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...

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