Bloody Mary is not who you think she is (probably)
If you were ever a 12-year-old girl, you probably spent some time at a sleepover standing in front of a bathroom mirror, either saying "Bloody Mary" three times or trying to make someone else do it. Usually there's a candle involved.
So who is Bloody Mary? If you were me before today, you probably thought it involved Mary I of England, since her nickname was in fact Bloody Mary (because she condemned so many Protestants to be burned). But NO. According to a number of random websites I visited while researching for today, we in fact have no idea who Bloody Mary is supposed to be. Which is much more terrifying. How did this get started! Why!
A unique, quite Freudian take on the legend by folklorist Alan Dundes suggests that the story is an initiation ritual into womanhood. He notes that the Bloody Mary legend revolves around blood suddenly appearing, and that the ritual typically takes place in a bathroom with girls who are right on the edge of puberty (x)
Yeah ok, Dundes. Except ehhhhh. And the way I learned it, Bloody Mary would just appear in the mirror, no actual blood involved.
Folklorist Janet Langlois wrote an article called "'Mary Whales, I Believe in You': Myth and Ritual Subdued," published in 1978, where she listed variations on the legend and possible sources. These include the above Mary I of England, Elizabeth Bathory (?? her name's not even Mary, guys), and a "Mary Worth," a woman convicted of witchcraft in the Salem trials of 1692. In definitely cool news, the mirror + candle part possibly stem from this:
Throughout the British Isles in the 1700s, young girls would take part in a ritual that involved using a candle in front of a mirror. (x)
It's extremely possible that the bathroom came into it because that's where people are most likely to have mirrors in their home.
So basically, no one knows where it started or who Mary's supposed to be. But we keep trying to summon her anyway. Sleep well, Happy Halloween!