Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary...Bloody Mary...Bloody Mary...


We've all heard the urban legend - turn off all of the lights in the house, light a candle, find a mirror, and call Bloody Mary's name three (or thirteen, depending on the version of the myth you are working with) times. If performed correctly, a ghostly apparition will appear to reveal the face of a future husband, curse the summoner, attack, or threaten to steal your baby to replace the child she can never have.

Yet somehow, despite millions of attempts, has there ever been a Verifiable Account of this actually working?

No. (But if you said yes, then I want you to send me a link in the comments so I can see for myself).

Have you ever stopped to wonder why? If, for just a moment, we disregard the probability of the Bloody Mary being entirely fictional or the result of either optical illusions or self-hypnosis, then there is a spirit somewhere Out There who answers to the name. On Earth-218, you can thank (or blame, I don't judge) the Ordo Malleus for this.

Bloody Mary, more properly known as Mary Worth, had been an exceptionally beautiful woman but was in an accident that left her horribly disfigured. Driven mad, Mary killed herself in front of a mirror. After she died, her disquiet spirit roamed the land, first manifesting in the mirror of a young woman trying to foresee the appearance of her future husband. Unbeknownst to the girl, she was pregnant and when Mary responded to the summons, she attacked, trying to claim the baby as her own.

A string of killings followed until a member of the Ordo Malleus discovered the culprit. Unable to lay the ghost to rest, they sought to dilute Mary Worth's power by spreading the story as widely as possible - the rationale being that 100 people trying to summon her to different locations would be less dangerous than one person who would have her full attention. Soon, the Order had disseminated the story through every city that had a Catholic church.

Even now, it's not unlikely that someone somewhere is standing in front of their bathroom mirror calling Mary's name in hopes that she will appear...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mur-Deer

Image
I was driving home along Minnesota's North Shore today when "Murder... Mur-Deer" popped into my head today. While you could use the Dire Elk or Legendary Animal template to achieve the same results, I thought I would take a crack at putting stats to the pun. Mur-Deer CR: 6     Large Magical Beast HD: 12d10+72     Hp: 137 Init: +1     Spd: 60'     AC: 16 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +7 Natural); t: 9, ff: 15 Attacks: (BAB +12; Grap +30) ; +20 Gore: 3d6+10 (18-20/×3) or +20 Kick: 3d8+10 (20/×2) SA: Augmented Critical SQ: Darkvision 60', DR5/Mistletoe, Low-Light Vision, Scent Align: N     Saves: Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +6 Str: 31, Dex: 13, Con: 23, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha: 5 Languages: None Skills: Listen +10, Spot +9 Feats: Alertness, Dodge, Iron Will, Mobility, Run, Spirited Charge (b) • Augmented Critical (Ex): The Mur-deer's Gore attack threatens a Critical Hit on natural 18-20 and deals triple damage on a successful Critical Hit. The Mur-Deer may
Read more

Beldam (Other Mother from Coraline)

Image
I watched the movie “ Coraline ” for the first time this weekend.   Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen snippets of the film here and there over the years and I recognized the character when the movie started but I have never sat down and Watched the movie (or read the book).   By the time the show was over, I have to admit that I was fascinated by the entire thing.   The animation and pacing were incredibly well done and the main antagonist was delightfully wicked.   This is who I want to focus on today – Beldam, a.k.a. the Other Mother.   Some viewers may think that she was some sort of demon, offering children their heart’s desire in exchange for their souls, much like a crossroads demon but I feel like she more closely resembles a faerie, a member of the Unseelie Court who is allowed a great deal of independence in her operations.   I also think that since the protagonist, Coraline, was just a child that Beldam wouldn’t necessarily have been overly powerful, holding a relatively low
Read more

The Unstoppable Mr.Darcy

Image
I t started out as an idea for a quick, hopefully humorous one-shot. Over the course of the last year as other, similar material became available, it has grown into a short, but full-blown campaign. Based on the one-page RPGs " Pride and Extreme Prejudice " and " Trapped in a Cabin with Lord Byron " combined with " Sentai & Sensibility " and a smattering of the " d20 Anime " by Guardians of Order and d20 Paragon , I find myself continuing to expand on what was supposed to be a bit of a spoof set during the Napoleonic War. The party, based on the quartet of sisters from P&EP, hail from the Campbell family. Borrowing from Sentai, I think I have settled on the Mecha to be magically powered, summoned by magical combs the girls have, each linked to an iconic British animal - Bull, Raven, Boar, and Stag. By activating their magical focus, they first transform into superhuman warriors, armed with powerful melee weapons and armored in distincti
Read more

The Turducken

Image
There are several "monstrous" versions of the Turducken out there. This is a more grounded version of the bird as if it were a real-world animal. The Turducken is a medium bird weighing 15 to 25 pounds. It has a large, round body with stubby wings and a fan-shaped tail. Their feet are webbed. Most notably, they have three heads. The center head is that of a turkey, flanked by those of a duck and a chicken. Their diet is varied, consisting of aquatic plants, grasses, small vertebrates like frogs and salamanders, mollusks, and insects. Turducken CR: 3     Small Magical Beast      HD: 5d8+10    Hp: 34 Init: +0    Spd: 10', fly 40' (clumsy), swim 20' AC: 13 (+1 size, +2 Natural), t: 11, ff: 12 Attacks: (BAB +5; Grap-3); +6 Claws: 1d4-4 and +1 Bite: 1d2-4 and +1 2 Bites: 1-4 SA: - - SQ: Darkvision 60', Low-Light Vision, Multiple Heads Align: N     Saves: Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1 Str: 3, Dex; 11, Con: 14, Int: 2, Wis: 10, Cha: 11 Skills: Li
Read more

Osse - The Forgotten Continent of the Forgotten Realms

Image
Osse is one least detailed continents of the Forgotten Realms.   There is almost no canon information regarding it or its inhabitants.   Even the Forgotten Realms wiki has little to say about this Australian-analog. So, of course, my players will be going there eventually .   I sat down with what little information I had and began fleshing out ideas for what I feel should be there.   It isn’t far from Kara-Tur and that got me to thinking about Monster Island from the old Godzilla movies so I decided that Osse must be the spawning ground for Kaiju.   There is also no equivalent (at last not really) for the myths of Atlantis so I made the interior of the continent home to my own version of that as well.   This is what I came up with. Capital: None Population: 711,813 (68% Ossean Human, 22% Poseidian Human, 4% Lizardfolk, 3% Aarakocra, 1% Mountain Dwarf, 1% Shoal Halfling) Government: City-States, Tribes Religion: Jazirian (also known as the Rainbow Serpent), Bahloo (Sel
Read more

Obvious Octopus

Image
I hereby present two versions of Obvious Octopus for use in your campaigns. The first was made using Steve Jackson's TOON and other is a d20 Modern version of the D&D 3.5e Toon race. Obvious Octopus Description: Obvious is a orange octopus with blue eyes. He normally uses four of his arms for walking and the other four to manipulate objects. Beliefs & Goals: Obvious is always hungry and his favorite food is hamburgers. He is outgoing, friendly, and loves being the center of attention. Hit Points: 9 ATTRIBUTE MUSCLE: 3 ZIP: 3 SMARTS: 4 CHUTZPAH: 4 SKILLS Fast Talk: +9 Hide/Spot Hidden: +9 Resist Fast Talk: +9 Sneak: +7 Swim: +7 SHTICKS: Quick Change/Disguise: +5 Quick Change/Disguise You can change nearly instantly into a convincing costume of just about anyone or anything — with a few limitations. You can change any aspect of your personal appearance, but not your basic size or weight. A canary could disguise itself as a parakeet, or a mouse, or per
Read more