For instance, in one she is the ghost of a beautiful woman who bled to death after having her face slashed, while in another she is the mother of a murdered baby. In her origin tale she is often depicted as a victim of gender-based violence. She also has her own films, although they’re not quite as successful as Candyman. With likely origins in older Halloween-related mirror divination rituals, Bloody Mary legends are found internationally. The Bloody Mary legends commonly involve a young woman saying a phrase multiple times in front of a mirror, which summons the ghost who then inflicts horrible violence upon her. A key interest for me in my research is how this occurs and why some versions might be more widespread than others. It varies across different places, populations and times. The presence of multiple versions of the story is characteristic of urban legends: there is no one true version of Bloody Mary, for example. The events of the first film are (inaccurately) retold by one character as another version of the legend, while depicted onscreen with striking shadow puppetry by Manual Cinema. The new film presents multiple versions of his legend, the most prominent of which is one where he is a man murdered by police after being falsely suspected of putting a razor blade in candy given to a white child. The original film presents a single origin for the Candyman: he is the free son of an enslaved Black man who was horribly maimed and murdered by a white mob in the late 19th century for his relationship with the daughter of a wealthy white man (a back story created by Candyman actor Tony Todd). People perhaps don’t fear Freddy or Jason like they do Candyman, because Candyman can come into your home if summoned. In fact, the original film did this so well that Candyman has become an urban legend of his own: in researching contemporary versions of Bloody Mary, I came across more than one featuring the Candyman. The films also make references to widespread and culturally influential urban legends such as the razor blade in the candy and the castrated boy ( a story with origins in ancient Rome). In doing so, he has become a horror icon in its own right. As a character, the Candyman mixes Bloody Mary (a murderous ghost summoned by saying a phrase a certain number of times in a mirror) and the Hook (a hook-handed murderer) with classic horror elements from Dracula. Just like Barker’s story, both the Candyman films do an excellent job of blending together “real” urban legends to create compelling new narratives. Directed by Nia DaCosta, Candyman is a sequel to the 1992 original, which had moved Clive Barker’s short story, the Forbidden, from a Liverpool council-estate to the housing projects of Chicago. After a long absence, Candyman has returned to cinemas.
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