'Bloody Mary': Research.

To try and find some answers to the questions I posed about the Bloody Mary urban legend a few weeks ago, I've been doing some research. Here is what I found...

1.) Where did the name "Bloody Mary" originate?
It was hard to find an exact answer concerning the legend, as there are not many real scholarly sources on the tale. Most of the legend has developed through word-of-mouth and internet blogs, so that is where I ended up having to gain most of my information. An article on About.com describes the Bloody Mary spirit originally as a vain young girl named Mary Worth, who ended up being disfigured in some kind of horrible accident that caused her to be terrified of her reflection. Popular urban legend website Snopes.com describes the Bloody Mary story as either a witch who was executed hundreds of years ago, or a modern-day woman who was disfigured in a car accident (again, the theme of injury in some kind of accident). Snopes also goes on to explain that the name Mary may have been taken from historically infamous queens, such as Mary I of England and Mary Queen of Scotts, despite these two historical figures being far from murderous or having anything to do with blood. In the scholarly study of Bloody Mary by Alan Dundes, he asks children folklorists about the tale, and say they have heard reports of several variations of the Bloody Mary name, ranging from Bloody Mary, Mary Worth, Mary Jane, and Mary Whales. Though it is unsure of where exactly these names originated from, as each child that was interviewed from different areas had heard a different rendition of the tale.

2.) What are some of the most popular versions of the urban legend tale?
Many of legend variations being told around the internet either involve a vain young girl in love with her beauty being horribly disfigured in some kind of accident, usually a car crash. If not this, then the second most popular version is the story of a disturbed witch who dabbled in the black arts. These stories are not set in stone, however--there are many, many other versions of the legend that depend on the area on which it is told, the age of the children telling it, etc.


3.) What are some versions of the ritual used in the urban legend to summon Bloody Mary?
All variations of the tale involve a darkened mirror. How to actually 'summon' Bloody Mary depends on each variation of the story. Usually it involves some kind of chanting--saying the name "Bloody Mary" or "Mary Worth" a certain number of times, in a certain volume or tone. Sometimes it involves repeating phrases, such as "I believe in Mary Worth". It can even involve the movement of spinning in circles, the use of a candle, and even a drop of blood.


4.) How is Bloody Mary portrayed in pop culture?
Bloody Mary is a great mysterious and chilling tale that many films and movies have taken advantage of. TV show Supernatural based an episode off of the legend, while horror films such as Candyman and Bloody Mary have gotten inspiration from the legend in varying degrees. There is also the famous cocktail drink called 'Bloody Mary', but its debatable how relateable the drink and the legend are.

5.) Are there any other supernatural legends similar to that of Bloody Mary?
When various online research articles attempt to dissect the Bloody Mary urban legend, many of them come up with many cases of Victorian era 'spells', that involve young woman seeing their future spouses in a dark mirror, etc. There is also the Spanish legend of La Llorona, aka the "Weeping Woman", who is a disgruntled ghost who wanders the earth after killing her own children during her living days.