"Bloody Mary: Mary of Portsmouth"

Everyone has heard of the myth of Bloody Mary but where did it come from?

There are many rumors when it comes to the origins of Bloody Mary. Some people say it originated in Europe in the Middle Ages but this is simply false. There are three stories of the origin of Bloody Mary that is considered to be widely accepted among folklore researchers today. The first takes place in 1666 in colonial Portsmouth, New Hampshire. According to the legend, an orphan child, known simply as Mary, would wonder the woods and often taunt the people of Portsmouth whenever she was in town.

Mary of Portsmouth, as she is often referred to as, would carry a hand mirror that had a crack running down the middle. When the townsfolk told her that her time in town had been spent, she would reply holding up the hand mirror, “Gaze into the mirror and your fictional horrors will turn to truth!”

Strange things started happening in the town of Portsmouth. Items began to be misplaced, arguments among friends, and marriages that lasted years began to crumble; all lead to the thought that Mary of Portsmouth was a participant of witchcraft.

An “angry mob”, so to say, gathered and went to find Mary to trial her of charges of witchcraft. As the mob approached the spot where Mary usually camped, they found her body full of blood. Her face had scratches that went deep into her flesh. Her eyes were ripped out of their sockets. Lying next to her was the cracked hand mirror with blood only on the glass. The body was burnt and thrown into the river and the mirror was tossed into the ground and coved up with dirt.