American Children's Folklore

Incredible show

... and I, I was so intensely into the spooky that I had to hide how often I was rereading the book Coraline because Mom, uh, was about to take it away 'cause she was so concerned.

Oh.

'Cause she didn't really know what I was reading, and then she saw one that was kind of illustrated, and she's like, "Whoa.

For generations, this ritual has served as a rite of passage for young people.

The premise is simple: step into a darkened room, stare into the mirror, and invoke a spirit.

Folklorist Simon J. Bronner documented this phenomenon extensively in his 1988 book, American Children's Folklore, characterizing what he called Mary Worth rituals as a widespread tradition among school-aged children that recreates the atmosphere of a seance.

Bronner described how participants typically huddle together in the dark, bound by a shared requirement to genuinely believe in the spirit for her to appear.