Ep. 150: Halloween Urban Legends - Bloody Mary

To mark the 150th episode of the podcast (OMG), we're going back to one of our earliest subjects! At the very start of the pod we investigated the Halloween urban legend of the stranger poisoning trick or treat candy, and how the tale actually originated in the true-life crime of Ronald Clark O'Bryan, the "Real Candy Man" who killed his son with a poisoned Pixy Stick for insurance money. This time around, we're looking into another Halloween-related urban legend: Bloody Mary. The Bloody Mary urban legend is one of the most famous and persistent of any in American folklore. Especially if you grew up in the United States, you learned a version of the supposed ritual in your childhood: go into a darkened room, look into a mirror, say the name Bloody Mary a certain number of times, and in return you'll see the horrific visage of Bloody Mary in the reflection...or maybe the ghoulish specter will pop out of the mirror to take your soul to hell with her. Of course, no one has ever been snatched up by a bloody ghost emerging from a bathroom mirror - but that hasn't stopped generations of kids, especially young girls, from taking part in the Bloody Mary ritual at slumber parties across the country and across the decades. But where did this urban legend come from? Is there a "real" Bloody Mary? Why do kids take part in a ritual designed to scare the pants off of them, and why are young girls by far the main participants in this strange and spooky tradition? We dive deep into the psychology of folklore and our own pasts as legend-loving kids to try and determine where Bloody Mary came from, and why it's still such a major part of childhood mythologies. Happy Halloween! ________________________________________ Connect with us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/aintitscary Twitter: @aintitscary Instagram: @aintitscary Patreon: www.patreon.com/aintitscary Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/aint-it-scary?ref_id=27696 ___________________________________________ Thank you to our sponsors: Neuro Gum - Get up to 30% off your order of Neuro Gum at tryneurogum.com/aintitscary! Magic Mind - Get up to 56% off your subscription and 20% off your first order with our code SCARYSC2020 at MagicMind.co/aintitscary! MANSCAPED - Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code SCARYSQUAD at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod BetterHelp - Special offer for Ain’t it Scary? listeners: Get 10% off your first month at www.betterhelp.com/aintitscary Audible - Get a FREE audiobook and 30-Day Free Trial at www.audibletrial.com/aintitscary BarkBox - Enjoy a FREE month of BarkBox on us when you sign up for a 6 or 12-month BarkBox subscription! Visit www.barkbox.com/aintitscary for more details Hunt a Killer - Receive 20% off your first Hunt a Killer subscription box at www.huntakiller.com with the code SCARYSQUAD at checkout!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices