An early 20th century Halloween greeting card depicts a divination ritual in which a woman stares into a mirror in a simple bloody mary room to catch a glimpse of the face of her future husband. The shadow of a witch is cast onto the wall at left.
Bloody Mary is a legend of a ghost, phantom, or spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is chanted repeatedly. Historically, the divination ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight of stairs backward holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to catch a view of their future husband’s face. In the ritual of today, Bloody Mary allegedly appears to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name in an act of catoptromancy. This is done by repeatedly chanting her name into a mirror placed in a dimly-lit or candle-lit room.
Staring into a mirror in a dimly-lit room for a prolonged period can cause one to hallucinate. Facial features may appear to “melt”, distort, disappear, and rotate, while other hallucinatory elements, such as animal or strange faces, may appear. There is some debate on the identification of Bloody Mary and if she is based on a real woman. Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture. Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bloody Mary”.
Contemporary Urban Legends and Popular Culture. Strange Face in the Mirror Illusion”. An Optical Illusion that Explains the Origins of Imaginary Monsters”. Bloody Mary’: Is an English Queen Behind the Haunting Urban Legend? What Inspired Queen ‘Bloody’ Mary’s Gruesome Nickname? The Ghost in the Mirror: The Legend of Bloody Mary Revealed”.
Legends abound regarding Bloody Mary Worth”. Bloody Mary Coctail with celery stalk – Evan Swigart. The Bloody Mary was invented in the 1920s or 1930s. There are various theories as to the origin of the drink and its name. The French bartender Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the Bloody Mary in 1921, well before any of the later claims, according to his granddaughter. New York’s 21 Club has two claims associated with it. One is that it was invented in the 1930s by bartender Henry Zbikiewicz, who was charged with mixing Bloody Marys.
Another attributes its invention to the comedian George Jessel, who frequented the 21 Club. In a 1939 publication by El Floridita called “Floridita Cocktails” a recipe called “Mary Rose” lists the main ingredients of a modern Bloody Mary. This booklet may be one of the earliest publications depicting the name Mary, while using the same ingredients in today’s Bloody Mary. Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the modern Bloody Mary in 1934 as a refinement to George Jessel’s drink, at the King Cole Room in New York’s St. Regis Hotel, according to the hotel’s own history. I initiated the Bloody Mary of today. Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over.
The cocktail was claimed as a new cocktail under the name “Red Hammer” in Life magazine in 1942, consisting of tomato juice, vodka, and lemon juice. Some drink aficionados believe the inspiration for the name was Hollywood star Mary Pickford. Others trace the name to a waitress named Mary who worked at a Chicago bar called the Bucket of Blood. Alternatively, the name may have arisen from “a failure to pronounce the Slav syllables of a drink called Vladimir” in English. The Bloody Mary is traditionally served over ice in a tall glass, such as a highball, flared pint or hurricane glass. In addition to the aforementioned more traditional ingredients, practically anything can be added to the drink itself or as a garnish according to the drinker’s wishes or the bartender’s or establishment’s traditions.
There is a considerable amount of variation available in the drink’s construction and presentation including the use of different base spirits like bourbon, rye, tequila, or gin. Made with absinthe it’s called a Bloody Fairy, or with the anise-flavored Arak it’s called then a “Bloody Miriam”. With sake it can be called a Bloody Geisha, and so forth. A century of Harry’s Bar in Paris”. The story is that there were a few customers, a few friends, and the bartender, Pete Petiot, made a cocktail for them with tomato juice and vodka. The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.
New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. George Jessel’s newest pick-me-up which is receiving attention from the town’s paragraphers is called Bloody Mary”. King Cole Bar: The History Of The Red Snapper”. Red Hammer’ is a new Hollywood cocktail.