a minimum of 600 victims in her castle. She supposedly killed female servants as well as minor noble women who came to her for training and education. It was rumored that she would bathe in the blood of victims, especially virgins, to capture her youth. These rumors, though, came 100 years after death.

There are other theories, but none were as compelling. But even then, I’ll leave it all up to you about who Bloody Mary was.