17th Century Salem Manuscripts Unearthed That Give Insight Into "Bloody Mary" Legend

[snopes]

Chicago area based MK4 Productions has completed their production of the feature film, "THE LEGEND OF BLOODY MARY". The film's screenplay incorporates the findings of seventeenth century Salem manuscripts detailing the punishment and execution of the sixteen year old Puritan girl, Mary Worth -- now popularly known as Bloody Mary.

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2.../emw559669.htm

[Lancastrian]

Wait... Salem as in Salem, Massachusetts? Last time I TA'd that History of Witchcraft class, there wasn't a Mary Worth during the witchtrials there. Marys, yes, but not with that last name.

She must be so powerful she inserted herself in to history! Magic!

[Tootsie Plunkette]

When I look in the mirror I often see Mary Worth looking back at me. Unfortunately, there's no magic involved, and she looks more like this Mary Worth...

[Lawgiver]

Originally Posted by Lancastrian

Wait... Salem as in Salem, Massachusetts? Last time I TA'd that History of Witchcraft class, there wasn't a Mary Worth during the witchtrials there. Marys, yes, but not with that last name.

She must be so powerful she inserted herself in to history! Magic!

It doesn't say in the article that it was part of the witch trials, maybe it was a whole different execution, and I'm not having any look googling.

[PallasAthena]

Huh. When I was a kid, we always thought Bloody Mary was the Bloody Mary, Queen of England and that she'd cut off your head. None of this Mary Worth stuff. Wasn't Mary Worth a character from the newspaper funny pages?

[Jonny T]

Queen Mary is known as Bloody Mary; there is a separate character who is also referred to by that name, and also as Mary Worth, who supposedly appears to you in the mirror etc.

[Lancastrian]

Originally Posted by Lawgiver

It doesn't say in the article that it was part of the witch trials, maybe it was a whole different execution, and I'm not having any look googling.

I tend to doubt that, as the witchtrials are the main thing connected with Salem, MA in people's minds these days. If they were going on about a random legal execution, wouldn't they go into more detail about why that created a mirror witch? I expect they are alluding to the hangings because they probably expected the trials were well known enough they wouldn't have to go on about it and reveal they were making stuff up.

[PallasAthena]

Originally Posted by Jonny T

Queen Mary is known as Bloody Mary; there is a separate character who is also referred to by that name, and also as Mary Worth, who supposedly appears to you in the mirror etc.

Yeah, for us, the Bloody Mary who appears in the mirror was Queen Mary not a different Mary. Just different interpretations of the myth I guess. Or maybe we were nerds. Okay, we were definitely nerds.

[norseone]

There was a Mary Warren, but no Mary Worth. Like others, I also thought that Bloody Mary was Elizabeth I's older sister.

I remember playing the "Bloody Mary" game when I was a kid. We all took turns in a bathroom scaring each other to see who could last the longest alone. My daughter says that she had played something simmilar at a sleep over a while back. So is this a movie?

[Simply Madeline]

I frequently see the effects of several bloody marys when I look in the mirror. But it has nothing to do with witches or legends.

[Brad from Georgia]

I did quite a lot of research into the Salem Village witchcraft era some years back for one of my novels (The Hand of the Necromancer, if you must know), and I'm quite sure I never ran across the name "Mary Worth." I would've remembered that.

[Lancastrian]

Originally Posted by Brad from Georgia

I did quite a lot of research into the Salem Village witchcraft era some years back for one of my novels (The Hand of the Necromancer, if you must know), and I'm quite sure I never ran across the name "Mary Worth." I would've remembered that.

Yeah, you'd think if that specific name was going to be inserted into popular memory of the event Miller would have done it with The Crucible. If she's not in the history or the basis for most historical corruptions, she wasn't there.

[Pseudo_Croat]

Originally Posted by norseone

There was a Mary Warren, but no Mary Worth.

Could the former have turned into the latter through the years through youngsters mis-remebering her name? After all, many a legend has come about through exaggeration and distortion of history/reality (as Snopes and Barbara can tell you).

- Pseudo "I believe in Mary Warren" Croat

[Nonny Mouse]

Originally Posted by Pseudo_Croat

Could the former have turned into the latter through the years through youngsters mis-remebering her name? After all, many a legend has come about through exaggeration and distortion of history/reality (as Snopes and Barbara can tell you).

- Pseudo "I believe in Mary Warren" Croat

That's as good a theory as any. No way of knowing if it's right or not, but it's plausible enough.

Nonny

[Ezri]

There is a link to a site called "Marked4Mary.com" near the bottom and on that page you can find a story behind the "Mary Worth" name, it's either very made up or very real I can't tell.

[quiltsbypam]

Every time I see this thread I get an earworm from South Pacific...

[hambubba]

Originally Posted by quiltsbypam

Every time I see this thread I get an earworm from South Pacific...

Stop it!

[Not_Done_Living]

That "marked for Mary" website is seriously lacking in information and high in filler..

i did this as a child, and call me crazy but somethign did happen. the mirror where i had chosen to do this (in my doctors office of all places) shattered and they havent replaced it yet. (this was about 12 or 13 years ago!)

the bathroom in the waiting area of my doctors office is a little unusual in the fact that it has no windows, its just a closet with a toilet and sink, grafetti on the walls thats been there for years.

when you close the door its compleatly dark if you turn out the lights. its not fun at all to be in there even when your not summoning spirits of the dead. the room always gives me the creeps. on another occasion i was in there standing at the sink when the light bulb burst, i tried to open the door and i couldnt get it opened. i was so scared, lol. i finally got out but i really have to be desparate to go in there even now.