– (Doug Firmino/Strange World)
It emerged from a real story from the 19th century. The legend, which is already part of the adolescent imagination in many Brazilian schools, describes the spirit of a young, blonde girl in white clothes, with pieces of cotton in her nose, ears and/or ears. or in the mouth, which appears after a summoning ritual. This rite varies according to the school: possible steps include calling her three times in front of the mirror, slamming the bathroom door, kicking the toilet, flushing the toilet, and swearing – sometimes all of these together. Some of these characteristics, both of the ritual and of the spirit, were adapted from the North American legend of the Bloody Mary, a female spirit who appears in mirrors when you call her name three times. But the blonde in the bathroom has a real and documented origin.
1. The legend would have emerged from the real story of Maria Augusta de Oliveira Borges, born at the end of the 19th century in Guaratinguetá (SP). The young woman with copper hair was the daughter of the Viscount of Guaratinguetá and was forced by her father to marry at the age of 14 with Counselor Dutra Rodrigues, a much older and more influential man. Unhappy with the arranged marriage, she sold her jewels and fled to Paris in 1884, aged 18, where she lived until 1891, when she died, aged 26. With her death certificate gone, the reason for her death remains a mystery to this day.
two. The family brought the body back to Brazil. Until the tomb was built, the young woman’s corpse was kept in a glass urn in the family’s mansion for public visitation. Repentant, her mother, Amélia Augusta Cazal, did not want to bury Maria, even with the grave ready. But she began to have several visions of her daughter asking that she be buried, which made her finally decide for the burial. A little over a decade later, in 1902, the house gave way to the Conselheiro Rodrigues Alves State School.
3. Rumors that the spirit roamed the school already existed, but the story of the “blonde in the bathroom” gained strength when a mysterious fire compromised part of the building in 1916. It was suggested that Maria would have died of rabies, a common disease in Europe at the time. and which causes dehydration in the victims – hence the fire. According to legend, the spirit walks through the school bathrooms opening taps to quench its thirst and asking to be buried. There are residents who say they smelled a strong scent of female perfume moments before encountering the apparition.
Reader Question – Rafaela Nogueira, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP
SOURCES Book History and Memory of the Complementary School of Guaratinguetá (1906-1913), by Debora Maria Nogueira Corbage; G1 site; blog Primary Sources in the Paraíba Valley