BLOODY MARY!!!!

The ghost of Queen Mary I of England stained in blood drinking a Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary is a term used frequently in modern times. Many know it as a drink and others as a legendary myth. The drink is known as the world's complex cocktail;it contains vodka,tomato juice and very many spices which are mixed in specific proportions.Many say that it alleviates hangovers which explains why it is served at brunch.

The myth on the other hand, has been told from one generation to another. It has also been illustrated in popular TV series such as Supernatural: Season 1(Episode 5) in particular. The myth goes that bloody Mary is a ghost conjured to reveal the future. She appears in the mirror when her name is called many times. The person who wants to know their future walks up a flight of stairs backwards holding a candle and a mirror and says, "Bloody Mary!Bloody Mary! Bloody Mary!...I have got your baby!" After the person has said this, in the mirror there should appear a representation of the future. However, if a woman appears as a ghost covered in blood, then the person shall not live for long. The ghost woman is said to steal souls. However, this is all a myth and may not be true. So why Bloody Mary? Where did it come from?

Queen Mary I reigned after the death of her small brother King Edward. She is known to have killed and burned at stake 300 protestants in her reign hence the name Bloody Mary. So what exactly made her this way?

In the 16th Century, a child was born to King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon his first wife. They named her Mary. She was the only surviving child of Catherine. She grew up with the whole court's attention in her early childhood as she was the only living child. However, when the King saw that there was no possibility of him getting a male heir for the crown through Catherine, he advocated for his divorce with Catherine and married Anne Boleyn. Mary was considered illegitimate and the name "Princess Mary" was taken from her and replaced with the name "The Lady Mary".

When her stepsister Elizabeth was born, Mary was sent to attend to her as a maid and was denied the right to see her mother with the reason that they would plot against King Henry together to restore the Catholic church back in England. Therefore, Mary did not see her mother till her death in which she was also not allowed to attend her burial.

After a few years of marriage, King Henry executed his second wife, Anne and married a lady known as Jane who bore him a son,Edward. Mary was put to be her stepbrother's godmother. After the death of his third wife, King Henry married a lady who was six years younger than his own daughter, Mary. This infuriated Mary making her defy the King's orders from time to time.

According to King Henry's will, Edward was the first in line for the heir of the throne followed by Mary. Therefore, when he passed away, the young boy at the age of nine became the King of England. Since Mary was a catholic believer, court officials tried to convince Edward to shift his power to Jane Grey so that England would remain with its reformed Anglican church. Though King Eward was reluctant to it he agreed to their wishes when he was about to die of Tuberculosis.

However, when King Edward passed on, Mary I declared herself the legitimate leader and overthrew Jane Grey after nine days which is why she is known as the "Nine day queen". Once Mary got the throne, she had a mission to restore England to how it was before King Henry. She managed to do most of it apart from restoring the catholic faith in England. This was due to the fact that most people were believers of the Anglican church hence there resistance. Plots were create to overthrow her.

On hearing this, Queen Mary I prosecuted people and executed them by hanging. She even locked her own sister, Elizabeth because she refused to convert to Catholic faith. She burned over 300 heretics at stake.
During her reign, Queen Mary I married Philip of Spain at the age of 37. However, she suffered hysterical pregnancy twice and various miscarriages thereby leaving her with no child and heir of the throne. When she fell sick she wrote her sister Elizabeth in her will who took over her when she died.

As much as Queen Mary I is known as the bloody queen, she went through so much emotional pain and distress in her lifetime and this may have led to the wrath she had on the heretics and the people against her power; this explains the executions. Being the daughter of the King but being treated like one of the court maids was too much for a princess to take.

The phrase "I have your baby," in the myth is said to have originated from the fact that Queen Mary I had no baby and that she really longed for a baby and appears in the mirror once called upon.

“And I say to you, on the word of a Prince, I cannot tell how naturally the mother loveth the child, for I was never the mother of any; but certainly, if a Prince and Governor may as naturally and earnestly love her subjects as the mother doth love the child, then assure yourselves that I, being your lady and mistress, do as earnestly and tenderly love and favour you. And I, thus loving you, cannot but think that ye as heartily and faithfully love me.” Queen Mary I