6 Famous Curses and Their Origins六个著名诅咒及起源

贝姬·利特尔 邓安儿

Throughout history， people have promoted stories of curses for a variety of reasons. To sports fans， curses can help explain their favorite teams loss. When a cause of death is misunderstood， curses can provide an explanation. For an imperial nation， curses can betray anxiety about being punished for colonizing and taking artifacts. And sometimes， curses come about because someone just wanted to make up a story.

Here are some prominent curses in history.

1. King Tuts curse （and other ‘mummys curses）

In February 1923， a British archaeological team opened the tomb of Tutankhamun， or “King Tut，” an Egyptian pharaoh during the 14th century B.C. Two months later， when the teams sponsor died from a bacterial infection， British newspapers claimed without evi-dence that hed died because of “King Tuts curse.” Whenever subsequent members of the team died， the media dredged up1 the alleged curse again.

King Tuts curse and other famous “mummys curses” were invented by Europeans and Americans while their countries removed priceless artifacts from Egypt. After the Titanic sank in 1912， some newspapers even promoted a conspiracy theory that the ship had sunk because of a “mummys curse.”

Though its not clear how many people actually took these “curses” seriously， these stories became extremely popular subjects for horror movies like The Mummy （1932） and its many iterations2， as well as comedies like Mummys Boys （1936） and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy （1955）.

2. The curse of the Polish Kings tomb

In 1973， a group of archaeologists opened the tomb of the 15th-century Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon in Kraków， Poland. As with the opening of King Tuts tomb 50 years before， European media hyped up3 the event， and the researchers involved allegedly joked that they were risking a curse on the tomb by opening it.

When some of the team members began to die shortly after， some media outlets4 speculated it was due to a curse. Later， experts discovered traces of deadly fungi inside the tomb that can cause lung illnesses when breathed in. This was the cause of their deaths.

3. The Hope Diamond curse

In the 1660s， the French gem dealer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased a large diamond of unknown origin during a trip to India. Yet by the 20th century， a myth had sprung up5 in the United States and Europe that Tavernier had stolen the diamond from the statue of a Hindu goddess. The newspapers and jewelers who spread this story claimed the diamond was cursed and brought bad luck to those who owned it.

By 1839， the diamond supposedly ended up with Henry Philip Hope， a Dutch collector based in London and the source of the stones modern name6—the Hope Diamond. Sometime after this， European and American newspapers began claiming that the Hope Diamond carried a curse.

The French jeweler Pierre Cartier reportedly used these stories to enhance the diamonds value when he sold it to American heiress Evelyn Walsh McLean in the early 1910s. After she died， it went to a U.S. jewelry company， which exhibited it before donating it in 1958 to the Smithsonian Institution， where it remains today.

4. The curse of Tippecanoe （or Tecumsehs curse）

In the mid-20th century， U.S. media began to note a pattern in presidential deaths. Starting with William Henry Harrison and ending with John F. Kennedy， every 20 years the country elected a president who would die in office.

Harrison， the first president to die in office， was elected in 1840. The other presidents who died in office include Abraham Lincoln， elected 1860 （and 1864）; James A. Garfield， elected 1880; William McKinley， elected 1900; Warren G. Harding， elected 1920; Franklin D. Roosevelt， elected 1940 （as well as 1932， 1936 and 1944）; and JFK， elected 1960. The only president between Harrison and JFK to fall outside of this pattern is Zachary Taylor， who was elected in 1848 and died in 1850.

In the 1930s， Ripleys Believe It or Not7 claimed the “pattern” was due to a curse Shawnee8 Chief Tecumseh placed on Harrison and future presidents after Harrisons troops defeated Tecumsehs at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. （Tecumseh died two years later in another battle against Harrisons troops.） This story likely originated with non-Native Americans and bears a similarity to other “curses” in U.S. books and movies about disturbing Native burial grounds.

5. The curse of Macbeth

There are lots of superstitions in the world of theatre. Its bad luck to wish actors good luck， hence the reason people instead tell them to “break a leg.” And its also bad luck to say the word “Macbeth” in the theatre except during a performance of the Shakespeare play. Supposedly， this is because tragedy has historically befallen productions9 of the play. In reality， these stories are a mix of fabrication and selective evidence-picking.

The legend about the play seems to have started with Max Beerbohm， a British cartoonist and critic born in the 1870s， nearly three centuries after Macbeths first performance. Beerbohm—possibly annoyed that Macbeth was such a popular play—made up a story that the first actor cast to play Lady Macbeth10 died right before the plays opening night.

Since then， this story has become part of a myth that the play is cursed and has brought bad luck to those involved with it. Though there have been real accidents during runs of Macbeth over its more than 400-year history， these accidents gain more attention than accidents during other plays because of the supposed “curse.”

6. The billy goat curse on the Chicago Cubs

As with theatre， there are also a lot of superstitions in the world of sports. One of the most famous is the supposed “billy goat curse” on the Chicago Cubs11.

In 1945， a tavern owner named William “Billy Goat” Sianis was reportedly prevented from bringing his pet goat， Murphy， into Chicagos Wrigley Field to see the Cubs play the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. Supposedly， Sianis put a curse on the Cubs， saying they wouldnt win this or any other World Series12 ever again.

Before this， the Cubs had only won the World Series twice before， in 1907 and 1908. When they lost the World Series in 1945， the curse gained credence. In 2016， when the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in over a century， U.S. media promoted the idea that the curse was broken.

The billy goat curse is similar to the curse of the Bambino， which supposedly began when the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth13 in 1919 and ended when the team won the World Series in 2004. Theres also rapper Lil Bs curse on Kevin Durant， which Lil B issued in a 2011 tweet and lifted in 2017 in another tweet. When the Golden State Warriors won the NBA finals that year with Durant earning MVP， sports media jokingly （or not？） proclaimed that Lil B had helped by lifting the curse.              ■

縱观历史，人们之所以传扬诅咒故事，原因不尽相同。对体育迷来说，他们最喜爱的队伍失利了，诅咒可以解释一二。要是死因受到曲解，诅咒倒是个说法。帝国主义殖民海外，掠夺他国文物，诅咒会暴露他们害怕受到惩罚的焦虑。而有时候，诅咒的出现仅仅是因为有人想编个故事。

以下是历史上一些著名诅咒。

1. 图坦卡蒙诅咒（以及其他“木乃伊诅咒”）

1923年2月，一支英国考古队掘开了图坦卡蒙的陵墓。图坦卡蒙，亦称“图特王”，是公元前14世纪的一位埃及法老。陵墓开启两个月后，考古队赞助人就因细菌感染死亡。一些英国报纸毫无证据地宣称，他死于“图坦卡蒙诅咒”。之后，这支考古队但凡有成员离世，媒体就会翻出这一所谓诅咒。

图特王诅咒以及其他有名的“木乃伊诅咒”，是由欧洲人和美国人炮制的。当时，他们的国家从埃及搬走了不少无价的文物珍宝。1912年，泰坦尼克号沉没后，一些报纸甚至推出了阴谋论，声称船难发生是“木乃伊诅咒”所致。

虽然并不清楚有多少人真把这些“诅咒”当回事儿，但这些诅咒故事成了极受欢迎的恐怖片题材，如《木乃伊》（1932年）和后来多部翻拍作品;同时还有喜剧题材，如《木乃伊总动员》（1936年）和《两傻捉尸记》（1955年）。

2. 波兰国王陵墓的诅咒

1973年，在波兰克拉科夫市，一群考古学家打开了15世纪波兰国王卡齐米日四世雅盖隆的陵墓。同50年前图特王的陵墓发掘时一样，欧洲媒体将这件事情炒作了一番。据称，参与掘开陵墓的研究人员也打趣说，他们打开陵墓可是冒着被诅咒的危险。

不久之后，考古团队的一些成员死亡，一些媒体怀疑是诅咒之故。后来，专家在陵墓中发现了微量致命真菌，人一旦吸入会感染肺病。这才是考古队员的死因所在。

3. 希望钻石的诅咒

1660年代，法国珠宝商让-巴蒂斯特·塔韦尼耶在印度旅行时买下了一颗来历不明的大钻石。然而，到了20世纪，美国和欧洲突然出现了一个传闻：这颗钻石是塔韦尼耶从一尊印度教女神的神像上盗走的。散播这一说法的报纸和珠宝商声称，这颗钻石被下了诅咒，会给它的主人带来厄运。

1839年，该钻石据说落到了亨利·菲利普·霍普手中。钻石现在的名字——“希望钻石”，便源自这位住在伦敦的荷兰收藏家。此后，欧洲和美国的报纸开始宣称，“希望钻石”带有诅咒。

据报道，1910年代早期，法国珠宝商皮埃尔·卡蒂埃利用这些故事抬高钻石身价，将该钻石出售给美国一位女继承人伊夫琳·沃尔什·麦克莱恩。麦克莱恩死后，钻石流转到了一家美国珠宝公司，这家公司把它作为展品展出，1958年将其赠与史密森学会。“希望钻石”一直安放于此，直到如今。

4. 蒂珀卡努诅咒（又称特库姆塞诅咒）

20世纪中期，美国媒体开始注意到其多位总统的死亡遵循着一种模式。这一模式从威廉·亨利·哈里森开始，至约翰·F.肯尼迪结束，每隔20年，就有一位总统在任期内死去。

哈里森是第一位在任期去世的总统，他于1840年当选。其他在任期间离世的总统包括阿伯拉罕·林肯（1860年当选，1864年连任）、詹姆斯·A.加菲尔德（1880年当选）、威廉·麥金利（1900年当选）、沃伦·G.哈定（1920年当选）、富兰克林·D.罗斯福（1932年当选，1936年、1940年及1944年连任）、约翰·F.肯尼迪（1960年当选）。从哈里森到肯尼迪，扎卡里·泰勒是唯一不符合这一模式的总统，他于1848年当选，1850年逝世。

1930年代，《里普利先生的信不信由你》一书声称，这个“死亡模式”是诅咒所致。1811年，蒂珀卡努之战中，哈里森率领军队打败肖尼人首领特库姆塞的部队，特库姆塞便对哈里森和未来的美国总统下了诅咒。（两年后，特库姆塞在另一场对阵哈里森军队的战斗中死去）。这个诅咒故事可能源于非美洲原住民，与美国书籍和电影中描述的其他“诅咒”颇为相似，那些书籍和电影讲述了令人惊惧的原住民墓地的故事。

5. 麦克白诅咒

戏剧界有许多迷信说法。对演员说good luck（祝你好运）不吉利，因此人们反而会说break a leg（字面意为：祝你摔断腿）。除了莎剧表演以外，在剧院里说“麦克白”这个词也不吉利。据说，历史上制作《麦克白》这部戏剧时多有不幸发生，所以才有了这一迷信。而事实上，这些说法都是有选择地掺杂佐证编造而来。

有关《麦克白》的传说似乎始于马克斯·比尔博姆。他是一位英国漫画家兼评论员，生于1870年代，出生时距离《麦克白》首次上演已近300年。许是因为不满《麦克白》太受欢迎，比尔博姆就骗人说，最开始被选中饰演麦克白夫人的男演员，就是在该剧首演之夜前死掉的。

自那以后，这番鬼话便成了《麦克白》荒诞传闻的一部分;该传闻声称这部戏剧受到了诅咒，给参与此剧制作的人带来了厄运。《麦克白》已有400多年的演出历史，这期间的确发生过一些事故，但由于这一所谓“诅咒”，这些事故比其他戏剧的意外事件更受关注。

6. 芝加哥小熊队的公山羊诅咒

跟戏剧界一样，体育界也有着许多迷信，其中最为人所熟知的是传闻中芝加哥小熊队的“公山羊诅咒”。

据传闻，1945年，酒馆老板威廉·西亚尼斯，外号“公山羊”，在进入芝加哥瑞格利球场去观看小熊队在世界大赛中与底特律老虎队的对战时，被禁止携带他的宠物山羊墨菲入场。据说，西亚尼斯诅咒小熊队输掉本届比赛，还诅咒该队从此再也不能拿下世界大赛的冠军。

在此之前，小熊队仅在1907年和1908年取得过世界大赛的冠军。小熊队在1945年的世界大赛中铩羽而归，这个诅咒的可信度随之增加。2016年，小熊队在一百多年后再次赢得世界大赛冠军，美国媒体便加大宣传，称诅咒被破。

公山羊诅咒跟圣婴诅咒类似。据传，圣婴诅咒始于1919年波士顿红袜队将贝比·鲁斯交易至其他队伍之时，直至2004年红袜队取得世界大赛冠军，该诅咒才成为过去式。另外，说唱歌手Lil B也曾诅咒凯文·杜兰特。2011年Lil B在推特上发布这一诅咒，2017年他写下另一条推文解除了诅咒。同年，金州勇士队夺得美国职业篮球联赛总冠军，同时杜兰特荣膺美国职业篮球联赛最有价值球员奖，体育媒体开玩笑地（或者没有？）说Lil B解除了诅咒，所以这次胜利也有他的一份功劳。     □

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）