2017 Real Cursed Objects Around the world… Δημιουργική εργασία σχολικού έτους 2016-17 στο μάθημα της Αγγλικής Γλώσσας Υπεύθυνη καθηγήτρια: Μ. Χριστοπούλου, M.Ed., ΠΕ06 Πειραματικό ΓΕ.Λ. Πατρών The subject of our project is «cursed objects around the world». We came up with this idea because, as teenagers, we have extended curiosity and in general, the paranormal excites us. Also from this research, we wanted to know how much the superstitions affect our community. We worked as a team of three members and did what you are about to read. All of our work was done electronically at our houses. We searched for information on each object separately and the result is the following… Αντρέας Ρεμπούτσικας Γιώργος Σωτηρόπουλος Διονύσης Σωτηρόπουλος (A2 Τάξη) Annabelle , The Cursed Doll Annabelle, the doll, was originally discovered in an antique shop in 1970. After being purchased as a gift from a mother to her daughter Donna, strange things started happening. Upon receiving it and bringing it home, she noticed that over time the doll would appear in other rooms that she had not put it in. On one account, she found it standing on its legs, unsupported. It addition, little notes started appearing around her apartment randomly with writings on it that read ‘Help Us’ and fresh droplets of blood would appear on the doll’s dress. As the unexplained phenomena increased, the girl called in some paranormal investigators who found the doll to be possessed by the spirit of a 7-year-old girl named Annabelle Higgins, who had moved into the doll after she was murdered. Upon learning this, the girls agreed that the girl could stay with them. But then things got worse. The doll’s activities started getting out of hand, which even included vicious unexplained attacks and scratch marks on the chest of one of their friends. The girl finally contacted renowned psychic investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who determined that the doll was actually possessed by a demon who was trying to possess the girl. The doll was ultimately given to the Warrens who put it in a glass cabinet where it remains to this day in their Occult Museum in Connecticut. The sign on the cabinet says “WARNING: POSITIVELY DO NOT OPEN”. Robert , The Evil Doll Robert the doll belonged to Robert Otto and was apparently gifted to him in 1896 by a servant who practised black magic and carried a dislike for the family. But things started getting weird when people heard the doll talk back to Robert. The doll became active and started appearing in windows when no one was in the house. It would vandalize rooms, break objects and of course, poor Robert got the blame, despite how openly terrified he was of this doll. After Robert died, another family bought the house and upon finding the doll in the attic, a little girl was just as terrified as poor Robert and said that the doll wanted to kill her and do terrible things. The doll is now on display in a museum in Key West, and is still believed to curse people. The legend is that you have to ask for its permission to take a photo of the doll and if you don’t, you’re simply cursed. Surrounding the doll are letters of forgiveness from people who have taken photographs without its permission, asking for him to lift the curse! The Cursed Tomb of King Tutankhamen The tomb of Tutankhamen, a 19-year-old Egyptian Pharaoh, is probably one of the most famous curses of all time. King Tut’s tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. It is said that anyone who dares enter the tomb is struck with bad luck, illness, or death because of something called the ‘Curse of The Pharaohs”. It is believed that the Howard Carter expedition was also struck by the curse and almost everyone who was involved with the expedition died under mysterious circumstances. The first person to fall prey to the curse was Lord Carnarvon, financial backer of the excavation team. He died within 4 months of being at the tomb, due to a mosquito bite that became infected. Other deaths that followed were that of the radiologist who X-rayed Tutankhamen’s mummy and 10 other people who either committed suicide, or were shot, or poisoned within months of visiting the tomb. Whether the curse is true or just a mere coincidence, it is hard to find a logical explanation for it. The Curse of the Iceman Discovered in 1991 in the Otzal Alps of Italy, the mummy of Otzi, also known as “The Iceman”, is believed to be of a man who lived around 3000 BC. His body was preserved by a glacier that surrounded him after he died of exposure. But after he was unearthed, the people linked to his discovery began to die, often in violent accidents. All 7 deaths (including the forensic pathologist Rainer Henn who died in a horrific car accident en route to give a speech about the Iceman!; mountaineer Kurt Fritz who died in an avalanche; and hiker Helmut Simon, who discovered the Iceman during a hike with his wife and died after falling off from a dangerous hidden path) can be linked to “the Iceman” or rather the curse of “the Iceman” and his discovery. The Chair of Death This notorious chair, also known as “Busby’s stoop chair”, once belonged to convicted murderer Thomas Busby. Before he was hanged for his crimes, his final request was to have a meal at his favourite local pub. However, upon finishing his meal, he stood and proclaimed: “May sudden death come to anyone who dare sit on my chair”. Since then, a supposed 63 people who have sat in the chair, met their untimely deaths, sometimes mere moments after sitting in it! When the number of deaths became too coincidental, the pub owner donated the chair to the Thirsk Museum in the UK in 1972. The chair is still there today where it is hung 1.5 meters (5 feet) off of the ground to prevent any further coincidences! The Haunted Wedding Dress In the mid 1800’s, a young girl named Anna Baker, who came from a wealthy family, fell in love with a low-class iron worker. They planned a wedding for which she even bought a dress. But upon discovering about her relationship, her father forbid the wedding. From that point on, she refused to marry anybody else and spent the rest of her life alone, bitter and angry until her death in 1914. That wedding dress has since been put on display in her old bedroom at the old Baker mansion. It’s often been observed moving by itself which could be attributed to a draft or something except for the fact that it is in an airtight glass case. Some believe that is it Anna’s spirit inhabiting the dress, dancing her wedding dance that she never got to have while she was alive. The Cursed Mirror of Myrtles Plantation Myrtles Plantation is believed to be one of the most haunted places in the world. But the most haunted item on the premises is a mirror that was added to the home in 1980. Legend claims that the mirror contains the spirits of Sara Woodruff and her children who were poisoned to death by a slave named Chloe on the premises. Whenever a family member dies, tradition dictates that you’re supposed to cover all mirrors in the house so that their spirits don’t get lost or trapped. Poor Clark missed one mirror in the house and it is said that the spirits of Sara and her children got trapped there. The guests at the plantation, which is now a popular bed and breakfast, have reported seeing figures lurking in the mirror and child-sized hand prints on the glass. Actual photo of the spirit of one of the little girl caught in the mirror, squatting by the door. If you look closely, you can see her knees pushing out the form of her dress. You can also see her foot! ‘The Crying Boy’ Painting “The Crying Boy” painting was produced by an artist named Giovanni Bragolin in 1950’s and quickly became famous…or rather infamous! Over the years, the painting became very popular and thus, mass-produced and hung in many homes across Britain. However, it soon became widely reported that many of these homes mysteriously caught fire, with many of them burning to the ground. But as creepy as that is, the most disturbing thing is that in many of these homes, the painting of ‘The Crying Boy’ was discovered absolutely untouched by the raging flames. Some regarded these fires as pure coincidences, but the undamaged paintings haven’t been explained till date. The Dybbuk Box In 2001, a man named Kevin Mannis purchased a wine cabinet that was auctioned at eBay and immediately started having terrible nightmares as did the people around him. He decided to give the cabinet to his mother who then suffered a stroke the very day she received it. Each owner since then has reported horrible events upon coming into possession of the cabinet. Its last owner, Jason Haxton developed a strange skin disease among other medical conditions. The origins of the box were traced back to a Holocaust survivor and is believed to be possessed by a Dybbuk, a restless, usually malicious, spirit in Jewish mythology believed to be able to haunt and possess the living. Upon learning this, Haxton with the help of local rabbis, decided to hide the box from the rest of the world so that it couldn’t do any more damage.