Bloody Mary is the legendary figure said to appear when her name is repeated into a mirror. But who, or what is she, where did the ritual come from, and why have generations of children dared each other to summon her?

Explore the chilling history behind the Bloody Mary legend and how Queen Mary I of England earned her terrifying “Bloody Mary” nickname.

If you are unlucky enough to summon Bloody Mary, there’s no real standard of what you’ll see. By some accounts, she’s hideously mutilated but in others she is beautiful but bloody—more commonly though—every aspect of her appearance is vague. There’s even...