Curses Are Just Coincidence Right?

"...Out flew the web and floated wide;

The mirror crack'd from side to side;

"The curse is come upon me," cried

The Lady of Shalott..."

The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson

We are all familiar with the word 'curse'. But how many of us believe that they exist? That they have the power to do harm? Surely they are nothing more than coincidence mixed in with myth and folktales? Or can some curses possess a sinister force with the ability to manifest danger and evil?

Curses and hexes have been with us from the beginning of written history and probably earlier. That people believe in them is without doubt and in some cases it is alleged they have caused death. Lethal curses may not work as such. It is just as likely that the cursed person's absolute belief that they will die because of a curse could bring about their death by psychological means.

But what is a curse?

• Curse - (Encarta Dictionary UK). To appeal malevolently to a supernatural being for harm to come to somebody or something. Or the harm that is thought to have happened as a result of a curse.
• Hex - (Encarta Dictionary UK). To put a curse or spell on somebody or something. To appear to have a bad effect on something, as if it were cursed or bewitched.

In a wider context a curse is a wish for misfortune to fall on:

• A person
• People
• An object
• A place

A curse can be in oral form, where the person communicates their ill-feeling directly towards the subject. Or it can be invoked through a process of ritual or spell casting. Ritual will often involve getting the help of a supernatural force, that will be released when certain words are spoken, a certain action takes place or a certain time is reached or a combination of these.

A hex is a spell that has been cast. But contrary to popular belief a hex can be good as well as harmful. It comes from the German word Hexe meaning witch.

A jinx is actually a form of curse but it tends to be a less malevolent force - even having humorous aspects. People and objects today are often thought of as attracting bad luck and so they are referred to as being 'jinxed'.

But some believe that you can also create a jinx by tempting fate. For example many people believe that when the RMS Titanic was called 'unsinkable' that this was tempting fate too much and the ship then sank on her first voyage. In the same vein, it is thought that by drawing attention to a period of good luck, will bring it to an abrupt end. Perhaps this is one of the origins of the theatrical saying 'break a leg'. This phrase is spoken instead of 'good luck'. To wish someone 'good luck' in the theatre is believed to bring misfortune on the performance.

This is not to say that any of this has any credence. It is simply a demonstration of how bad luck and curses are often viewed.

But are there people, objects or places that have had a series of events that could lead to some validation of curses being real?

From the past to the present we are all familiar with at least some of the stories of people who may have been cursed.

Glamis (pronounced Glahms), Castle in Scotland not only has ghosts and curses, but a number of other, alleged, supernatural forms. These include a female vampire, a very odd 'beast-like' creature that stalks the castle, among others. The castle was given as a gift to the Bowes-Lyons family by King Robert II in 1372. The family still own the castle today as the Earls of Strathmore. The late Queen Mother who was a daughter of the family, gave birth to Princess Margaret at the castle.

Glamis also has two of the most intriguing curse legends. One relates to 'Earl Beardie' and can be viewed as both a haunting and a curse.This nobleman of Scotland has been identified as either Alexander Lyon, 2nd Lord Glamis or Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford.

A second curse may have started due to Sir John Lyon having removed an ancestral chalice from the family seat at Forteviot. Legend states that the chalice was to have been kept within Forteviot for ever. Many certainly believe that the vast amount of paranormal activity that occurs in Glamis castle is due to Sir John having brought the chalice within its walls.

The story surrounding Earl Beardie is that he was a ferocious gambler and card player. So much so that he wanted to play on the Sabbath. His host apparently refused and advised the nobleman not to play. Earl Beardie became furious and claimed that he would play cards until doomsday and no one would stop him. Some of the stories state that the Earl said he would play cards with the devil if no one else would. It is then alleged that a stranger arrived at the castle and invited the Earl to a game of cards. The stranger is thought to be the devil himself. Over the years there has been a few alleged ghostly sightings of the Earl playing cards. It is believed that he has been cursed and will continue to play cards until doomsday. If the haunting is true, then rather than the Earl being cursed, it may just be a residual haunting. This involves a simple playback of events and no actual spirit force is involved. But then again who knows?

Another curse that is alleged to plague the castle is all together more creepy and mysterious. For the past few hundred years up until the present day, there has been persistent rumours of a horrible and strange secret within the family. The secret is apparently only passed down to the next male heir of the estate when they reach the age of 21. Only the male heirs know the mystery, since part of the enigma is that no females be told the secret.

The 'secret' or curse may relate to the birth of a grossly deformed child - half human and half animal. The child is reported to have lived to a great age - over 100 years old. The physical deformities suffered included stunted limbs, full hairy body, no distinctive neck and round body.The 'monster' as it was called, was imprisoned in a secret chamber for the protection of the family. This was required since the 'monster' was reported to have possessed extreme strength and be evil in nature. Another possibility for the 'secret' is that the hidden room contains the bodies of people who were starved to death. It is surmised that they were enemies of the family.

In the early part of the 20th century it was reported that a workman carrying out renovations accidently broke into the secret room. There are two accounts of what happened next. One was that he died of shock and his wife was given a huge amount of money and sent to Australia to keep her quiet. The second story states that he did not die and was paid a large sum of money to leave the country and live abroad in order that the 'curse' or secret would reman hidden.

It is also alleged that the late Queen Mother's own mother - the Countess of Strathmore - had asked the estate manager, Andrew Ralston, what the secret was. Andrew Ralston was a confidante of the Earl and had been fully informed about the mystery. His reply to the countess, if true, was chilling:

"it is fortunate you do not know the truth for, if you did, you would never spend another night beneath this roof".

So what can we make of all this? Many have suggested that the curse/secret was simply a poor deformed child who was locked away. This is reasonable given the time period, since any unfortunate child with either mental or physical health issues were for the most parts seen as an embarrassment to the family. But if this is the case why did the 'secret' only get passed onto the male heirs? The females in the family were always in attendance at a birth in addition to midwives, nurses and servants. The secret could hardly be kept if it simply related to a deformed child. Therefore it is nonsensical to only pass it on to male heirs. In addition, some of the stories date back only to the 19th century while others report a secret going back hundreds of years.

Secondly, if it is the case that many bodies were found that had been starved to death, it would hardly be necessary to continue to keep this information secret for as long as it has been. All this of course just deepens the mystery further and even today rumours persist that 'something' is not quite right with the beautiful Glamis Castle.

Interestingly, the present royal family have never acknowledged that they have information relating to Glamis Castle, although it is widely believed that a few members of the Royal Family do know. But neither has any member of the family denied the stories that emanated from the late Queen Mother's home.

The world of entertainment, actors, theatre and movies can be notoriously superstitious and has attracted its fair share of curses and other supernatural phenomena over the years. We only have to look at one of today's most common phrases, mentioned earlier - 'break a leg' - to realise that the world of entertainment works hard to ward off any kind of misfortune.

One area of the theatre where an actual curse is supposed to be active is the William Shakespeare play "MacBeth".

The play is very rarely called by its proper name due to the fact that there is a strong belief that a curse is attached to it. Most people involved with the play will refer to is as either "The Scottish Play" or the "Bard's play".

The curse is often referred to as the Scottish curse and it is invoked when the name of MacBeth is spoken inside a theatre. Actors also believe that directly quoting extracts from the play will cause something bad to happen. The only exception is when formal rehersals are under way. Some are so afraid of the potency of the curse that the lead part is often referred to as the Scottish King or Lord rather than using his name of MacBeth.

Theories about why the play is cursed are numerous. But one of the most popular is that the spells invoked and cast by the three witches were actually spells that were once used by a witch. In addition, when the character, Hecate is cut from productions the effect of the curse is said to be amplified. Other theories state that the spells used were actually stolen from a coven of witches or that a cauldron was stolen from them to be used as a stage prop. When the witches discovered what had happened they cursed the play. When the spells are repeated on stage, this summons the witches and the curse is released. Some have even suggested that it was Shakespeare himself who cursed the play so that he would be the only person able to direct it.

If the name of the play is accidently said there are curious cleansing rituals to ward off the evil that may have been invoked. These include:

• Firstly, the person must leave the theatre. Perform a cleansing ritual and then be invited back in.
• The rituals can take on a few forms and these include - turning three times, spitting over your left shoulder and then swearing. Many actors will go even further by spinning themselves around, then brushing themselves off. They also recite the name of MacBeth three times before entering the theatre once more.
• One other ritual that is used to ward off the curse is by quoting a line from one of Shakespeares other works. The most commonly used are - "Hamlet ", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or "The Merchant of Venice".
• Alternatively the actor does not leave the theatre but leaves the room, knocks three times and then quotes a line from "The Merchant Of Venice" as this is regarded as a lucky play or a line from "Hamlet".

The play is reported to have been plagued by many accidents and some have even ended in death. The history of misfortune dates back to the first showings of the play when one of the actors was killed accidently by a real dagger that was used by mistake instead of a stage prop. Many have argued that because the play has so many fight scenes that the capacity for accidents is higher than many other plays. But then this begs the question - why is there so many supposed deaths and accidents outside the theatre or off-stage during a production of the play? It is also fascinating to think why it is 'MacBeth' that is supposedly cursed and not another of Shakespeare's works?

I've listed some of the incidents that have ocurred over the years during productions of MacBeth. There have been a number of other incidents but the ones below will give you an idea of what has happened. And I'll leave you to make up your own mind whether or not the play is cursed:

1606 - The bard was forced to play Lady MacBeth when the actor who normally filled this role - Hal Berridge - inexplicably developed a high temperature and died. King James also hated the play and banned it for five years.

1672 - An actor was accidently killed by a real dagger that had been mistaken for the stage prop. The tradgedy happened in front of a capacity audience.

1775 - Sarah Siddons was an acomplished actress but when performing Lady MacBeth she was almost torn to pieces by an outraged audience who disapproved of the play.

1849 - During a performance of the play at New York's Astor Place a riot broke out that led to 31 people being trampled to death.

1926 - The actress Sybil Thorndike, while playing one of the leads in MacBeth, was inexplicably attacked and almost strangled by a fellow actor.

1934 - During a performance of the play, British actor Malcolm Keen mysteriously lost his voice and went mute. His replacement actor, Alistair Sim took over but, like the 1606 actor, developed an unexplicable fever and was rushed to hospital.

1937 - When the briliant actor Sir Laurence Olivier played MacBeth it was almost his last performance. A 25 pound stage weight collapsed and smashed into the stage only inches from where the actor was performing. Later in the same performance, his prop sword broke. One piece flew into the audience and hit one man. It is said that this unfortunate man later died in hospital from a heart attack. The director and an actress involved with the production were involved in a car accident and the theatre manager died of a heart attack during a rehersal.

1942 - Famous actor Sir John Gielgud starred in a performance that he never forgot. Three of the main actors during this production died - the actor who played Duncan and two actresses who played two of the three witches. As if that wasn't bad enough the costume and set designer reputedly committed suicide during a rendition of the witches spell invocation.

1947 - A promising young actor by the name of Harold Norman had the leading role in MacBeth. He died quite suddenly after spending a month in hospital after supposedly being stabbed by accident. It later emerged that Norman had been quoting MacBeth in the dressing rooms and continued to do so even after being warned to stop.

1948 - One of the weirdest things to happen was when actress Diana Wynyard apparently entered a sleepwalking/trance state. She walked off the rostrum and fell 15 feet.

1953 - Hollywood great Charlton Heston had a number of nasty incidents that occurred when he played the lead role in an open-air production. During rehersals he had a motorbike crash. He received severe burns from wearing a stage costume that had, apparently, not been laundered properly. A prop castle that was suppose to burn did so, but then got out of control and embers and flames blew into the audience causing a stampede - fortunately no one was hurt.

1954 - During a tour of MacBeth with the Old Vic a number of incidents took place. One of the cast attempted suicide while two of the actresses had abortions. The manager of the company broke both legs in a car accident. An electrician sustained severe burns.

1961 - Stratford, Connecticut, was holding the Shakespeare Festival when one of the actors riding a bike was knocked down by a car and rushed to hospital. Later a fellow cast member, who played one of the witches was also admitted to hospital after falling from a stage lift. The actor, Franklin Clover, who played MacBeth was injured and then developed curious cysts under his arm that required an operation. At the same time a young member of the cast was found dying of stab wounds but no one was charged with the murder. Later the company manager was discovered, murdered in his apartment in Boston.

If stage productions of certain plays can be cursed can this also happen to the buildings or land that stages them?

Edinburgh

Edinburgh's old Theatre Royal might have been just such a place. At the bottom of Leith Street is St. Mary's Cathedral. It was once called St. Mary's RC Church and the theatre was situated next to it. It had three names in succession - The Pantheon, The Caledonian and The Adelphi before it became The Theatre Royal.

A series of devastating fires broke out in the theatre between the years 1853 and 1946. After each mysterious outbreak the theatre was rebuilt, but within a couple of years fire once again destroyed the structure, claiming numerous lives. The most tragic was on Friday 13th, in 1865 when six people were burned to death. In 1884 the fire was so ferocious that St. Mary's Church next door also caught fire, destroying part of the roof. In 1946 the theatre caught fire for the last time. After this episode of destruction the theatre was never re-built. The land was bought by the Roman Catholic Church. St. Mary's was extended and became a cathedral. From the day the land was made into the cathedral for spiritual worship, not one fire has erupted.

Alton Towers

Alton Towers in England is more famous as one of the UK's best loved theme and ride parks. Set in beautiful grounds many of the visitors are unaware of the old mansion on site and of the alleged curse that surrounds it. In the 1840's the Earl of Shrewsbury used Alton Towers as a summer home. On returning to the Towers one night his coach was stopped by an old beggar woman who pleaded for help from the Earl. The Earl angrily told his coachman to keep on going, almost knocking the old lady down. Before he was out of ear shot she put a curse on him and his family. The old lady stated that for every branch that fell from the old oak tree in the grounds, one member of his family would die. That night it is claimed that a violent thunder storm seered one of the branches off. That night a member of the Earl's household died in mysterious circumstances. The Earl immediately ordererd that the oak tree be chained up to prevent any other branches being broken. This is the most well known story of the curse and to this day the tree remains chained.

However, there is speculation that some of the folklore surrounding Alton Towers may have been elaborated in order to increase it's attraction as a visitors site. In 2007 it was reported that a main branch from the oak fell off. On this occasion at least no member of the family died. For the business ownsers and the public the curse has not stopped any having fun within the park. So much so, that one of the most recent rides has been called 'Hex' after the Alton Towers curse and has proved to be one of the most popular.

Odstock Church

There is a very odd and frightening curse that is reputedly attached to Odstock Church in England. Folklore says that if any person locks the door to the church then a curse will fall upon them and they will die suddenly.

The legend begins in 1801. A young gypsy man had been accused of being a horse thief and would have been hung for the crime. However the young man's father - Joseph, (or Joshua) Scamp - admitted to the theft in order that his son would go free. The brave Joseph was hung on the local gallows. As a tribute to the bravery of Joseph his people held a party near to the church and planted a Rose bush at his graveside in his memory. However, the puritanical and snobbish authorities were shocked at the antics and subsequently had the church door locked. The gypsies were furious at the slight to Joseph's memory and put a curse on the church door, warning that - anyone who locks the door hereafter will die suddenly.

The legend continues, that afterwards, two church wardens who were key-holders, died suddenly and mysteriously after locking the door. The vicar by this time was in a bit of a frenzy at the death of his staff and hurled the church door keys into the River Ebble. The key apparently still lies in the deep waters.

An alternative story to the one related above, is that it was Joseph's son-in-law who was accused of horse stealing and Joseph took the blame in order to protect his daughter.

So are these curses real? Or is it a case of folktales, coincidence and natural causes?

Cursed objects are probably even more numerous than cursed people or buildings. Why? Perhaps because they have a more personal relationship with us. It also opens up many areas for legends and folklore to come into play over a larger group of people, as they are passed down the generations.

Cursed Paintings.

During the 1960's and 1970' the UK market was flooded by a few iconic paintings. These were the 'Crying Boy' and also the 'Crying Girl'. In other parts of Europe a similar painting called the 'Orphaned Boy' was also popular. Over the years these paintings could be found in thousands of ordinary house-holds. Not only that but they also grew a sinister reputation for being cursed.

Fire would seem to be the main manifestation of the alleged curse. Other adverse affects were reputed to be ill-health and general bad luck. In addition it was reported by some owners that when they tried to get rid of their painting bad luck in the family increased dramatically. However urban legends maintain that if you had both the 'crying boy' and 'crying girl' hanging together then the curse did not apply.

The curse became national news when a fireman was quoted in The Sun newspaper. The fireman had allegedly mentioned how many fires he had attended to in peoples homes where the 'Crying Boy' paintings were the only objects not damaged. With this publicity many members of the public came forward to tell their own stories of fires and other bad luck stories that had ocurred since buying a copy of the painting.

So is there a curse? It is hard to believe how a simple, reproduction painting could induce such havoc over such a wide area and involve so many people. More likely, is that there has been a few coincidences involving homes that had a copy of the painting. When a national newspaper goes public with a story of a curse, people will naturally start to question their own lives and incidents. With such large numbers of people involved it is inevitable that many of them will have had house fires and other bad luck - this is not a curse, but simply unfortunate happenings in life. But once a legend is born it can be very difficult to put down. Having said this, there are people who are adamant that their homes and lives changed negatively when they put one of these paintings in their home. Could it be that a small handful of these paintings have some negative force attached? Some of the people who had incidents happening to them would say 'yes'.

Cursed and Haunted Skulls

Human skulls are perhaps one of the most gruesome objects that have a tradition for being cursed. So much so that stories of these curses have inspired books and movies for many years.

A ghost-hunter from the past, Robert Thurston Hopkins, did particular research on this topic and related some interesting finds. I'll leave it up to you to decide if there is a curse or not.

The William Corder Skull

William Corder was executed for the murder of his lover in Polsted, England, 1827. Almost 50 years later his remains were acquired by a medical man, Dr Kilner. For research purposes, Dr Kilner had severed the skull from the spine and put it through a process of preservation and cleaning. So proud was he of his work that he displayed the now gleaming skull in a display case in his office.

Shortly afterwards both he and a maid servant saw a strange man dressed in Victorian clothing. A short time later, the doctor began to hear menacing breathing and mutterings when no one was with him. One night he heard a loud crashing sound from one of the rooms below his bedroom. On investigating down stairs he was met with an icy blast of wind and on entering his study he found the skull display case door was open wide and the case was empty. The doctor was terrified when he noticed that not only was the there no evidence of an intruder, no broken glass etc,. but the skull was now sitting at the other end of the room. The doctor apparently swore later that the skull had upon it an evil grin. The full skeleton was buried a short time later. From this date all strange incidents stopped. It is interesting to note how some curses are similar in nature to a haunting.

Higher Chilton Farm, Somerset, England.

This story relates to a man called Theophilus Brome. During the English Civil War he changed from being a supporter of the King to a supporter of Oliver Cromwell. Many years later when royalty and the crown were restored on the succession of King Charles II, Theophilus was worried that he would be dispossesed and his head, after death, would be removed from his coffin and put on public display. This very common, gruesome practice was performed on people's corpses who were accused of treason. He therefore, made his sister promise that she would take it upon herself to be the guardian of his head and keep it safe. On his death, she kept to her promise by keeping her brothers head secure within the house they had lived in. The skull remained like this until the sisters death. Afterwards numerous tennants occupied the farm house most of whom made every effort to get rid of the skull. However, whenever an attempt was made to 're-house' the skull, poltergeist activity would erupt in the house and people even reported hearing screams. Today the skull sits in a specially made cabinet situated over a door in the main hall. No further reports of unusual activity have been recorded.

For once there may be tantalising evidence that at least some of this legend may be true. Many years after the death of Theophilus and his sister, the church where they were interred was being restored. On investigating the remains of Theophilus it was found that his full skeleton was intact apart from the head.

One of the most unusual forms a curse can take is the medieval 'book curse'. This method was employed by writers and owners of precious manuscripts to deter thieves. It is believed that our current laws regarding plagiarism and copyright have come down through the ages from these curses.

The book curses were made as terrifying as possible. In a time when religion, superstition and fear was entrenched into the minds of most people, curses were believed to be real. Many of these book curses would warn of godly retribution on thieves. In a time when God was perhaps feared more than loved by people, a book curse was almost a fool-proof way to protect your goods.

An example of a curse that survives from the medieval period is from a book located in Barcelona, in the monastery of San Pedro. The curse states:

"For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying out for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails ... when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever."

I think it would be safe to assume that such a curse would be more than enough to put off most thieves.

"Sacred Magic of Abramelin" - Edited by MacGregor-Mathers

It is not uncommon in fiction and film for a cursed book to be a mysterious occult volume containing forbidden knowledge and power. The book, "Sacred Magic of Abramelin" is neither fiction nor a movie and the curse is alleged to be real. The orginal book is said to date from around 1485 and still survives today.

People who happened to have owned a copy of the book alleged the book was haunted by all the spirits named within its pages. The famous occultist Aleister Crowley owned a copy and maintained that his personal copy and the other volumes held dangerous powers. This is perhaps hardly surprising when you look at some of the ritual work involved. After invoking their Holy Guardian Angel, the magician would then invoke a hierarchy of demons that he could then allegedly control to do his bidding. A few occultists who had read the book and followed some of the rituals were said to have been greatly disturbed and frightened by events that took place afterwards. It is not known if any got rid of their copies of the book.

We can't say without doubt hat curses are real. Many are probably fabulous concoctions of legend, folktales and imagination that have been elaborated on over the generations.

But the idea of curses and evil misfortune, for most of us sitting in the safety of our own homes, are deliciously creepy and illusory. And so many are kept alive by popularity rather than fact. 

But is this true of all curses? Despite the credulous tales told, do some actually hold a grain of truth? Maybe there is indeed something to be said for the old saying - truth can be stranger than fiction.