Turn off the Dark – The Curse of the Spider-Man Musical

Turn off the Dark – The Curse of the Spider-Man Musical

 

Now, many of you who know me, know, I am a huge Spider-Man fan, have been my entire life, I have quite the collection of Spider-Man merch, which grows weekly, but I, like many other Spider-man fans, was truly surprised when I learnt that my favourite web-slinging superhero was going to be the basis of a Broadway musical!

 “Spider-Man:Turn Off The Dark” is a lofty achievement indeed, a Broadway play like no other, it has been described by musical contributor and Co-Writer, U2's “The Edge” as “elements of rock and roll, it's elements of circus, it's elements of opera, [and] of musical theatre. “

In fact, this play has very strong musical performances, with songwriters including Bono and The Edge from U2, but it's real ability to impress theatregoers is the live action sets of Spider-Man swinging through the skyscrapers of New York, there is no less than 27 scenes of either Spider-Man, or The Green Goblin doing acrobatic flying scenes in this play!

 The play has been fairly successful so far and has earned some terrific critical reviews, and fan accolades, but there is a darker side to this play, “Spider-Man:Turn Off The Dark” appears to have been cursed, with numerous accidents and deaths associated with its cast and its producers, a larger than average budget, the longest “preview” period in Broadway history ( a staggering 182 preview showings) and a lot of rewrites!

 “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” has been plagued with problems right from its conception back in 2002. Tony Adams was employed by Marvel to produce the big-budget spectacular musical. He approached Bono and Edge about writing music for the project, and they, in turn, approached Tony award winner, Julie Taymor to direct.

 In 2005, just as contracts were about to be signed, Tony Adams suffered a stroke, which led to his death two days later. Although a huge blow early on, the creative team behind the musical decided to follow their instinct and carry on with Tony Adams partner, David Garfinkle, as the lead producer.

 The Musical was then delayed numerous times in 2007, it is speculated and indeed stated anonymously (1), that this was due to “still unresolved creative decisions by the team head producer, Julie Taymor”.

 By 2009 the budget had run into considerable debt, a staggering $25 million in the red, in March the same year, the show, which had never seen an audience had publicly announced a $52 million budget, a record for Broadway.

 Disney, in 2009, began its takeover of the Marvel company, but, even though Disney had considerable success with its own musical stage shows, offered no interest in purchasing, or investing in the Spider-Man musical, leaving the production somewhat in financial limbo.

 Bono then asked Michael Cohl (A Canadian Concert Promoter) to come on board as producer, who then raised the money needed to move forward. This fund-raising venture then, in turn, caused the production opening day to be postponed whilst funds were raised, from February 18^th, 2010, pushed back until December 21^st 2010.

 By this stage, it was being reported that the budget of the show was a staggering $65 million and that costs were as high as 1 Million dollars a week.

 Again, the show was postponed, this time until January 2011, then again until February 2011, due to “A tremendous amount of creative commotion behind the scenes”, which equated to rewrites, rehearsals, dialogue issues and some tweaking of the final number.

The production finally debuts on June 14^th 2011, with an estimated costing of $75 million, the biggest budget ever recorded for a Broadway play, and like stated early, the longest running “preview” showing of any Broadway Musical in History!

 Finances and rewrites were not the only issues plaguing this production, death (as we have seen earlier with Tony Adams) and injuries also plagued the cast and production. In November of 2010, cast member, Kevin Aubin broke both his wrists in a rehearsal presentation for ticket agents. He was sent flying through the air during the performance and crashed out of control in a “sling-shot” styled maneuver, the same flying performance would later injure another actor (who remains anonymous (2) ) breaking both his feet!

This led to further problems for the production with the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration fining the show for breaches of the workplace safety act.

 Another cast member, Natalie Mendoza, was struck in the head by a piece of equipment in the very first preview performance of the production, causing concussion, Mendoza chose not to report the incident to the producers right away, but instead tried to perform the acrobatic flying sequences the following night, going against her doctor’s orders, only to find herself in trouble as her condition worsened.

 She was replaced for the next two weeks by her understudy whilst she recovered and returned to the musical, only to quit after an injury to another cast member, at the end of December.

 That incident was one of the more horrifying ones for the cast, actor Christopher Tierney was standing on a piece of scenery about 6 meters (20 feet) in the air, when he fell, his safety harness cord had not been attached, nor secured, leaving Tierney to plunge into the orchestra pit below, fracturing his skull and breaking four ribs, as well as damaging his back. Tierney was taken to a local medical centre and released for rehabilitation for his extensive back injuries on December 28^th, 2011.

 Another injury happened to T.V. Carpio, the actress portraying the villainess, Arachne. Carpio's injuries eventually led to her departure of the musical, whilst the exact injuries have never been disclosed, it is thought Carpio suffered a neck injury, possibly whiplash, or something similar from flying around the set during the production.

 In July 2012, a technician working on the musical, Jason Lindhal, 27, committed suicide in the Hudson River, his fully clothed body was discovered floating near the George Washington Bridge.

In 2013, Daniel Curry, an actor on the stage show, suffered serious leg trauma after a piece of set equipment pinned him to the ground in an apparent stunt gone wrong accident.

 Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, despite all of its bad luck, has gone on to be a critically acclaimed and much loved Broadway Musical showcase (although there are just many critics against the show as there is those for it), even spawning a CD and related merchandise, and becoming somewhat of a “pop-culture” reference in television shows, including nods in the recent “Ultimate Spider-Man” cartoon and in comic “Simpsons Super Spectacular 14” - where the show is lampooned and also in video game “Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom”, where if one plays as Deadpool against Spider-Man, Deadpool, if he wins states ”Maybe it would have helped if you turned off the dark”...

This is a Broadway “curse” to keep an eye on, for at the time of writing this, I don’t believe the “curse” story to be fully told...

(1)   http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aC3yk2GJGuK4&pid=newsarchive

(2)   http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/another-actor-speaks-of-spider-man-injuries/?_r=0

researched and written by Allen Tiller in 2013
Previously unpublished,

Revised 2017 - © 2017, Allen Tiller, Eidolon Paranormal

Curses: The Curse of Gloomy Sunday

The Curse of Gloomy Sunday

 

Reszo Seress, A Hungarian born songwriter living in France, trying to make a living was determined to become an internationally famous songwriter, but failing dismally. Every song he composed and put forward to recording companies got rejected, but he never gave up.

His girlfriend would constantly fight with him, urging him to find a real job and throw away this dream that wasn’t happening for him.
One day, she was more cruel than usual and Seress and his Fiancee had a fight over his song-writing dream that saw them break up.

The day after, a Sunday, Seress was in his apartment, sitting at his piano, outside was dark and gloomy, and so was his mood. As the rain began to fall he muttered to himself, “what a gloomy Sunday”, his hands fell on the piano, and from them came a strange melancholy melody that encapsulated his morose mood, his feelings about losing his girl and the gloomy Sunday weather.
Within Thirty minutes Seress had composed the song “Gloomy Sunday”.

His first attempt at selling the song failed, rejected by the publisher, but on his second attempt, it was sold, Seress was about to become a published writer with a promise that his song would be available worldwide.

Within months of the song being printed, strange happenings began that were said to be linked with the song. In Berlin, a young man requested the song be played by a band in the hotel, the young man went home, complaining to his family he could not get the sad melody out of his head. He took a revolver and shot himself in the head.

In the same city, a week later, a young woman was found hung in her apartment, near her body the police found a copy of the sheet music for “Gloomy Sunday”.

In New York City, two days later a young secretary gassed herself, in her suicide note she asked for “Gloomy Sunday” to be played at her funeral. Within weeks an 82-year-old man jumped to his death from a seventh-floor window after playing the song on his piano.
The same week a young man jumped off a bridge in Rome to his death after hearing the song.

It didn’t take long for a journalist to put the stories together and start reporting in the media of the alleged links between the song and suicides. Streams of bizarre stories associated with the song were reported in Europe, the BBC banned the song from being played on their radio network.

Seress, now happy he was published tried to contact his ex-fiancee, only to learn from the police that she had committed suicide by poison, next to her they found a copy of the sheet music for “Gloomy Sunday”.

Billie Holiday, the soulful jazz singer recorded a version of the song in 1941, although she didn’t commit suicide there is much speculation that after her recording of “Gloomy Sunday” her carer decline was directly related to her recording of the song, it wasn’t too long after that she died from a drug overdose.


©2013
Allen Tiller
first published 8 Jan 2013
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of the Lydian Hoard

The Curse of the Lydian Hoard

Relics from the era of King Croesus, ruler of the Lydian Kingdom between 560 and 547 BC. The Lydian Hoard is a collection of ancient jewellery and relics.

The treasure was found in 1965 in a small village in Turkey when five villagers discovered the tomb of an unknown princess from the Lydian period.

The villagers plundered the tomb and stole anything they thought was of value, by 1966, looters and thieves had taken over 100 items from the tomb including gold jewellery, silver and wall paintings.
The villager’s thought all their problems would be fixed due to their new found wealth, but it was exactly the opposite, misfortune and death reigned down on the villagers and their families and anyone who traded the jewels and relics with them.

From the stories of unfortunate events put upon the villagers, the curse sprang up and has been in circulation ever since.

©2013 Allen Tiller
first published Feb 27 2013
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of the Maori Masks

The Curse of the Maori Masks

Maori, the Polynesian people indigenous to New Zealand are a tribal warrior race, their warriors were extremely dangerous, and their tribal beliefs deeply ingrained in all members of the tribe.
Before a war, warriors would carve masks and statues. If a warrior died in battle, his spirit would return to the carved mask or statue.

It is said because of this, women that are pregnant or menstruating can come to harm by touching or being near the carved statues and masks.

In 2010 the Te Papa Museum located in New Zealand’s capital Wellington confirmed that it had expressed this warning to its museum guides and employees.

©2013 Allen Tiller

first published 29 Jan 2013
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of Uluru

The Curse of Uluru

Uluru, (once known as Ayers Rock), is situated in the outback of the Northern Territory. The site is sacred to the local Aboriginal Mobs of Pitjuatjatjara and Yankinytjatjara. 

The site has always been a major tourist attraction in Australia, attracting large crowds. Many people have taken small rocks from around Uluru as souvenirs of their visit, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park reports that they often get these stones sent back to them via the mail.
It would seem a lot of people who have taken these rocks and stones fall under a spell of bad luck and have found their “curse” stems from the stones they took from the sacred site.

The park had has such an influx of letters over the years they keep a record of them all in their own “sorry book” so that future visitors can be warned of what will happen if they take the stones.
Uluru is a sacred site to Australian Aborigines, please treat it as such, take only photos, leave only footprints...

©2013 Allen Tiller
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au
first published Jan 26 2013

Thanks to Mid North Paranormal for suggesting this Curse

Curses: The Curse of the Bards Play

"Round about the cauldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw." 

Macbeth, Act IV, Sc i. William Shakespeare.

The Curse of the Bards Play

Is William Shakespeare's play “Macbeth” cursed? Plenty of Thespians and their directors will tell you “yes!”.
The story goes that if one utters the word “Macbeth” in a theatre will cause disaster. A slight variation of the curse exists where any direct quotation of the play, other than in rehearsals will begin the curse.

Believers in this age-old curse have often said that the cause of the curse is the scene in which three witches are toiling over a cauldron, they believe the lines the witches say are actual spells that are cast every time they are said.
Others believe that including the character of Hecate, who is frequently cut, intensifies the spells.

Accidents seem to follow productions of Macbeth, worldwide, even the first initial premiere of the show has a legend where an actor died, the story goes that an actor died because he was stabbed with a real dagger that was mistaken for the stage prop.
Other legends have grown around this play including one that Shakespeare got some of his material from real witches, and upon them seeing their work used in the play, the witches cursed its name and future productions of Macbeth.

One of the most often cited pieces of evidence to the Curse of Macbeth is a riot that broke out in the Astor Place Theatre in New York in 1849 in which the National Guard were called out. The crowd were fired upon and at least 25 people were killed, with 120 seriously injured in the melee.
It is often said that the riot broke out over support for two different actors playing Macbeth on the same night in separate theatres, however, one only needs to do a google search for the Astor Place Theatre riot to find out there was a lot more to the situation at the time.

There are many stories about how the curse has had an effect on productions of Macbeth worldwide, far too many to list here, if you would like to read more about the curse a quick search on google will provide an abundance of information

©2012 Allen Tiller 

first published 17 Dec 2012
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of the Rune Stones

The Curse of the Rune Stones

Blekinge Sweden is home to a mysterious 4.2-meter tall monolith that stands in a triad with two other menhirs. On the stone is written an inscription in a proto-Norse language of runes that contains a foreboding warning about the removal or destruction of the stone.
It reads:
"Björketorp Runestone, master of the runes, conceal here runes of power. Incessantly (plagued by) maleficence, (doomed to) insidious death (is) he who breaks this (monument).”

On the other side of the same stone is written the “Prophecy of Destruction” which translate roughly too “do not try to remove or destroy this stone as death will seek you”

The runes on the stone can be traced to one of the earliest forms of Germanic Runic language from around the 6th century known as “Elder Futhark Runes”, the name comes from the first six rune – F, U, TH, A, R and K, it contains 24 alphabetic runes.

The Bjorketorp Runes meaning is one of great debate amongst scholars, some believe it to be a border marker between the lands of the Swedes and the Danes, others believe it to be a shrine to the Norse God Odin, whilst others believe it to be a headstone or memorial to warriors lost in battle, whatever its meaning the curse inscription is believed to be one of substance.

A local legend tells of a man who wished to farm on the land and wanted to remove the stone as it was in his way. On a day of no winds and calm weather, the man piled wood around the rock to try and heat the stone and then crack it by pouring cold water over it.
As the man set fire to the wood a gust of wind blew the flames away from the stone and towards the man, setting his hair on fire, but extinguishing the flames around the stone. The man, panicking, could not put out the fire upon his head and died a terrible fiery death.

Whether the curse is real or not, the stone still stands after 14 centuries.


©2012 Allen Tiller 
first published Dec 17 2012
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of Robert the Doll

The Curse of Robert the Doll

Key West Florida 1897, The wealthy Otto family moved into their large plantation home, it is said the Otto's were particularly cruel to their servants and dealt out unjust punishments upon them for no good reason.

The Otto's welcomed their firstborn child Gene in 1906. the Ottos had a number of servant girls and gave one the distinction of being the Nanny of their young son.

The young girl, it is said, was well versed in Voodoo, and upon Gene's 6th birthday presented him with a new doll. Gene loved his new friend and named him Robert.

Robert went everywhere Gene went, the two were inseparable. As time passed the family noticed their son's fascination with the doll was becoming all-consuming. It wasn’t long before they noticed some unusual goings on with the doll. While listening to their son play, they heard him asking questions, and heard answers from an unknown voice, when the Father entered the room to check he saw no one present. He asked Gene who had been in his room answering him, Gene would only

reply “Robert."

Gene began to suffer terrible nightmares and would wake the house with his scream of terror in the night, when the Father would run into the room he would find all of Gene's furniture overturned and Gene in his bed trembling with fear. Robert would be sitting upright at the end of his bed, glaring at him.

Gene would shout “ Robert did it! Robert did it!”

Gene's Father died and Gene inherited the family home. He moved into the house with his wife Ann and used a room as his studio, as Gene was now a semi-famous artist. He would always have Robert with him in his studio, and paint, talking to the doll as if in deep conversation. Ann grew to despise the doll and her husband's obsession with it, eventually, she told her husband to put it in the attic, and he did so, visiting Robert with regularity.

Robert remained in the attic for a few years. During this time Gene would often state to Ann that Robert was terribly angry about his treatment. Gene wanted Robert to have his own room, one of the guest rooms that overlooked the street. Ann, not wanting to fight anymore over the doll, gave in to Gene and allowed it.

Legends grew among local children about the doll. Some said they would see it dancing in the window, others told how its head would follow them as they walked past, with a scowling look upon its face. Most children avoided looking at the Otto house altogether as they passed.

Gene and Ann's relationship was slowly deteriorating, Gene would lash out at his wife, throwing objects at her and smashing furniture. Gene's demeanour would change from normal to menacing and back again. He would apologise to Ann for his bad behaviour blaming it on the doll,  “It was Robert, Ann. Robert did it!”
Ann began to question her husband's sanity.

In the early 1970s Gene became very ill, he would not allow his wife to aid him and instead locked himself in a room with the doll. Robert Eugene Otto died in the guest room of his house with his doll Robert, laying alongside him. Ann sold the house and moved on, leaving Robert somewhat hidden in the attic.

A new family moved into the home, and in their efforts to clean the attic found the doll laying under a number of old boxes. The couple's daughter took a shine to the doll and added it to her own porcelain doll collection. It wasn’t long until Robert was up to his old tricks again. The family would be woken by the girl screaming in the bedroom, only to enter and find all her furniture strewn across the room.


She claimed that Robert had been running around the room jumping up and down breaking things. It is said to this day the then girl, now a 40-something-year-old woman, still claims what happened with the doll is truthful.

The Family moved the doll on, it was donated to the Key West Florida Martello Museum. Robert is now on display in the museum, he is said to still be active. Employees speak of Robert moving inside his display case, of his facial features changing and of bizarre goings on in the museum.

One of the most common stories regarding the doll is that of camera malfunctions in his presence, it appears, unless one asks Robert directly if they can take a photo of him, your camera will not work in his presence, this phenomenon has been documented on numerous occasions.

Guards will often leave candy in Robert's presence as a way to bribe him into not causing any damage in the museum, often they return in the morning to find just the wrappers at his feet.
Rumour has it that Robert was put together by Gene's Nanny for revenge for her harsh treatment by the Otto Family. It is suggested she was well versed in voodoo and that she put a curse on the doll as she filled his insides with animal bones and evil relics.

One of the strangest things about Robert is he appears to be aging, his hair has turned white and he is starting to look old and worn, is it possible, that whatever lurks inside Robert's tiny body is also subject to the ravages of time?

Much has been documented about Robert The Doll, a quick google search will reveal a great number of eye witness testimony and letters written to the doll asking to have curses lifted, whether or not you choose to believe Robert is haunted and cursed is up to you, but the evidence is mounting!

© Allen Tiller - 2012


www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of Superman

The Curse of Superman

One of the best-known curses of modern times, The Curse of Superman has plagued many modern actors who have worn the red cape of the legendary DC comics superhero.
The two most notable references tot he curse belong to George Reeves, who played Superman from 1952 until 1958 on the television show “Adventures of Superman”. George Reeves would eventually die of a gunshot wound to the head at the age of 45, that was officially termed a suicide by authorities but has always been a contentious issue due to evidence that was “overlooked” at the time.
The second most notable influence of the curse is sited at that of Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in 4 movies between 1978 and 1987. Christopher Reeve was injured in a horse riding accident in which he was paralysed from the neck down, he died nine years later at the age of 52.

Of course, the curse, in this case, is very loosely based on any accident or misfortune that befalls a cast member of someone who has worked on a production involving Superman.

Bud Collyer

Other deaths associated with the curse include Bud Collyer who voiced the first Superman cartoon from 1941 to 1943, he later voiced the 1966 adaption, he died three years later of a circulatory ailment.
Lee Quigley, who played Baby Superman in the Christopher Reeve 1978 move, died at the age of 14 from solvent abuse.
Then there is Dana Reeve, Wife of Christopher Reeve who died from lung cancer at the age of 44 despite being a non-smoker her entire life


Non Death related attributions to the curse:
Kirk Alyn, who played Superman in two very low budget serials of Superman found it hard to find work afterwards. He would later appear as Lois Lanes Father in the 1978 movie. He lived to the ripe old age of 88, but his career decline between playing Superman and starring as Lois Lane's father is often cited as an effect of the curse.

Margot Kidder who played Lois Lane went missing in 1996 and turned up naked and disorientated several days later. Her ordeal was put down to severe bipolar disorder.

Richard Pryor played villain Gus Gorman in 1983's Superman 3, the role is often attributed as the beginning of the end of his career in film due to massive box office failure that was Superman 3. Three years later Pryor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Pryor died in 2005 of cardiac arrest.

So is the curse genuine or just superstition and loosely related accidents and mishaps?

The following actors are yet to have anything attributed to the curse: Dean Cain who played Superman in “Louis & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman".

 
Brandon Routh who donned the tights and cape for the 2006 movie “Superman Returns” and Bob Holiday who played The Man of Steel in the Broadway play “ It's a Bird, It's a Plane, it's Superman!”
We will eventually see their deaths attributed to the curse?, only time will tell...

Written & Researched
By
Allen Tiller
© 2012 Eidolon Paranormal

first published Dec 17 2012
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of Eddie and the Hotrods

The Curse of Eddie and the Hotrods

In 1977 Eddie and The Hotrods released their single “Do what ya wanna do”, which was soon become a massive hit for them. The cover of the single featured Alistair Crowley's face with a set of Mickey Mouse ears on his head, a play on Crowley's famous line “Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law”
 
Not long after the release of the single a large volume of letters started arriving at the group's fan site address, many of them from Crowley followers telling the band they were “playing with fire” and would “live to regret” what they had done.
 Legend has it that Jimmy Page, long time follower of Crowley phoned members of the band and told them he would curse them in Crowley's name.

It didn’t take long for the curse to become true in the eyes of the band members, the man responsible for the Crowley cover committed suicide, the band's manager died of a drug overdose and numerous other legal, relationship and money troubles beset the band.

The band have broken up and reformed numerous times only Barrie Masters, the original singer has maintained his position in the band throughout its entirety.

Written & Researched
By
Allen Tiller
© 2012 Eidolon Paranormal
first published 17 Dec 2012
 www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Curses: The Curse of the Hope Diamond

The Curse of the Hope Diamond

The Hope Diamond, named after Henry Phillip Hope, who bought the diamond and passed it down through his family line until being sold to pay family debts, it is a blue-grey diamond weighing 45.52 carats.
According to the legend, a curse was placed when the blue diamond was stolen from an idol in India. The curse foretold bad luck and death not only for the owner of the diamond but for all who touched it.

The hope diamond was originally mined in India in the 17 century, where it was purchased in a crudely cut form by Frenchman Jean Baptiste Tavernier.
Tavernier sold the stone on to King Louis XIV in 1668, who had a jeweller cut and reset the stone in gold. The diamond was then stolen in 1793 after the beheading of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
It is thought that King George IV of England held the diamond for some time before it was sold after his death to help pay off his debts.
It was sometime after the death of King George IV that Henry Hope purchased the diamond from a private dealer.

The stone was bought in London by a dealer, who disposed of it to a buyer, one Joseph Frankels, who held the diamond until it was again sold to pay off debts.
Pierre Cartier then bought the Diamond and sold it to an American Heiress named Evalyn Walsh McLean

McLean was dealt many tragic blows in her time, her daughter died of a drug overdose, her son died in a car accident, her husband died in a sanatorium and she was forced to sell her families newspaper The Washington Post to cover crippling debts.
She died of pneumonia in 1947 and her entire collection of jewellery was sold to Harry Winston Inc.

In 1958, the diamond was donated to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, the diamond has an estimated worth of a quarter of a Billion dollars in the U.S.

The Smithsonian claims that they have not had any effects from the curse since the diamond has been in their possession.

Written & Researched
By
Allen Tiller
first published: 17 December 2012
© 2012 Eidolon Paranormal
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au