When it comes to the supernatural, it's fair to say that we're skeptics. Even so, the idea of some creepy dude or lady putting a curse on us still proves a little chilling--especially after researching for this article. Below we examine ten hexes that actually had real-world results.
![10 Curses That Came True, jake bird hex]()
Jake Bird was a low-down evil man, an axe murderer who claimed to have ended the lives of 46 people in dozens of states. Bird is one of the few African-American serial killers in history, and when he was arrested he confessed to killing two women in Tacoma, Washington. On the witness stand, he recanted that confession, but was found guilty due to forensic evidence and sentenced to death. In court, he erupted in anger, telling the assembled throng "I'm putting the Jake Bird hex on all of you who had anything to do with my being punished. Mark my words you will die before I do." Within a month, the judge was dead of a heart attack, as were one of the officers that took his confession, the court's chief clerk and a prison guard. Bird's lawyer himself died a year to the day after the sentencing. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
![10 Curses That Came True, tecumseh's curse]()
One of the most famous curses in American history started with the Presidential election of 1840, where William Henry Harrison was elected in no small part due to his routing of Native American leader Tecumseh at Tippecanoe. Harrison's Presidency was short-lived, however - after contracting pneumonia during his inaugural speech, he was dead within a month. Since then, almost every President elected in a "zero year" has died in office. Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and JFK were murdered, Warren Harding had a stroke and FDR a cerebral hemorrhage. Some say the failed attempt on Ronald Reagan's life in 1981 broke the curse for good. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
![10 Curses That Came True, curse of the little bastard]()
Some curses are carried by inanimate objects, dooming whoever comes into contact with them. One famous example is the "Little Bastard," the Porsche 550 Spyder that James Dean bought while filming "Rebel Without A Cause" and later wrecked spectacularly on Route 466, taking his own life in the process. After the crash, the car was bought by George Barris, who had originally customized it, and then the scary stuff began. He sold parts from the car to a pair of drivers who went on to race against each other and both got into horrific accidents (one fatal). When he lent the Bastard to the California Highway Patrol, the building it was in burned down. A truck transporting it had a mechanical failure that resulted in the Porsche slipping off and killing the truck driver. Even thieves trying to swipe the Bastard came away with grotesque injuries. (Photo credit: Photofest)
![10 Curses That Came True, johnny garrett's curse]()
Here's a particularly grisly story that begins with the rape and murder of an 83-year-old nun in Houston, Texas and just gets scarier from there. The crime was pinned on Johnny Frank Garrett, a mentally deficient young man who had been seen in the area. He claimed innocence, but the evidence was enough to send him to Death Row. On the way to his execution, Garrett placed a curse on everybody responsible, and a body count immediately began to stack up. One juror fell down a flight of stairs, lawyers came down with cancer and many people who testified against him committed suicide. (Photo credit: Murderpedia)
![10 Curses That Came True, The Nepalese Royal Family Curse]()
Curses and royalty go together hand in hand, because plenty of people have ill will toward their rulers. One of the most famous curses in history belongs to the Nepalese royal family, who have been dogged by it for generations. In the 11th century, as the legend goes, Prithivi Naryan Shah came across the monk Gorakhnath in the woods. The monk puked some curd into his hand and asked Shah to drink it, and when he refused Gorakhnath cursed him and his family, saying that they would die out in ten generations. Sure enough, ten generations later the family of King Bipendra was wiped out and Parliament removed the power of the monarchy. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The Curse Of The Basano Vase
![10 Curses That Came True, The Curse Of The Basano Vase]()
Quick question: if you found a vase that came with a note that told you "this vase brings death," would you buy it? If not, you're smarter than the people who had their lives taken by the Basano Vase. This silver vessel was made in the 15th century for a bride who died on her wedding night. It passed through her family, bringing death and misery to all who owned it before vanishing for a few centuries. In 1988 it popped up again, and the pharmacist who purchased it died in three months. It changed hands several more times, killing its owners until it vanished again. Some theorize it was buried in a lead coffin to prevent its malevolent curse from taking another life. (Photo credit: Chacha)
The Curse Of The Billy Goat
![10 Curses That Came True, the curse of the billy goat]()
Here's a curse that's a little more light-hearted, unless you live in Chicago. In 1945, the Cubs were in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. In the stand was local businessman Billy Sianis...and his pet goat. Sianis owned the Billy Goat Tavern, a popular spot for Cubbies fans, and his goat was his constant companion. Unfortunately, some fans were a little upset by the smell of the barnyard animal and Sianis was ejected from Wrigley Field. When he left, he cursed the team, saying "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." Since then, the Cubs have not won a single National League pennant. That's 69 years of failure because of one goat. (Photo credit: Billy Goat Tavern)
![10 Curses That Came True, Sarah Good's Curse]()
If you're going to mess around with a witch, you better be ready for the consequences. We all know that the Salem Witch Trials didn't actually punish any supernatural figures, but one story makes us wonder. When Sarah Good was tried for witchcraft in March of 1692 and put to death, she cursed her accuser, the Reverend Nicholas Noyes, with "I'm no more a witch than you are a wizard, take my life and God will give you blood to drink." Years later, Noyes suffered a hemorrhage inside his mouth and actually choked to death on his own blood. Creepy. (Photo credit: Tim Bouwer via Flickr CC)
The Curse Of Henry Timmerman
![10 Curses That Came True, The Curse Of Henry Timmerman]()
Here's another tale of a murderer who managed to punish his enemies from beyond the grave. Henry Timmerman was arrested in 1886 for the murder of a man named William Sterling. A judge sentenced him to hang two years later in the tiny Washington town of Goldendale. At the gallows, Timmerman smoked a cigar and laughed at his executioners, bragging that if they put him in the ground, Goldendale itself would burn. Less than a month later, his curse came true, as the whole town was caught aflame and completely destroyed. Interestingly enough, an unknown person dug up Timmerman's body after the blaze and buried it in an unmarked grave that has never been found. (Photo credit: Discovery AkimAvalley)
![10 Curses That Came True, The Curse Of Thomas Busby's Chair]()
A chair that can kill you just for sitting in it? Sounds like a normal trip to IKEA. Thomas Busby was a lout and a drunkard who murdered his father-in-law in 1702 over an argument about sitting in his favorite stoop chair. On the way to the gallows, he cursed the chair, and it began to rack up a serious body count. During World War II, men who sat in it at the local pub never came back from combat, and it also claimed the lives of bricklayers, roofers and deliverymen over the years. The chair was eventually given to a local museum, who hung it up on the wall to remove the temptation for anyone to risk their lives by sitting in it. (Photo credit: Blogspot)
The Jake Bird Hex
Jake Bird was a low-down evil man, an axe murderer who claimed to have ended the lives of 46 people in dozens of states. Bird is one of the few African-American serial killers in history, and when he was arrested he confessed to killing two women in Tacoma, Washington. On the witness stand, he recanted that confession, but was found guilty due to forensic evidence and sentenced to death. In court, he erupted in anger, telling the assembled throng "I'm putting the Jake Bird hex on all of you who had anything to do with my being punished. Mark my words you will die before I do." Within a month, the judge was dead of a heart attack, as were one of the officers that took his confession, the court's chief clerk and a prison guard. Bird's lawyer himself died a year to the day after the sentencing. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Tecumseh's Curse
One of the most famous curses in American history started with the Presidential election of 1840, where William Henry Harrison was elected in no small part due to his routing of Native American leader Tecumseh at Tippecanoe. Harrison's Presidency was short-lived, however - after contracting pneumonia during his inaugural speech, he was dead within a month. Since then, almost every President elected in a "zero year" has died in office. Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and JFK were murdered, Warren Harding had a stroke and FDR a cerebral hemorrhage. Some say the failed attempt on Ronald Reagan's life in 1981 broke the curse for good. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The Curse Of The Little Bastard
Some curses are carried by inanimate objects, dooming whoever comes into contact with them. One famous example is the "Little Bastard," the Porsche 550 Spyder that James Dean bought while filming "Rebel Without A Cause" and later wrecked spectacularly on Route 466, taking his own life in the process. After the crash, the car was bought by George Barris, who had originally customized it, and then the scary stuff began. He sold parts from the car to a pair of drivers who went on to race against each other and both got into horrific accidents (one fatal). When he lent the Bastard to the California Highway Patrol, the building it was in burned down. A truck transporting it had a mechanical failure that resulted in the Porsche slipping off and killing the truck driver. Even thieves trying to swipe the Bastard came away with grotesque injuries. (Photo credit: Photofest)
Johnny Garrett's Curse
Here's a particularly grisly story that begins with the rape and murder of an 83-year-old nun in Houston, Texas and just gets scarier from there. The crime was pinned on Johnny Frank Garrett, a mentally deficient young man who had been seen in the area. He claimed innocence, but the evidence was enough to send him to Death Row. On the way to his execution, Garrett placed a curse on everybody responsible, and a body count immediately began to stack up. One juror fell down a flight of stairs, lawyers came down with cancer and many people who testified against him committed suicide. (Photo credit: Murderpedia)
The Nepalese Royal Family Curse
Curses and royalty go together hand in hand, because plenty of people have ill will toward their rulers. One of the most famous curses in history belongs to the Nepalese royal family, who have been dogged by it for generations. In the 11th century, as the legend goes, Prithivi Naryan Shah came across the monk Gorakhnath in the woods. The monk puked some curd into his hand and asked Shah to drink it, and when he refused Gorakhnath cursed him and his family, saying that they would die out in ten generations. Sure enough, ten generations later the family of King Bipendra was wiped out and Parliament removed the power of the monarchy. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The Curse Of The Basano Vase
Quick question: if you found a vase that came with a note that told you "this vase brings death," would you buy it? If not, you're smarter than the people who had their lives taken by the Basano Vase. This silver vessel was made in the 15th century for a bride who died on her wedding night. It passed through her family, bringing death and misery to all who owned it before vanishing for a few centuries. In 1988 it popped up again, and the pharmacist who purchased it died in three months. It changed hands several more times, killing its owners until it vanished again. Some theorize it was buried in a lead coffin to prevent its malevolent curse from taking another life. (Photo credit: Chacha)
The Curse Of The Billy Goat
Here's a curse that's a little more light-hearted, unless you live in Chicago. In 1945, the Cubs were in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. In the stand was local businessman Billy Sianis...and his pet goat. Sianis owned the Billy Goat Tavern, a popular spot for Cubbies fans, and his goat was his constant companion. Unfortunately, some fans were a little upset by the smell of the barnyard animal and Sianis was ejected from Wrigley Field. When he left, he cursed the team, saying "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." Since then, the Cubs have not won a single National League pennant. That's 69 years of failure because of one goat. (Photo credit: Billy Goat Tavern)
Sarah Good's Curse
If you're going to mess around with a witch, you better be ready for the consequences. We all know that the Salem Witch Trials didn't actually punish any supernatural figures, but one story makes us wonder. When Sarah Good was tried for witchcraft in March of 1692 and put to death, she cursed her accuser, the Reverend Nicholas Noyes, with "I'm no more a witch than you are a wizard, take my life and God will give you blood to drink." Years later, Noyes suffered a hemorrhage inside his mouth and actually choked to death on his own blood. Creepy. (Photo credit: Tim Bouwer via Flickr CC)
The Curse Of Henry Timmerman
Here's another tale of a murderer who managed to punish his enemies from beyond the grave. Henry Timmerman was arrested in 1886 for the murder of a man named William Sterling. A judge sentenced him to hang two years later in the tiny Washington town of Goldendale. At the gallows, Timmerman smoked a cigar and laughed at his executioners, bragging that if they put him in the ground, Goldendale itself would burn. Less than a month later, his curse came true, as the whole town was caught aflame and completely destroyed. Interestingly enough, an unknown person dug up Timmerman's body after the blaze and buried it in an unmarked grave that has never been found. (Photo credit: Discovery AkimAvalley)
The Curse Of Thomas Busby's Chair
A chair that can kill you just for sitting in it? Sounds like a normal trip to IKEA. Thomas Busby was a lout and a drunkard who murdered his father-in-law in 1702 over an argument about sitting in his favorite stoop chair. On the way to the gallows, he cursed the chair, and it began to rack up a serious body count. During World War II, men who sat in it at the local pub never came back from combat, and it also claimed the lives of bricklayers, roofers and deliverymen over the years. The chair was eventually given to a local museum, who hung it up on the wall to remove the temptation for anyone to risk their lives by sitting in it. (Photo credit: Blogspot)