Stand in front of a mirror, shut off the lights, spin around, chant ‘Bloody Mary’ three times and prepare for the scare of your life. Some say that the terrifying spirit called forth is that of Queen Mary I. Others believe that the ghost is that of Mary Worth, though little proof exists that confirms her existence.
Perhaps you don’t believe the legend itself. Put an end to your skepticism by perusing these real-life accounts of encounters with Bloody Mary herself.
1. Her Mouth Was Wide But There Was Dead Silence
Photo Credit: Mon Œilr / Flickr (CC)Marisa and her friend had just finished watching an eerie episode of Ghost Whisperer, and Marisa wanted to scare her friend, one of her favorite activities. So, Marisa looked into her living room mirror, spun three times, saying “Bloody Mary”. No ghost appeared, so she went to the bathroom to try again. Against the warning of her friend, Marisa shut off the lights, closed the door, and repeated the chant.
Related: The Legend of Bloody Mary
When she looked into the mirror this time, there was still nothing. Disappointed, she was about to flip on the light when she caught a glimpse of something. She looked closer—and discovered a black and white woman with her mouth open wide. Marisa expected a scream from the apparition, but found only dead, terrifying silence. The woman in the mirror lifted her arms, and Marisa saw that her hands were bright red: not with polish, but with blood. Her fingernails had been torn off. Hands reached out from behind Marisa and grabbed her shoulders. Marisa screamed, turned on the light, and ran from the bathroom.
2. The Old Woman With Cuts on Her Face
Katie was only nine years old when she and her friends decided to attempt Bloody Mary at her house one weekend. The five friends carefully carried candles to the bathroom and began chanting ‘Bloody Mary.’ As they chanted, an old woman with cuts across her face and chains around her neck and shoulders appeared in the mirror. Suddenly, the shower curtain went up in flames, and the girls fled the bathroom. An older boy ran in and put out the fire. Although the girls were blamed for the curtain catching fire, they (and their candles) were much too far away to have caused it....
Twenty five years later, Katie has never been tempted to try calling Bloody Mary again.
3. A Woman Was Looking Out of the Mirror
While friends Sara, Gail, and Missy hung out on Friday the 13th, they got to talking about Bloody Mary. The girls had been reading about her on the Internet and decided to try the ritual for themselves. The trio got several candles and set them up in Gail’s bathroom. They waited until 2:55 AM then went into the bathroom and chanted “Bloody Mary” 13 times. As soon as she had been called 13 times, Bloody Mary appeared in swirling smoke in the mirror. All three girls screamed and turned on the light, only for Bloody Mary to vanish immediately.
Related: 9 Famous Female Ghosts Who Will Scare You Senseless
4. The Mirror Cracked
Photo Credit: Christine Cavalier / Flickr (CC)A group of girls was spending the summer at a camp in the Pacific Northwest on an island called Anacortes. Sick of exploring the woods, they decided to collectively fake food poisoning. They ran to a bathroom and shut themselves up in it, hoping to make the fakery convincing. While they were there, one girl, Jessica, came up with the idea to play Bloody Mary. The rest of the group agreed, and they shut off the lights. They said ‘Bloody Mary’ three times into the mirror and waited. At first, there was nothing.
Then–the mirror cracked. All the girls ran off screaming except for one. The remaining camper was paralyzed with fear. She stared and saw a flash of movement behind the mirror as if someone was standing right behind her. She turned and ran from the bathroom. The next morning, the girls laughed about the event, if only to hide how scared they had been.
5. She Won’t Tell Us What Happened
One night, Kelsie’s friend had a slumber party. The girls dared one of their crew to try calling Bloody Mary in the bathroom. The friend accepted, glibly confident that the supposed ghost could do her no harm. Fifteen minutes passed as the other girls waited for something to happen. But there were no signs of Bloody Mary to be found. Then, they heard the girl scream. She tried to get out of the bathroom and was stuck – even though the door didn’t have a lock on it. When Kelsie and her friends finally got the Mary summoner out, she was crying and whimpering. She showed the girls her arms: They were covered in scars that had never been there before. To this day, Kelsie has not been able to get her friend to speak of what happened to her that night.
Related: 5 Horrific Urban Legends That Turned Out to Be True
6. Show Us a Sign That You’re Here
In April of 2007, the 13th fell on a Friday. On that fateful night, Ezzie and her friends decided to try summoning Bloody Mary. They sat in a circle and called for the spirit, with a coin nearby to communicate. First they asked that Bloody Mary show a sign that she was there. When they flipped the coin for an answer, they first received a ‘no’... but the following two times were ‘yes.’ They were playing a CD at the time and it got scratchy, despite the fact that the CD was brand new with had no marks on it.
Then, the girls began feeling dizzy and faint, as they felt long fingernails brushing against their backs and faces. The blinds started shaking although the window wasn’t open. Ezzie jumped up and closed the circle between the girls and Bloody Mary. They were all utterly shaken. To this day, Ezzie still has the feeling that she is never truly alone.
7. The Red Reflection
Photo Credit: David Wood / Flickr (CC)Lauren and her friend were in an experimental mood the night they decided to try calling Bloody Mary. While out on the road, they stopped at a gas station with an outdoor restroom. They went in, turned off the lights, splashed water onto the mirror and spun around, saying “Bloody Mary” three times. Lauren’s friend flushed the toilet while Lauren stared into the mirror. What little of her reflection she could make out started turning red. She kept staring then her friend started screaming, and they ran out the door. Outside, Lauren’s friends discovered that her face didn’t just appear red. It was covered in blood. When they cleaned her face, they discovered tiny scratch marks, like fingernail scratches, all over her face.
8. Don't Open That Portal
Twenty-nine-year-old Amanda has a particularly dramatic tale of Bloody Mary. When she was just 12, Amanda believes that her summoning of the spirit opened a portal that allowed demons and witchcraft into her soul. All of these years later, she has become addicted to drugs, had postpartum psychosis, was institutionalized for a month, and has suffered from extreme mental issues constantly. Amanda has even resorted to exorcisms without success, firmly believing that her young foolhardiness is responsible for her current problems.
Let Amanda’s story remind you that summoning ghosts is no laughing business. She has spent her life warning others of the danger of even seemingly-innocent childhood games.
