Mary Worth

When the informant was still growing up, he and his sister used to play a dare game at night. They would get a candle and take it upstairs. They would look for a dark room and place the candle at the center of it. When all that was set up, they would stare at the light and say “I believe in Mary Worth” 50 times. Supposedly, when they finished, she was supposed to come out and scare them. Supposedly, she looks the same as Bloody Mary. They actually never saw the face, but one time, he says, their mother pulled the shades down and one of them flew up. This was enough for them to believe in Mary Worth at that time.

Analysis: This dare game is similar to Bloody Mary in that it involves both a dark room and a woman apparition coming out after they say the name a repeated number of times. But in this case, instead of the usual 3, it increases to 50 and instead of a mirror, they stare into a candle. The differences seem to be local, as Mary Worth seems to be a substitute for Bloody Mary. Also it seems that the practice of the myth is not limited only to women, as the participant was a male and still believed in the story.