Just A Legend?

Plenty of people are familiar with the classic "Bloody Mary" legend. The one where kids dare each other to turn out the lights, stare into a mirror then say "Bloody Mary" five or ten times. The movie "Candyman" is based on this old legend.

Anyway, this occurence happened when I was in grade school. My friend and I were playing in the yard at recess time and after awhile we landed on the subject of Bloody Mary. We both knew the legend well and heard a few tall tales from other kids but never took it seriously. But since we brought it up, we decided to try it out in the school restroom.

Once inside and sure that no other kids were present, we turned off the light and began the ritual. I asked my friend how we were supposed to do it and he replied "Just say 'Bloody Mary' ten times followed by 'open the bloody gates of Hell' then she's supposed to appear". I shuddered at the way that sounded. It reminded me of what some occultists do in the movies. Those movies always led to an unfortunate consequence.

So I stepped up to the darkened mirror and began reciting "Bloody Mary" ten times. I did this rather slowly and after the tenth repetition I said "Open the bloody gates of Hell!" as instructed by my friend. Nothing happened....at first.

With some disappointment, I walked over to my friend in the dark and sat down on the tiled floor beside him. I began to joke about the dumb ritual as did he. But during a moment of silence we both heard this weird sound. It was like a gurgling sound with no words coming out. We looked at each other with wide eyes. The sound instantly made me think of a woman groaning with her throat slit open!

The sound was rather distant but audible. The girls restroom was at the other end of the building, so it didn't come from there. I asked my friend if he heard what I heard. He answered "Yep", so we decided to get out of this haunted restroom right away. Once we reached the door another student walked in and turned the light back on. We told him about the gurgle sound but he took it as a joke.

In later weeks, we talked about it and agreed not to try the "Bloody Mary" ritual again. The image I had of this woman was similar to the one in "Carrie". The part where Sissy Spacek is covered in pigs blood. That image haunted me at night for some time.

I've heard that the tale behind this ritual concerns a young woman named Mary (obviously) who was murdered in her own bathroom. The murderer slashed her throat spewing blood everywhere. After butchering Mary's body he hid her corpse in the attic. It's unclear whether the murderer was ever caught. But that's the legend as I know it.

I still know people who refuse to participate in a "Bloody Mary" ritual, and these people are adults. Honestly, I wouldn't mind doing it again...as long as the lights remains on.