Art, obsession, and identity
One of Sweden's great mysteries surrounds a 6th-century BCE monolith called the Björketorp Runestone, which stands in Blekinge. Engraved upon one side is a short sentence that when translated reads as, "I see Perdition." On the reverse is a longer line of text that indicates that anyone who disturbs or breaks the runestone will be cursed to insidious death and destruction.
The most famous of the so-called "mummy's curses" occurred after the opening in 1923 of Tutankhamun's tomb. Lord Carnarvon, who financed the excavation, died four months after the discovery. As he expired, the lights in the hospital he was in went out. Three other people involved in the expedition died within a few years of their visit to the tomb.
As Jacques de Molay (c. 1240–1314) burned at the stake, the last grand master of the Knights Templar cursed King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V. Within a year, both had died in mysterious circumstances.
There are few temples in the world dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Brahma. This is because of a lie Brahma had told Shiva—another god and a member of a triad that also included Vishna—claiming that it was he who was more powerful than Vishna. Knowing this was untrue, Shiva cursed Brahma, forbidding anyone on Earth to worship him. To this day there are no Hindu holidays celebrating Brahma.
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The evil eye is a "look" or "stare" that is believed to bring bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike. Its origins have been traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, exemplified by this 2nd-century CE Roman mosaic representing the curse, that still exists today.
The Curse of La Llorona has its roots in Spanish folklore. It surrounds a beautiful woman called Maria who marries a wealthy man, but only for his money. They have two children together. One day she sees her husband and their brood with another woman. Insane with jealously and rage, she grabs her two children and throws them into the river and to their deaths, after which she drowns herself. But she's cursed to spend eternity haunting the banks of rivers and lakes searching for her dead offspring.
The curse of the broken mirror has its origins in ancient Rome. They believed that the reflection in a mirror represented not just one's physical appearance, but also one's soul. They also believed that the soul would regenerate every seven years. Therefore to break a mirror would shatter the soul, and anger the gods in the bargain. Pictured is a broken wall mirror in the Amorini Dorati (Golden Cupids) House in Pompeii, Italy.
The ancient Romans and Greeks used curse tablets, typically very thin sheets of lead, upon which were inscribed requests of assistance from the gods, or elicitations of help from the dead, to perform a curse on a person or object.
Commonly associated with Haitian Vodou or Louisiana Voodoo, but in fact not prominent in either, curse dolls have their origins in ancient Rome, when miniature dolls were used as effigies of their targets to instill curses upon them.
One of antiquity's most notorious curses was that leveled upon Aeneas, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the goddess Venus, by his once-lover Dido, the queen of Carthage. Dido had suggested marriage to Aeneas so that they might rule the region together. However, the prince reneged on the agreement and left her. So enraged was the jilted queen that she pronounced a curse that Troy and Carthage would forever be enemies, which eventually led to the Punic Wars.
Another curse out of the Bible comes from the story of Noah, who one afternoon got drunk after sipping wine and passed out naked in his tent. Noah's son Ham witnessed his father's nakedness and told his brother, Japheth. Later, sober and enraged, Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan and all his followers and descendants to be subjugated as slaves to the Israelites.
In 1973, a team of archaeologists opened the tomb of the 15th-century Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon in Kraków, Poland. Shortly afterwards, several members of the group began to die, which immediately raised speculation that a curse similar to the one that befell the Tutankhamun expedition had been placed on the men. In fact, experts later discovered traces of a deadly fungi inside the tomb that when inhaled can inhibit breathing and cause lung illness. This what killed them.
French gem merchant and traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier is famous for purchasing a huge diamond that he later sold to King Louis XIV of France in 1668. Two-and-a-half centuries later a story was circulating that Tavernier had stolen the diamond from the statue of a Hindu goddess and that it was cursed: bad luck and misfortune would follow anybody who wore it. It ended up in the possession of Dutch collector Henry Philip Hope, hence its modern name, before being sold to Evelyn Walsh McLean (1886–1947). The precious stone eventually ended up in the Smithsonian Institution.
There's long been a belief in theater land that William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is cursed. Indeed, actors are urged not to say the word "Macbeth" in any theater except during a performance of the Bard's play. To do so is to bring bad luck upon all those involved in the production.
Hekate is a goddess of Greek mythology capable of both good and evil. In 2012, a Spanish researcher uncovered evidence to suggest that two separate curses inscribed on lead tablets 1,600 years ago, involving snakes and directed at a senator and an animal doctor, feature a depiction of Hekate with serpents coming out of her hair, possibly meant to strike at the victims.
Misfortune has followed the Kennedy clan since 1944, when Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. died in an air crash. Most infamously, John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated. Various Kennedy offspring have also met unfortunate ends, including as a result of substance abuse, a skiing accident, and—in the case of JFK Jr.—another plane crash.
The 27 Club is an urban legend attached to popular musicians, actors, and other artists who died at the age of 27. Apparently cursed, victims include Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and, most recently, Amy Winehouse.
In September 1991, the frozen corpse of a man estimated to have lived some time between 3350 and 3105 BCE was discovered in Europe's Ötztal Alps. Subsequently named Ötztal, or "ice man," the Stone Age mummy was removed from the mountain for further analysis. To date, seven scientists involved in the removal and examination of Oetzi have died—four of which have involved accidents. The more colorful of media reports attribute the deaths to an alleged curse, similar to that cast upon those disturbing the mummy of an ancient Egyptian.
Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (1336–1405), also known as Tamerlane, established and led the powerful and feared Timurid Empire. Soviet leader Stalin modeled himself on Timur's accomplishments and in June 19, 1941 ordered the exhumation of his remains, ignoring warnings by locals that to do so would unleash a curse over the nation. Three days later Adolf Hitler invaded the USSR, with millions dying as a result.
The Superman movie franchise is one of the most lucrative in cinema history. But success has come at a price, with some actors associated with the role meeting a tragically early end. George Reeves, who played Superman in the 1950s, killed himself in 1959. Christopher Reeve, star of the '70s and '80s movies, was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident in 1985 and eventually passed away in 2004. And Lee Quigley, who played Superman as a baby in the 1978 film, died in 1991 at age 14 of solvent abuse. Other actors involved in Superman movies, including Margot Kidder and Richard Pryor, also died relatively young.
When five Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers inexplicably disappeared while flying over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945, a search airplane was sent out to look for the missing aircraft. It also vanished. In all, 27 aircrew were unaccounted for, presumed dead. Since then, numerous boats, ships, and aircraft have been reported missing.
During the making of Mel Gibson's 2004 film 'The Passion of the Christ,' Jesus actor Jim Caviezel was struck by lightening while shooting the Sermon on the Mount scene. Immediately afterward, so was assistant director Jan Michelini. The double tap led many to believe a higher force had placed a curse on the production.
James Dean was killed in his Porsche 550 Spyder. The vehicle wreckage was salvaged, and the story goes that it later rolled off the back of a recovery truck and broke a mechanic's legs. The Porsche's engine was then fitted into a different car and killed the driver. Curse, or Hollywood legend?
Roman Polanski's 1968 psychological horror film is said to be the most cursed movie ever made. Tragedy and misfortune befell several involved in the production: composer Krzysztof Komeda died from a fall; producer William Castle was hospitalized with severe kidney stones and was desperately ill for weeks; and Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of Polanski, was brutally murdered by Manson family members.
In the book of Genesis, after Cain kills his brother Abel, God curses Cain to a life of toil and wandering, and that all land he tries to sow would be fallow.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were told they could eat anything they wanted—except the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God later cursed the serpent, a symbol of the underworld, for life after tempting Eve with an apple.
Superstition runs rife in the world of sports. The Billy Goat Curse, for example, was a sports curse that was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs in 1945. Tavern owner William Sianis was allegedly prevented from bringing in his pet goat, Murphy, into Wrigley Field to see the Cubs play the Detroit Tigers. In rage, Sianis placed a curse on the club, uttering that they would never win another World Series. Not only were the Cubs defeated by their opponents in 1945, they never secured a World Series championship again until 2016.
William Henry Harrison was elected the 9th president of the United States in 1840, only to die in office the following year. From then on, every 20 years the country elected a president who would die in office, right up to John F. Kennedy. Some believe this is as a result of a curse placed on Harrison and future presidents by Shawnee Chief Tecumseh after he and his warriors were defeated by Harrison and his troops at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.
Curses have been uttered since antiquity. The ancient Greeks and Romans placed all sorts of bizarre maledictions on those they didn't like. Curses fill the Bible, and they were common throughout the Middle Ages. More recently, unexplained episodes in archaeology and in the worlds of sport and entertainment have all been blamed on evil finger-pointing. So, is there any credence in the curse?
Click through and read more about some of history's most peculiar curses.
History's most bizarre curses
Evil finger-pointing and other strange maledictions
LIFESTYLE Curiosities
Curses have been uttered since antiquity. The ancient Greeks and Romans placed all sorts of bizarre maledictions on those they didn't like. Curses fill the Bible, and they were common throughout the Middle Ages. More recently, unexplained episodes in archaeology and in the worlds of sport and entertainment have all been blamed on evil finger-pointing. So, is there any credence in the curse?
Click through and read more about some of history's most peculiar curses.