The Last Breath of Mercy Brown

*A true tale of grief, fear, and fire in 1892 Rhode Island*

They called it *consumption*, because it consumed you—slowly, cruelly. First the cough, then the fever, then the wasting. One by one, the Brown family of Exeter, Rhode Island, faded like breath on a windowpane.

First went Mary Eliza, the mother. Then Mary Olive, the eldest daughter. Then Edwin, the son, left for Colorado in a desperate bid for dry air and healing. And then, in the bitter winter of 1892, Mercy Lena Brown—just 19—died.

But Edwin returned home still sick. Pale. Weak. Dying.

The townsfolk whispered. Too many Browns had died. Too quickly. Too completely. And Edwin—he was being *drained*. Not by disease, they said. By the dead.

The villagers remembered old tales. From Europe, yes—but also from their own soil. In Vermont, they’d burned the heart of Frederick Ransom. In Connecticut, they’d dismembered corpses. In rural New England, the dead were not always dead. Sometimes, they fed.

So they came for Mercy.

Two months after her burial, they exhumed her grave. Her body, unlike the others, was strangely preserved. Her hair had grown. Her nails, too. And—most damning of all—there was blood in her heart.

They removed it.

They burned it.

They mixed the ashes with water and gave it to Edwin to drink.

This was not a horror story. This was *medicine*, by 19th-century standards. A folk cure. A desperate act of love and fear.

Edwin died anyway.

But Mercy lived on—in legend. Her grave, in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, still draws visitors. Some leave vampire teeth. Others leave flowers. All leave wondering: how could grief twist into ritual? How could love become exhumation?

And what if the dead *do* whisper?

My Crimany Cryptid Chronicles- The Angulia Peluda: Demon of the Ravine

The Anguila Peluda: Demon of the Ravine

Anguila Peluda, the hairy eel of Anaga. A demon in disguise. Exorcised, but never gone.

High in the Anaga mountains of Tenerife, where mist clings to volcanic cliffs and ravines cut deep into stone, lies Barranco de los Infiernos—the Ravine of the Damned. Within it, a pool known as Charco de la Anguila. The Pool of the Eel. But this wasn’t just any eel. This one had hair.

Locals spoke of a monstrous eel that slithered through the Palmital ravine, its head covered in thick fur, its gaze full of malice. They feared it wasn’t just a beast—it was something darker. Something sent to torment.

The Anguila Peluda—Hairy Eel—was said to be enormous, with a head bristling with coarse hair and eyes that gleamed with malevolence. Some claimed it could hypnotize with a glance. Others swore it was a demon. Its presence was so disturbing, a priest was summoned to exorcise it.

Historian Manuel de Ossuna y Van Den Heede recorded the tale in 1897. The priest came. The rites were performed. And the creature vanished.

But here’s the twist—even after the exorcism, the fear remained. The pool kept its name. The legend lingered. And some say, on moonless nights, the water still stirs.

For me, Anguila Peluda isn’t just folklore—it’s a symbol. A creature that wears its curse like a coat. That spirals through myth and memory. That reminds us: not all demons wear horns. Some wear fur.

Was the Anguila Peluda a real animal? A metaphor for colonial dread? Or something else entirely—a cryptid born of volcanic isolation and whispered warnings? Whatever it was, it left behind a name, a story, and a chill in the water.

Bloody Mary

Late one night, three friends—Emma, Jack, and Mia—gathered in Emma’s dimly lit attic to tell ghost stories. Seeking a thrill, Mia dared them to summon the infamous Bloody Mary. With a mix of skepticism and nervous giggles, they headed to the bathroom, clutching flashlights.

They stood before the mirror, the flashlights' beam flickering as it cast jagged shadows, their reflections twisting and shimmering unnaturally in the dim light. Together, they chanted, “Bloody Mary” three times. For a heartbeat, there was nothing but the hum of silence, and Jack broke into laughter, calling the legend a hoax.

But then, the room grew cold—so cold that their breath fogged the glass. Slowly, an icy handprint appeared on the mirror, forming from nowhere. Emma stumbled back, her flashlight trembling. The mirror seemed to ripple, like water disturbed by a pebble, and a shadowy figure emerged, her hollow eyes fixed on the trio.

Mia’s scream shattered the silence as the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. When the lights flickered back on, the mirror was empty, and the handprint had vanished. Though they escaped unscathed, they knew they would never laugh at urban legends again.

Legend of The Dullahan – The terrifying tale of the headless horseman.

In the misty, rolling hills of Ireland, when the full moon hung low, villagers would lock their doors and whisper tales of terror. They spoke of The Dullahan, the fearsome headless horseman. Mounted on a black steed with eyes that glowed like embers, The Dullahan rode fast, his decapitated head tucked under one arm.

The head, with a hideous grin that stretched from ear to ear, had eyes that could see vast distances, even in the darkest night. As the horseman's spine-chilling laughter echoed through the valleys, those who heard it knew they were marked.

For The Dullahan was a harbinger of death. He would stop outside the house of the doomed, raise his bony arm, and the name of the soon-to-be-deceased would be uttered with a silent, grim certainty. The only defense against The Dullahan was gold—for it repelled him and sent him galloping into the shadows.

On one particularly foggy night, a brave young man named Aidan, curious to see if the tales were true, ventured out with a golden coin clutched in his trembling hand. As the eerie laughter drew closer, his courage faltered. The black steed emerged from the mist, and The Dullahan's headless form loomed before him.

Aidan threw the coin, and with a screech, The Dullahan vanished, leaving only the echo of his chilling laugh. The villagers found Aidan the next morning, safe but forever haunted by what he had seen.
To this day, on moonlit nights, whispers of The Dullahan's ride send shivers down the spines of those who dare to remember. 

Underground Pyramid in Alaska?

       

On May 22, 1992, scientists studying shockwaves from a Chinese underground nuclear test in Lop Nur recorded a grainy, pyramid-shaped spot of interference twice as large as Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. Researchers believe that this anomaly below Alaska's Mt. Denali is an artificial structure made of black stone. The top of this 550 feet tall "Dark Pyramid" is said to be 150 feet below ground.

The area was reportedly off-limits throughout the Cold War era possibly do to the fact that Alaska was on the front lines.

Retired U.S. Army Counterintelligence agent Doug Mutschler first attempted to bring the pyramid's existence into light on the show "Coast to Coast AM". He was also later interviewed by investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe who has spent years researching the pyramid.

Mutschler said that in the fall of 1992 he was stationed at Fort Richardson in Alaska. He was sitting in a room with some off duty soldiers when on Anchorage channel 13 broadcast a news story about then nuclear test and subsequent pyramid discovery. He said that went to the news station the next day and the manager of the station denied the story and said that he had no idea what Mutschler was talking about. On the way out a younger employee nervously ushered Mutschler over and claimed that the story was true. He said that a couple of scary guys in suites met with the station manager and confiscated everything that had to do with the story.

Mutschler was transferred the next year to Fort Meade in Maryland where there was a giant archive of top-secret government files. He found the Alaska files, but before he could read them, he was stopped by two men that said that he didn't have a need to know for that information and was told to leave.

Howe had asked from Mutschler and received his DD214, which is a certificate from the U.S. military that lists everything about the Indvidual's time in the service. Howe said that Mutschler is who he claimed to be and the timing and locations of where he was matched his record.
 
Another person that Howe has interviewed claimed that their father Marty B. Johnson worked for Western Electric and had been inside the pyramid. Johnson had told him that he had been taken on a bus with blacked out windows so he couldn't see what was outside.

When Johnson left the bus, he was in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness with a lonely shed as the only structure around. In the shed there was a large freight elevator.

Johnson and the others that he had traveled on the bus with now rode the elevator far down into the earth. When they stopped, they found themselves at typical military offices with concrete floors and only numbers on the doors.

At the end of the hallway was a15 feet tall steel door wide enough to drive a car through. The door opened and inside was a giant cavern. The military officer that was their guide then announced, "Gentlemen welcome to the dark pyramid."

Johnson told his son that he didn't know if the pyramid was of extraterrestrial origin, but he did say that it was technology way beyond anything he had ever seen. He said that there were control rooms at each corner. These control rooms measured the energy immitted from the pyramid.

Johnson said that his father made a small replica of the pyramid made out of aluminum. He ran a small voltage through the pyramid and the energy was magnified and produced more than enough electricity to power their whole farm.

Another person that came forward was Bruce L. Pearson. He said that his dad Lee had joined the Navy right after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and served on torpedo boat 492 during World War II.

In the 1970's the retired Navy veteran and his family moved to Alaska where Lee and his wife became schoolteachers. Bruce said that Lee then met a U.S. Airforce piolet, and they exchanged war stories. He then asked Lee if he wanted to ride with him on a classified delivery mission near Denali. 

When Lee got on board, he was informed that it was some weird underground power generating installation. Lee asked if it was nuclear. The co-piolet said that it was nothing that "they built." It was thousands of years old and shaped like a pyramid and that they didn't know where it came from. He said that it generates enough power to power the whole state of Alaska as well as the whole country of Canada.

When they got about 5 miles from their destination Lee was told that the helicopter's instruments were going to go crazy and not to panic and that they were going to just keep the ground in site to make sure they didn't hit any obstacles. Lee said that a couple of moments later everything on board the helicopter went crazy and then went dark.

When they touched down and the ground crew began refueling them with the engine still running. Lee had told Bruce that there had been a small couple of guard houses with towers as well as two freight elevators. Boxes of equipment were piled here and there and there was electric razor wire everywhere. Overhead a C130 was flying circles. Six men in plain black uniforms unloaded three heavy cases while heavily armed men in the distance had guns as well as jeeps with a 50-caliber machine gun pointed at the plane.

In about 4 minutes Lee and the piolets were on the helicopter and headed back. Once they were back at the airport they went to a bar where Lee had asked them what he seen was all about. The piolet told him that the place was more secure than the Manhattan Project and that nobody is supposed to know that it exists. He said that it was a giant underground pyramid made of what it is thought to be black stone. It is 10's of thousands of years old and that there have been engineers working there since the 1950's.

On June 13th, 2020, Nathan Campbell had someone fly him into Denali National Park in Alaska and dropped him off near Carey Lake, which was just few miles from what was thought to be the Pyramid's location. He had told the piolet to pick him up a couple of months later in the same location he was dropped off at. He had fishing gear, a couple of totes of food, and a big backpack. He also claimed he had a Garmin InReach satellite communication in case he needed to call for help and GPS tracking device. Campbell was never seen of or heard from ever again.

A search turned up the supplies Campbell had cached at Carey Lake, and a few miles away, a collapsed tent. Inside the tent was Campbell's diary, which appeared to have been chewed on by rodents. The last entry said Campbell had left his campsite to get water. There is no other sign of him.

Do you think the Dark Pyramid is real? Do you think it was built by aliens? What happened to Nathan Campbell?

The Haunting of Cedarhurst Mansion.

Stephen Ewing built Cedarhurst Mansion in 1823 in Huntsville, Alabama. Tragically, on November 28th, 1837, Sally Carter, a relative of the Ewings, died of illness at the age of 15 while visiting her sister at the mansion. It was just three weeks shy of her birthday when she was buried on the property. It was said that her ghost has continued to linger, and over the years, people have reported strange occurrences related to her.

The most famous report of Sally’s ghost occurred in 1919, when a 17-year-old boy from Dothan was staying in her former bedroom. He claimed to have been visited by her during a stormy night. Sally asked him to fix her tombstone, which had been knocked over in the storm. When the boy’s family checked, they found the tombstone indeed fallen.

Other people that have stayed in Sally's room have reported doors opening and closing by themselves, covers getting snatched off the bed and light switches flipping on their own.

There also have been reports of Sally's apparition roaming the estate she adored. A former guard at Cedarhurst reported hearing Sally's footsteps upstairs during a night shift. Once her shift concluded, she discovered that she had misplaced some money while making her rounds.

Despite searching the property, experiencing the eerie sensation of footsteps trailing her, and enduring the unsettling flicker of her flashlight as though its batteries were about to expire, the guard eventually resigned herself to the loss of the money.

Upon her return to the guard shack, her flashlight suddenly flickered to life, illuminating the cash she had written off as lost. It was at that moment she decided to express her gratitude to Sally, and she claims that in response, she heard the laughter of a young woman.

There have been numerous reports of Sally’s ghost watching over children as they slept and moving furniture on its own. Sally's spirit is said to haunt the estate to this day.

Constant visits to her grave caused problems for her family. In 1982, when a new neighborhood was being developed, Sally’s family moved her casket along with others in the family plot and reburied her in Maple Hill Cemetery. Some claim that when her grave was excavated, Sally's casket was empty.

If you’re ever in Huntsville, you might want to explore the eerie history of Sally Carter’s grave!

THE HAUNTING Of Cedarhurst Mansion - YouTube

Is Hell's Gate Bridge in Alabama a Passageway to The Fiery Depths of Hell?

 

Built in the 1930's, Hell’s Gate Bridge is hidden within the woods in Oxford, Alabama. Legend has it that this small broken-down bridge, that creeks underfoot, is haunted by the spirits of those who met tragic ends there. This bridge has earned its name from when in the 1950s, a young couple tragically drove off the bridge and plunged into the water below. This event left an indelible mark on the bridge’s history. Some say that if you stop your car on Hell’s Gate Bridge, turn off your lights, and glance over your shoulder, the road behind you resembles the fiery gates of Hell. Others say that if you leave your car and come back, you may find the seat wet from a ghost that emerged from the creek. Locals have reported various spine-chilling phenomenon over the years. 

Due to safety reasons, local officials have blocked off vehicle access to the bridge using cement blocks. However, visitors can still explore it on foot, although walking across the aging structure isn’t recommended.

Hell's Gate Bridge

St. Augustine: The Haunted Lighthouse

St. Augustine was established by it's first governor, Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez De Aviles, on September 8th, 1565. It's the oldest continually inhabited settlement in the continental United States. And is located about 40 miles southeast of Jacksonville, Florida. 

On May 28th and 29th, 1586, soon after the Anglo-Spanish War began between England and Spain, the British pirate Sir Frances Drake, pillaged and burned St. Augustine. He allowed the governor and the towns people to flee for their safety first.

In 1668, the English buccaneer Robert Searle then sacked St. Augustine, killing sixty people and pillaging government buildings, churches and houses, after which his pirates ransomed off some of their hostages and sold others into slavery. In 1702, during Queen Anne's war, after a brutal British attack that lasted 58 days,, the British troops burned St. Augustine to the ground as they retreated. This was followed by yet another fiery British siege in 1740.

In 1763, after Great Britain's victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War, the Treaty of Paris was signed  and St. Augustine was finally handed over to Britain. The HMS Industry, one of the first boats sent to the new territory, sank in the waters just below the looming light house.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse had existed since 1586, until it fell into the ocean in 1880 due to erosion. It was the earliest, permanent aid-to-navigation in the continental United States of America.

The new lighthouse was completed on October 15th, 1874, 500 yards southwest from the original lighthouse. The light could be seen from 24 nautical miles away. The same original lens from 1874 is still in use today.

The light house has it's share of ghost stories and sightings. The keeper's house basement is the setting for some suspicious activity. Shortly after the lighthouse was rebuilt, it is said that a lighthouse keeper hung himself in the basement. People have claimed to see a man in blue lurking in the shadows. Some people say that the man in blue is the keeper that hung himself. Others say that it could be that it is the restless spirit of lighthouse keeper Joseph Andreu, who fell to his death while painting the original tower in 1859. Visitors and staff report the overpowering smell of cigar smoke on the landing of the tower, despite the fact that smoking is expressly prohibited on the grounds. Is the smoke smell from Andrew or is it from a man named Peter Rasmusson? He was the lighthouse keeper from 1901 to 1924, which was the longest stint of any keeper. He was a crabby guy and a smoker who hated tourists. Some people also claims that he is the man in blue.

A man named Hezekiah H. Pittee oversaw the construction work. To entertain his restless children, he allowed them to play with the supply cart that ran back and forth between the lighthouse and the ocean. On July 10th, 1873, the two eldest Pittee children, Eliza and Mary, drowned when the cart toppled over into the water. Historians believe that a third child, a young African-American girl, was also killed in the accident. Lighthouse workers say that the mischievous spirits of these children still haunt the lighthouse today. Workers will find locked doors standing wide open the next day, and the sound of children’s laughter can be heard in the stairwell. Music boxes sold in the gift shop inexplicably pop open, playing by themselves. Tour guides report multiple incidences of being touched or grabbed by ghosts while showing visitors around the lighthouse. In one particular tour, there were little children's footprints found in the sand, despite there being no children on the tour.

Visitors to the lighthouse report catching glimpses of a young girl dressed in period clothing peering out from the lighthouse door or standing near an upstairs window.

In 2009, a cell tower worker took a photo of his coworker with the lighthouse in the background and seemed to capture the figure of a young girl in a long dress with long hair, standing alone on the top observation deck.

One of the first lighthouse keepers, William Harn, was also one of the first keepers to die in the lighthouse. He had malaria and tuberculosis that he caught from the Civil War. Coughs can be heard from the parlor room and is suspected that those are the coughs from William. 

The Legend Of La Llorona- The Wailing Woman

According to one popular legend,  a woman named Maria was  blessed with natural beauty and determined to marry only the most handsome man she could. She eventually fell in love, married and had two children. Maria was abandoned by her husband and left to raise their children alone and they ended up drowning. In many versions of the tale it is suggested that Maria had been overcome with grief of her lost love and killed the children before dumping them in the river. When Maria is refused entry to heaven without her children, she is forced to search the waters for their remains during the afterlife.

There are reports of seeing The Wailing Woman all across the United States and Mexico. The most reported sightings are in California and New Mexico.

The Haunting Of Goatman's Bridge

Built in 1884, the "Old Alton Bridge" aka "Goatman's Bridge" and the forest surrounding it are rich with hauntings, murders, and mysteries. People from all over the United States to have Goatman's Bridge in order to see if they could get a glimpse of the Goatman. Some unfortunate things have happened to people who have decided to visit the bridge. 

The bridge lies in Texas and was built to connect Alton to Denton and for horses and automobiles to travel across the river. The bridge can no longer handle automobiles and is strictly a pedestrian crossing. 

Alton was founded in 1848 and some say that it originally had a population of 1. Alton was chosen as the legal center of Denton county and remained that way for about 10 years. After the county seat was moved to Denton, the residents of Alton moved to other towns and Alton eventually disappeared. Today, the Baptist Church and the Alton cemetery are all that remains of the Alton village

Some people believe that Satanists have performed dark rituals on the bridge and opened a portal to another dimension. Pet stores in the area have stopped selling cats, due to many of their tortured little dead bodies being found in the woods. There have also been reports of inhuman screams coming from the woods, or maniacal laughter sounding. On Halloween, if you go the bridge and honk your horn twice, you may see the fiery red eyes of the Goatman, preceded by the stench of decaying flesh. Numerous reports tell of a Goat-headed man-beast stomping in the wooded shadows, or a frightening apparition of a maniacal Satyr carrying the heads of goats or humans in his hands. Many ghost box sessions have resulted in the name Steven being heard.The spirits are theorized to be violent and angry. Many people that have visited the area have claimed that they have been dragged, struck in the head or scratched three times, which is a mock of the Holy Trinity. Some people have also reported to feel an urge to kill whomever they are visiting the area with.

The legends the bridge differ depending on who tells it, but one of the most popular version is that of an African-American entrepreneur named Oscar Washburn. Oscar and his family tended a farmstead goat herd near the bridge that was renowned for quality meat, milk, cheeses and hides. When the popular businessman proudly hung a sign on the Old Alton Bridge directing “This way to the Goatman,” which caught the attention of the local Ku Klux Klansmen. On a dark night in the late 1930's, a infuriated lynch mob made up of the KKK stormed Oscar’s shack and kidnapped him. They then dragged the screaming Goatman to their noose waiting on the bridge, tightened the rope around Oscar’s neck, then mercilessly flung him over the side. But when the the mob stumbled down to the dark river’s edge to confirm their murderous handiwork, they were shocked to empty noose dangling over undisturbed waters.

The KKK were confused and upset that their insidious plan didn't work  rushed to Oscar’s shack, setting it afire with the Goatman’s family shrieking inside, perhaps to bait a desperate rescue attempt by the vanished Oscar. Oscar was never seen again, they say, but a vengeful spirit has haunted the Old Alton Bridge ever since. 

Whether or not Oscar's story is true, many people still believe that the bridge as well as the forest surrounding it are haunted by spirits.

Spontaneous Combustion Or Murder? The Strange Death Of Mary Reeser.

On July 1st, 1951, 68-year-old widow, Mary Hardy Reeser, was sitting in her easy chair in her apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was about 9 p.m. when her son, Dr. Richard Reeser, and her landlady, Mrs. Pansy M. Carpenter, both said goodnight and left. Before her son left, Mary told Richard that she had taken two seconal tablets, which were mild sedatives, and was planning on taking two more before bed.

The next morning, at 5:00 a.m. Pansy was awakened by the smell of smoke and she assumed it was a water pump in the garage that had been overheating. She turned the pump off and went back to sleep. 

At about 8:00 a.m., Pansy was awakened by a telegraph boy at her door, who had a telegraph for Mary. Pansy walked to Mary's room with the telegraph and some coffee in hand. She noticed the smell of smoke again and noticed soot in the hallway that led to Mary's room. Pansy knocked on the door but there was no answer. When she checked the doorknob and it was hot to the touch, Pansy became alarmed and ran outside to find some help. After enlisting the help of some carpenters working nearby, they managed to force open the door Mary's apartment only to be met by a terrible blast of heat and a ghastly sight.

The only portion of the apartment that was burned was the small corner in which sat the cremated remains of Mary and her easy chair. Only coiled chard springs were still there, the rest of the chair was but ash. Mary's skull had shrunk to the size of a tea cup. Parts of her spine remained, as well as her liver and her unburned left foot wearing her black, satin slipper.

For Mary's body to be cremated, the body would have to burn at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 or more hours. Oddly, however, the rest of the apartment showed minor damage that doesn't make sense with a fire that hot burning for so long. Skulls usually don't shrink either, they usually become swollen or explode.

From about the four foot level on up, the walls were covered with a greasy soot, a mirror had cracked, plastic switches and a plastic tumbler in the bathroom had melted, as had two candles on a dresser which left behind their unburned wicks and a pink pool of wax. Below the four foot level, the only damage was the small circular burn area encompassing the remains of Mary and her chair, and a plastic electric wall outlet that had melted, stopping her clock at 4:20 a.m. The paint on the walls were unscorched and there was a stack of news papers close to Mary that were  undamaged. Neighbors never noticed the fire at the time it was burning  in Mary's apartment. When firefighters arrived, the heat was so intense that they were quoted as saying that they couldn't stand it.

What caused the fire? 

The electrical outlet melted only after the fire had begun, so an electrical fire was ruled out. 

An FBI pathologist tested samples of the carpet, chair, smoke and debris in for analysis. No traces of accelerates were found. The only thing that was found was melted fat in the carpet. A local mattress company said that the material that Mary's chair was made out of would not burn like that. They claimed it would have just smoldered for a long period of time. And since no sign of accelerates were found either, i don't think it could be murder.

Months later, the Chief of Police and the Chief of Detectives signed a statement attributing Mary Reeser's death to falling asleep with a cigarette in her hand. Mary was allegedly seen sitting in her chair with a cigarette in her hand the evening before she burst into flames. However, a cigarette could not create a fire hot enough to cremate her, not by itself.

A letter addressed to the chief of detectives said, "A ball of fire came in through the open window and hit her. I seen it happen." 

If that story is true, where'd the fire ball come from? It couldn't have been lightening. Lighting had been considered, but there had been none in St. Petersburg that night. 

So, could Mary have been a victim of Spontaneous human combustion?

There is no doubt that bodies can burn; crematoriums routinely reduce the human body to ashes in the course of a few hours. But can bodies start themselves on fire?

If the person is asleep, intoxicated, unconscious, or otherwise unable to move or put the flames out, the victim's clothes can act as a wick. The flames draw on the body's fat and internal gases to fuel the fire. Remember the fat found in Mary's carpet?

There is also a rare medical condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome that, in extreme cases, may be mistaken for a case of an aborted spontaneous combustion. The skin disease, which can be triggered by a toxic reaction to medications, including antibiotics and prescription painkillers, causes the appearance of severe burns and blisters, and can be fatal.

Cases of theorized spontaneous human combustion usually entail the surroundings of the site of the fire are not drastically damaged, there is no visible source of the fire and parts of the body are left intact. All of which were found present in Mary's case.

What do you think happened to Mary?

When 13 Sit Down To Dine The First To Rise Is The First To Die..

Do you have Friggatriskaidekaphobia Or Paraskevidekatriaphobia?

No they are not some horrible disease, it is the fear of the day Friday the 13th. 

Is there a rational reason to be afraid? For some people, Friday the 13th is a very unlucky day.

The Last Supper

There were 13 attendants at the Last Supper, including Jesus Christ. One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, had already accepted payment for his betrayal the following day that would lead to Jesus' arrest and his crucifixion on Good Friday. Judas tried to return the silver that he was paid, but ended up hanging himself.

The Thirteen Club

Founded in the 1890's by historian William Harnett Blanch, the London Thirteen Club was created in an attempt to prove the number 13 (as well as other superstitions) were harmless. The club met on the 13th of every month and the guests sat at 13 tables with 13 place settings. To get to the club, they had to follow an undertaker under a ladder, sit at tables decorated with black cats, and spill salt before eating. Members broke mirrors, turned horseshoes upside down and crossed knives. Among the groups members were five U.S. Presidents, including Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley.

The Churches Say That It Is Unclean

In some cultures, the number 13 is a symbol of femininity due to the fact that there is 13 cycles in a year coinciding with the 13 cycles women have. Due to this reason, some religions such as 

Judaism and Christianity have deemed the number 13 as unclean in the past.

The HMS Friday

In the 19th century, the Royal Navy attempted to finally dispel the old superstition among sailors that beginning a voyage on a Friday was certain to bring bad luck. They decided to commission a ship named HMS Friday. Her keel was laid on a Friday, she was launched on a Friday, and she set sail on her maiden voyage on Friday the 13th, under the command of a Captain James Friday. She was never seen or heard from again.

Knights Templar

In the morning on Friday, October 13th, 1307, King Philip IV ordered de Molay and hundreds of other French Templars to be simultaneously arrested. They were then tortured into false confessions of heresy and burned at the stake.