When people visit the Grand Canyon, many people are tempted to take a souvenir home with them. However, according to many stories, many people believe that some of the Canyon tokens are cursed, and that bad luck follows those who take cursed artifacts from the park.
In the rugged wilderness of the Grand Canyon, legends and curses run as deeply rooted as the antique rock formations. There are stories of thefts in many national parks that make what you steal cursed.
The Grand Canyon is said to receive many lost items from the park back in the mail from people claiming that these items and artifacts must be haunted. Many claim to have experienced bad luck after taking items and trying to get rid of the curse by returning them. There are many stories associated with the park, ranging from sacred or cursed artifacts of the natives, Egyptian treasures hidden in caves and the classic curse of the land in the national park, and even an ordinary rock.
Navajo cursed blanket
One of the most memorable stories concerns the trader Don Maguire, who in 1879, while traveling through Arizona on the Colorado River, came across a attractive but cursed Navajo blanket.
Maguire met Emma Lee, a widow on the ferry, who offered him a blanket in exchange for some of his goods. She warned him of the blanket's obscure past after making the deal, explaining how it brought misfortune and ultimately the death of her husband, who was executed after the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Undeterred, Maguire accepted the blanket and continued his journey, only to experience a series of constant misfortunes over the next two years. The curses only stopped when he lost the blanket, which led him to finally heed Emma Lee's warning.
When one writer tracked down the blanket weaver, he found a Navajo weaver, Mariana, who had fallen in love with the same man as her 17-year-old daughter. It was said that Mariana wove spells into her blankets, spending three months working on it. However, when he realized that the man was only dragging them both into a relationship because neither of them wanted to get married, he was told that it was cursed. The daughter was said to have died and the man's horse had returned home empty, with a bloody saddle and a blanket hanging on a juniper branch, cursing all those it ended up with.
How much of this legend is true today is uncertain, as there have been many versions of the story.
Many now claim that items stolen from the park are cursed, and it is even said that many treasure hunters have mysteriously disappeared. What really lies behind the legend of the cursed Canyon?
Cursed artifacts from the park
Stories about cursed Native American relics abound, especially in the Grand Canyon. Park rangers regularly receive letters from tourists desperate to return artifacts stolen from sacred burial sites, such as pottery or certain stones, and from the Grand Canyon's forbidden zone.
The letters invariably describe the extreme bad luck, plagues, and mysterious diseases that befell the thieves after they took the artifacts. Park rangers often find this reasoning to be terrifyingly coherent: stolen items bring a curse that can only be broken by returning them to their rightful place.
People fearing cursed artifacts after stealing them from national parks is a well-known phenomenon, as is people returning items taken from parks, filling park rangers' mailboxes. Often, rumors of cursed items come from park rangers who are fed up with tourists taking their belongings, and this rumor is intended to deter thieves. But is there more to the Grand Canyon National Park rumors?
Where did the legend of cursed objects come from?
According to an elaborate hoax, there are legends of cursed artifacts originating from the Egyptians. The legend of an antique Egyptian civilization inhabiting the Grand Canyon emerged in the early 20th century, fueled by an article published in the Arizona Gazette in 1909, when Egyptomania gripped the Western world. The article stated that an explorer named G.E. Kincaid discovered a expansive network of caves filled with Egyptian artifacts, including mummies, hieroglyphs and statues, in the forbidden zones of the Grand Canyon.
This sensational story captured the public's imagination, suggesting a mysterious connection between antique Egypt and North America. However, subsequent investigations found no evidence to support these claims, and the story was exposed as a hoax. The Smithsonian Institution, which was reportedly involved in the alleged discovery, has denied any knowledge of the expedition or the artifacts. Despite the debunking, the legend remains an intriguing, if fictional, chapter in Grand Canyon folklore.
Many legends about cursed tombs and Egyptian artifacts come from Egypt, and perhaps this only fueled the legends of curses in the Grand Canyon as well.
Cursed Canyon Objects
This is how visitors are warned: The Grand Canyon, although breathtaking, hides antique secrets and curses, according to more than one legend. The Grand Canyon's cursed artifacts are more than just historical treasures; they remind us of the deep respect due to this land and its original inhabitants. So if you are ever tempted to own a attractive relic, remember the story of Don Maguire and many others who learned the challenging way that some things are better left undisturbed.
Reference:
Don Maguire's Northern Arizona trading expedition, 1879 – Issuu
Scott Thybony's Grand Canyon Commentary: The Curse of the Navajo Blanket
What is the forbidden zone in the Grand Canyon? | MaxTour
Top 10 Disturbing Facts and Horror Stories About the Grand Canyon – Listverse
What are the secrets of the Grand Canyon? – Express to the National Park
Image Source: Pixabay.com
