When people tell Bloody Mary stories, they often claim to be real tales of conjuring the Bloody Mary spirit in bathroom mirrors. Are the stories true, embellishments on a frightening legend, or are they urban legends meant to serve as a cautionary tale? Read the stories and decide for yourself.
Boy Dies During Bloody Mary Ritual
Halloween Web™ features reader submitted stories of their personal encounters with Bloody Mary. One such story submitted by Matty describes the death of his best friend, Mike, as a result of trying to summon Bloody Mary. Matty describes how at the age of thirteen, the two pals decided to try conjuring the dark spirit. Mike went into the bathroom alone. For some reason, they believed the ritual wouldn't work if both of them were in the bathroom.
In this version of the legend, the friends lit six candles and used red lipstick to write the numbers 666 on the mirror. Once they completed their tasks, Mike closed the bathroom door, locking himself inside.
Matty stood outside the door, listening to Mike's muffled voice as his friend repeated "Bloody Mary" six times. The two waited for ten minutes, yet nothing happened. Neither friend talked. Matty grew thirsty during the long wait, so he decided to grab something to drink from the kitchen downstairs. On his way down the stairs, he glanced back at the bathroom door and saw the candlelight was still flickering underneath.
When he returned, Matty was surprised to see the candlelight was no longer visible along the bottom space of the door. He tried to enter the bathroom, but the door was still locked. He knocked for Mike to open up, but Mike didn't respond. Frantically, Matty pounded louder, rousing Mike's father downstairs. By now, Matty was terrified.
Mike's father managed to pick the lock on the bathroom door. When the lock finally turned, he couldn't get the door to open. Matty and Mike's father pushed hard against the door and finally managed to get it open. Inside the bathroom, they discovered Mike's slumped body with his head bowed over the sink. Mike was dead! Matty concludes his story by warning others not to make the same mistake he and poor Mike did by attempting to summon the spirit of Bloody Mary.
Green Triangle and Bloody Mary
Originally published on the Castle of Spirits website, Victoria from Illinois tells a chilling story about her encounter with Bloody Mary when she was in college. During a Christmas break at home, she spent the night with her childhood best friend. The sleepover started with the two girls reminiscing about their many sleepovers. They recalled the different games they had played and other silly things they did as young children. Eventually, the Bloody Mary game came up.
The young women laughed about their many fails when trying to summon Bloody Mary. They giggled about how the evil spirit never appeared in their mirrors, much less tried to grab or scratch them as the legend claimed.
As the night wore on, one thing led to another, and the two best friends decided they'd try to summon the witch one more time and have yet another good laugh. The young women moved into the bathroom and closed the door.
The bathroom had no windows, so when they turned off the light and closed the door, it was so dark it was disorienting. They couldn't see their hands in front of their faces. In the pitch blackness of the bathroom, the friends held hands, clinging to the comfort of knowing each was not alone in the darkness. Slowly, they began to repeat, "Bloody Mary." Victoria admits she lost track how many times they called the spirit's name. She guessed it was about 10 times before an image began to take form in the bathroom mirror.
Surprisingly, the reflection wasn't of a face, but a strange green triangle shape. They stopped chanting. The two friends watched the tiny triangle expand slowly. Standing silently in the dark, they gripped each other's hand as the triangle continued to enlarge. Victoria later admitted she wasn't really scared at that point, more curious than anything. She was also confused why there was this strange triangle forming in the mirror instead of the ghostly Bloody Mary they'd expected to materialize.
The women continued to stare at the triangle for about half a minute, still holding each other's hand. Suddenly, something grabbed Victoria's arm. She screamed in terror, and so did her friend. Her friend fumbled for the light switch, and the light blasted away the darkness. Her friend opened the door and pulled her from the bathroom.
They ran to the girl's bedroom and were so shaken they couldn't speak. Instead, they just stood staring at each other. Once they'd had time to calm down and realize they were safe, Victoria asked her friend if she'd seen anything in the mirror. Her friend described the tiny green triangle that had grown in size. She then told Victoria that she'd felt someone grab her arm and that was when she screamed and turned on the light, getting them out of the bathroom as quickly as she could.
The women kept the bathroom door closed for the rest of the night and avoided it completely. Victoria ends her story by saying her friend refuses to use that bathroom unless she absolutely has to. She adds that the bathroom is now the coldest room in the house. She admits that it is a very strange story, but assures the reader, "Although this story may be a little strange, it is all very true."
Bloody Mary Lurking in Bathroom Corner
On the Gods and Monsters' website, Cristina Louise from Yuma, Arizona relates her seventh grade experience summoning the terrifying spirit of Bloody Mary.
One day after school, Cristina was playing over at her friend Maria's house. Maria's mom needed to make a quick trip to the corner market, and Maria wanted to tag along. Cristina preferred staying at the house and after much reassurance, Maria's mom agreed. Cristina settle on the couth to watch a movie while they were gone, but half-way through, she was bored.
She began to toy with the idea of playing Bloody Mary. Bored and wanting something to do, Cristina thought it would be fun to play around with the summons and entered the bathroom. She lit a couple of candles, turned out the bathroom light and bolstered her courage, managing to whisper, "Bloody Mary," although she was beginning to regret her decision to play the game. She didn't listen to her inner voice to stop. Instead, she pushed herself to repeat the name a second time.
By now, she was feeling sick. Her skin was so hot, she feared she'd burst into flames. She knew she should stop, but continued. She saw a tiny prick of light behind her and even though she was trembling and feeling sick, she managed to choke out, "Bloody..."
The bathroom suddenly became freezing. The shower curtain behind her was now open. To her horror, she glimpsed a dark, ugly figure in the corner. She watched the reflection of the woman in the mirror and noticed blood ran from her eyes. The spirit's face was pale and cracked, but very visible to the young girl. She wanted to flee, but was paralyzed with fear as the ghostly figure moved closer to her with outstretched arms.
There was a sudden flash of bright light and the ghost held her finger to her lips in a "Shh" gesture and receded back into the corner. The bathroom door flung open and her friend Maria turned on the light, asking what she was doing in the dark. The two girls saw a handprint left behind on the bathroom mirror. Cristina reports that a month later, her friend, Maria, moved out of the house. She swears her story is real and swears she'll never play the game again.
Gas Station Bloody Mary
Another Halloween Web™ story is told by Lauren. She recounts how she and her friend conjured Bloody Mary. Lauren and her friend were clever and used a public restroom at a gas station instead of one in their homes. She states that the entrance to the restroom was outside. The two girls entered the restroom and immediately turned off the lights.
They performed the Bloody Mary version where they splashed water on the mirror and spun around while say her name three times. To add another layer of this version, her friend then flushed the toilet. The girls stared into the bathroom mirror.
Lauren states they soon saw a red blob in the mirror begin to form, first as a dark object that gradually grew brighter. The blood appeared to cover her reflection in the mirror. The bloody image expanded and frightened her friend so much that she screamed. Both girls ran out of the restroom. Lauren explains how her friend's face was bloody from fingernail scratches that covered her face.
Sisters See Bloody Mary
Becca shares her Bloody Mary story on Gods and Monsters. She says when she was around six years old, her brother, and sister, along with some friends decided to play Bloody Mary in the upstairs bathroom.
They turned out all the lights in the house and gathered in the bathroom upstairs, leaving Becca downstairs. She says she was scared of the dark and was growing more frightened by the moment. The last thing she wanted was to be left in the dark downstairs, so she joined the other kids, including her two siblings, in the bathroom. She was so sacred that she begged them not to turn the bathroom light off, but, of course, they did.
All the kids started to chant Bloody Mary, even though Becca begged them to stop. Her pleas seemed to incite them. Suddenly, she saw a ghost woman in the mirror her brother was standing in front of, but for some odd reason, he didn't see it. The only other kid to see her was their sister, Hannah. The two girls screamed and raced out of the room. They ran through the house, panicked. They began to turn on all the lights. She ends her story by saying she'll never play the party game ever again.
Tall Shadow Emerges Behind Teenage Girl
Sadescha shares her story on The Charles Fort Institute forum Bloody Mary topic. She was a teenager and decided to try playing the game and waited until midnight. She used a hall tree mirror that was in the foyer of her parents' home.
She turned off the lights and repeated, "Bloody Mary," according to tradition. She saw a tall shadow emerge from the kitchen doorway and travel through the dining room, heading toward her. She ran to her room before the creature reached her. Terrified, Sadescha says she wasn't able to sleep the entire night, and it was the only time she ever played the game.
Video of Kids' Playing Bloody Mary
A youtube video shows two brothers in a bathroom, giggling and talking about how silly the Bloody Mary game is. They turn out the lights and repeat, "Bloody Mary," three times. The boys then turn the light back on and are smiling in obvious relief that nothing happened. They are talking about how nothing happened when there's a bang on the door. Startled, the two boys look at each other and bravely open the door. The younger child says that no one is there.
In the same video, another two young boys are in the bathroom with their father, who is giving them instructions on how to play the game. He turns off the light and one of the boys repeats, "Bloody Mary," three times. The father turns the light back on and you can see the child in the mirror and the father in a smaller mirror.
He explains to his sons that nothing happened, since it is a silly game. Satisfied he's taught them a lesson, he turns to exit the bathroom, still filming. As the three of them walk out of the bathroom, in the corner of the bedroom is a dark female figure standing there. The three of them continue walking out of the room and down the stairs, supposedly oblivious to the spooky presence behind them.
Bloody Mary Stories Share Terrifying Experiences
It's easy to discount what one perceives to be ancient or urban legends when so many stories are retold. Many are clearly hoaxes, but some send chills down spines, especially when those telling about their encounters are so thoroughly convinced that what they experienced was real.
