Bloody Mary’s Real Story and Legends Explained

by | Nov 24, 2016 | Modern Myths, Mythological Beings

The legend of Bloody Mary is yet another story of a scary ghost. Ghost, spirit, or phantom, whatever you might call it. But who was the real bloody Mary?

Bloody Mary In The Mirror

Blood Mary is associated with mirrors. The myths mention that she will appear in a mirror when called upon. This might be either a good thing or it could take a super-scary-ass turn. Different versions, and therefore, different myths, exist pertaining to whether the spirit is malicious or not.

The earliest accounts describe young girls looking into a mirror with the purpose of seeing the face of their future husband, a practice gone wrong, when instead of a handsome guy, a skull or the Grim Reaper appears as reflection. Versions of urban legends mention something else altogether.

Bloody Mary Looks Like What?

bloody mary looks like what

Modern narrations purport that Blood Mary will herself appear in the mirror. She looks like a witch or a ghost. Depending on the several kinds of versions, she will either be harmless or harmful. She is also described as being covered in blood, hence the name.

Japan’s Hanako-San Story (The Bloody Mary Equivalent)

Urban legend Hanako-san from Japan bears close resemblance to the story of Blood Mary.

The legend of Blood Mary is also often mixed up with historical personality Queen Mary I who is also commonly known as “Blood Mary”. She might have earned this unpleasant nickname because of her alleged miscarriages and false pregnancies. Furthermore, she is said to have indulged in violent religious practices which would have fueled the naming process.

Does Blood Mary exist?

Perhaps, people believing in ghosts and spirits will find no problem attesting to her occurrence. Science, on the other hand, has an explanation: people saying they’ve seen Blood Mary in the mirror might not be lying. Not exactly. According to science, persisting in looking into a mirror in a poorly-lit room might cause ‘hallucinaion’. The person might see distorted or disappearing facial features. Others can even see strange faces or those of animals. This phenomenon has been named “strange-face illusion” by Giovanni Caputo who explains that it might be resulting from an ‘error’ in the brain facial recognition system.

So, Blood Mary might not be a total myth- it could just be literally a figment of the imagination.

5 Comments

  1. Bloody mary was based on the Blood Countess, Erzsébet Bathory

    Reply
  2. bloody marry is a stupid game that children play adults grow up bloody marry is not real

    Reply
  3. I believe that energy can not be destroyed and changes form. But I think that the science world has yet to be fully developed yet!

    Reply
  4. Bloody Mary was based on Queen Mary the first. She was cursed with the name Bloody Mary because during her reign, she had countless people executed for going against the Catholic Church. Her father was the one who broke away from the church and created “The Church of England”, following the protestant faith.(he only did that because the pope would not an ill his marriage from Mary’s mother, whom he wanted to divorce so that he could marry Anne Boylen). Even though he broke from the church, and granted his own divorce, before marrying Anne, making a baby with her, (and then had her executed so he could marry someone else), once he died, the courts ruled that Mary was the legitimate heir to the throne. Mary was still Catholic just like her mother that had been banished when the former king divorced her. Once Mary took the throne, she waged war against any and all citizens who did not return to practicing the Catholic faith. She had countless people beheaded. She had homes burnt down, and entire families killed. She was insanely paranoid about people conspiring against her, and had numerous people executed for that reason as well. During those years, she tried and failed miserably to conceive an heir. She was so desperate to have a baby, she even suffered a false or “phantom” pregnancy. Meaning, her body went through all the changes a pregnant womans body will go through, including the stopped periods and growing belly. She never had a baby. And she eventually died from what doctors today think may have been ovarian cancer. She was famous for all the blood on her hands during her reign as England’s ruler. She was given the name Bloody Mary because of that.

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  5. Bloody mary is just a myth i wont never do it

    Reply

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