With just days to go until the tardy sequel to The Blair Witch Project, we're already putting on our Halloween pants and getting excited for the spookiest season of the year. With tons of 2016 horror movies still on the horizon, what better way to get ahead of the scary months to come than with a more traditional form of storytelling? That's right, we're talking myths and legends. To prepare for the return of the Blair Witch, we've uncovered some creepy lore about supposed witches who have made their cursed mark on history. Bear in mind, these stories are hardly fact, but that doesn't make them any less chilling.
According to the official website for the Bell Witch, a malevolent entity attacked a pioneer family, the Bells, in Tennessee between 1817 and 1821. Here are the basics of what happened:
Leave it to a site called Witchcraft and Witches to tell us the horrifying legend of Moll Dyer. When you consider how Moll lived in Maryland (just like the Blair Witch), it's not hard to see how her story might have provided the bare bones for the legend in the iconic horror film. What's more, the details of her death and haunting seem to share a commonality or two with the Blair Witch. Here are the highlights:
Meanwhile, over in New Zealand, there's an entire website dedicated to the country's paranormal happenings. According to the site, three witches were hanged in the 1800s in Auckland and have haunted the area ever since. A few other fun details:
You know the legend, but where did it come from? There are a variety of explanations attached to Bloody Mary: Some believe she's a woman who got in a car accident and ruins the faces of the children who summon her. Others claim the entity is linked to Queen Mary I of England, who earned the nickname of "Bloody Mary" after burning nearly 300 English Protestants at the stake. But an alternate phrase associated with the game tells a different story.