In many cultures, the same legendary characters are given different "biographies". However, there are variations of stories that have become more popular than the rest.
Bloody Mary
Several women bore this nickname. For example, Queen Mary I of England Tudor. She was an ardent Catholic and burned Protestants at the stake. Another Bloody Mary was the famous sea robber, who was distinguished by rage and bloodthirstiness. It is believed that it was in her honor that the eponymous cocktail was named, as she loved to mix rum with tomato juice. These women went down in history, but a completely different lady became a ghost.
In the legend of Bloody Mary, a mirror is often mentioned.
According to legend, in one of the American villages there lived a woman named Mary. The locals considered her a witch: young girls disappeared after visiting her shop with medicinal herbs, and Mary herself seemed not to grow old at all.
Once the daughter of a very influential peasant disappeared, and the whole village went in search. The girl was found during a ceremony conducted by Mary. Seeing the crowd, the sorceress rushed to run, but was captured and burned. According to legend, during the execution, she cursed the peasants, and now her vengeful spirit comes for the soul of everyone who utters her name three times. In some variations of the story, the "invocation ritual" also involves standing in front of a mirror or performing it at midnight.
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Anku
The legend of Anku is one of the most ancient and is found in almost all cultures, however, the main character appears under different names. The ideas about the purpose of the ghost also differ: somewhere he is an ordinary demon, and somewhere - the personification of death itself. Only one thing is invariable: a meeting with Anku promises certain death.
There are several versions of the origin of the ghost. According to one of them, this is the spirit of a person who died last of the year in a city or village. According to another, this is the first buried in the cemetery. Anku was usually portrayed as a tall, thin man in a dark robe and with a scythe that was pointed outward. Sometimes he is described as an ethereal skeleton, and in many sources Anku wears a wide-brimmed hat.
It is believed that at night, Anku walks the Roads of Death - abandoned field roads along which the dead are taken to the cemetery - and collects corpses. Next to him are a pair of skinny, exhausted horses dragging an old cart on which Anku places the dead. Sometimes he can be accompanied by two in black robes: one opens the gates and doors, and the second carries the bodies out of the houses. The companions are two hypostases of Anku himself and together with him form a certain antipode of the Holy Trinity.
Ghost of the White Lady
There are two equally popular legends about the White Lady, but in themselves they differ markedly. According to one version, the ghost of the White Lady lived in the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg. It is not known how he appeared, but it is believed that the emperors Nicholas I, Alexander II and Nicholas II met with him.
Anichkov Palace.
Nicholas I did not learn anything from the White Lady, because he began to choke with fear, and subsequently experienced fits of suffocation for the rest of his life. Alexander II talked with the Lady for a long time, and she told him that he would survive three assassination attempts, which eventually happened. The White Lady told Nicholas II that he would become the last Russian tsar, and again she was right.
According to another version, many years ago in the Episcopal Castle of Haapsalu in Estonia, all monks had to observe a strict chaste charter. One of the canons fell in love with a girl, but their relationship was impossible. Then the girl changed into a singer and secretly made her way into the castle. The secret was soon revealed. The girl was immured alive in the walls of the castle, and the monk died in prison from hunger. It is believed that during the full moon in August, you can see the shadow of the White Lady in the window of the castle tower. Locals believe that this is a good omen that portends true love.
Old Man Kusovnikov
According to an old urban legend, at the end of the 19th century in Moscow on Myasnitskaya Street, where the Tea House now stands, lived the Kusovnikov couple: rich, but incredibly stingy. The Kusovnikovs ate little and tried not to leave the house again, so as not to waste money. With age, they began to be madly afraid of thieves, and therefore all their fortune was always carried with them in a box. The elderly couple had only one entertainment: to ride around Moscow at night, of course, together with the coveted box.
Once, living in one of the estates far from Moscow, the Kusovnikovs relaxed and went for their usual walk without a box. All the savings were hidden in the fireplace, but the servants did not know about this, and therefore, in the absence of the masters, they decided to flood it.
Tea house on Myasnitskaya.
When the Kusovnikovs returned, they were horrified: their wife died of shock on the spot. For a long time, the husband tried to exchange the spoiled banknotes for whole ones with bankers, but he could not achieve what he wanted, and soon followed his wife.
According to popular belief, Muscovites can see Kusovnikov on Myasnitskaya after 7 pm, but this meeting does not bode well - it portends financial difficulties.
Ekaterina Morozova