Bloody Mary Legend
The Bloody Mary Legend
The Bloody Mary Legend and myth holds great mystery. What did the Bloody Mary Legend have to do with Queen Mary Tudor of England, if anything? Certainly the very name 'Bloody Mary' conjures lurid thoughts. Queen Mary Tudor was certainly the first famous person to be given this nickname. There are many theories as to the identity of the real Bloody Mary of legend. Was Bloody Mary the Queen Mary of England? Was Bloody Mary a woman named Mary Worth? Or was Bloody Mary a notorious witch? First of all what is the Bloody Mary Legend or myth?
What is the Bloody Mary Legend?
The Bloody Mary legend, or myth, is based on the story that if the Bloody Mary of Legend was summoned this would unleash an evil spirit from the past. In the Bloody Mary legend the ghost or spirit of Bloody Mary could be summoned by chanting "Bloody Mary!" into a mirror in a dark room lit only by a candle. The evil spirit unleashed in the form of Bloody Mary might perform any number of terrifying acts from bloody murder to abduction. The Bloody Mary Legend and myth has the power to spark the imagination and her story is used as a basis for the ghost stories told to frighten any listeners. Re-enacting the Bloody Mary Legend enables people to satisfy their craving for excitement by participating in scary ritual games in the dark.
Was Bloody Mary Real?
Was Bloody Mary real? No-one really knows but lets examine the contenders and the stories that surround them. Mary Worth? A popular character in a comic strip. A witch? The original Bloody Mary could have been a witch - if of course you believe in witches. To find out whether Bloody Mary was real you really have to look at actual figures in history...
Was Bloody Mary Real? Historical contenders
A woman called Countess Elizabeth Bathory Nadasdy ( 1560 - 1614 ) is famous as a real historical figure who was reputed to have not only drunk but bathed in the blood of young virgin girls in order to retain her youth. The Bloody Mary legend could have been based on the actions of this evil and cruel woman. The next contender is Queen Mary Tudor ( 1516 - 1558 ). Of course she was not given this nickname until after her death. Queen Mary Tudor was a Catholic who was responsible for the deaths of English protestants. These protestants were burnt at the stake, the favoured method of execution by the Spanish Inquisition. The threat of the Spanish inquisition terrified the English. The inquisition was a real threat as Spain launched an invasion plan with the Spanish Armada in 1588. It was defeated but the English feared a Catholic monarch and severely blackened the name of Queen Mary Tudor because of this. Countess Elizabeth Bathory Nadasdy was alive during the Tudor period. Combine the stories of the two women and throw in some myths about witches and you probably get close to the basis of the Bloody Mary legend. What we can confirm is that the Bloody Mary Drink Recipe, which contains blood red tomato juice, is named after Queen Mary Tudor!
Bloody Mary and the Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Nursery Rhyme
The origins of Myths, legends and even Nursery Rhymes are steeped in history. The words to the seemingly innocent Nursery Rhyme 'Mary, Mary Quite Contrary' is also believed to refer to Bloody Mary. The garden referred to is an allusion to graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared to continue to adhere to the Protestant faith. The Protestant martyrs who died in the reign of Bloody Mary. The silver bells and cockle shells referred to in the Nursery Rhyme were colloquialisms for instruments of torture. The 'silver bells' were thumbscrews which crushed of the thumb between two hard surfaces by the tightening a screw. The 'cockleshells' were believed to be instruments of torture which were attached to the genitals! The " Maids" or Maiden was the original guillotine! We recommend the following link if you want to find out more about the History and Origins of Nursery Rhymes.
The Bloody Mary Legend
The basis of the Bloody Mary Legend cannot be proved. We cannot confirm that the character in the Bloody Mary legend was a real person. What we can say is that the origins of myths, legends and even Nursery Rhymes are steeped in historical fact. These facts have usually been distorted by the 'Spin Doctors' of the era. In actual fact Queen Mary Tudor Bloody Mary executed 287 Protestants during her reign which was far less than her father King Henry VIII who executed 57,000 people during his reign. It is always worth remembering that 'History is written by the Victors'.
