History Main / CuRse

* A physical defect like BO, InvoluntaryShapeshifting (and/or BalefulPolymorph), [[BeautyToBeast ugliness]] or [[TheKlutz clumsiness.]]

** Various EvilSorcerer [=NPCs=] have access to more powerful and dramatic curses, like [[TheDreaded Braccus Rex]], who doomed a group of heretics to exist as [[AndIMustScream eternally burning]] [[BalefulPolymorph pigs]]. [=PCs=] can't match these feats but can often undo them with the Bless skill.

** Princess Monika of the Quilt Kingdom was kidnapped as a child by a wizard and [[BalefulPolymorph turned into a crow to become his pet]]. She was rescued, but the curse could not be lifted entirely. She retains her human form most of the time, but [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting when she gets nervous, she turns back into a crow]].

* Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'' episode where the class goes to the rainforest to try to figure out why the cocoa tree they bought for Ms. Frizzle isn't producing cocoa beans. They arrive to meet Inspector 47, who is in charge of overseeing the part of the rainforest Ms. Frizzle's tree is in and has kept the area mud-free -- 47 believes his co-worker Inspector 46 is jealous of how clean 47 has kept his section of the rainforest and placed a curse on the trees in 47's section to not produce cocoa beans. [[spoiler:It turns out to be 47's fault for the lack of cocoa beans, though not on purpose -- he had laid down artificial turf to clean the ground clean and mud-free, but doing so stopped insects from coming around to breed which also stopped them from providing the pollination necessary for the cocoa trees to flower and produce beans.]]

* Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'' episode where the class goes to the rainforest to try to figure out why the cocoa tree they bought for Ms. Frizzle isn't producing cocoa beans. They arrive to meet Inspector 47, who is in charge of overseeing the part of the rainforest Ms. Frizzle's tree is in and has kept the area mud-free -- 47 believes his co-worker Inspector 46 is jealous of how clean 47 has kept his section of the rainforest and placed a curse on his section to not produce cocoa beans.

* The New York Rangers and the Curse of 1940. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1940, which was also the year the mortgage was paid off on Madison Square Garden, their home arena[[note]]Note that it's ''not'' the current building known as Madison Square Garden that sits atop Penn Station - that one was opened in 1968[[/note]]. Management celebrated by burning the mortgage document in the Cup itself - this was said to invoke the curse, and the Rangers did not win the Cup again for 54 years (a Stanley Cup drought record that still stands). "1940" would haunt Rangers fans all those years, ''especially'' once fans of the New York Islanders (who won the Cup four straight seasons between 1980 and 1983) and later the New Jersey Devils (whose old home Brendan Byrne[[note]][[IHaveManyNames later Continental Airlines Arena, now the Izod Center]][[/note]] seats 19,040) weaponized it as a taunt of "19-40!". It was finally broken in 1994, capped by winning both Game 6[[note]]with captain Mark Messier guaranteeing the Rangers would win this game after losing Game 5, then scoring a natural hat trick en route to a 4-2 win[[/note]] and Game 7 of the Eastern Confernce Finals against the Devils AND hanging on to win the Cup in seven games against the Vancouver Canucks after taking a 3-1 series lead.

* For the latter half of the 20th Century and into the 21st, the city of UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}} became the pro sports world's ButtMonkey for their lack of championships and procession of near-misses that border on the cruel. After the Cleveland Browns' 1964 NFL Championship win, Cleveland sports franchises (counting the Big Four members of baseball's Indians, basketball's Cavaliers, football's Browns, and [[HufflepuffHouse two seasons of hockey's Barons]] before they folded and were absorbed by the Minnesota North Stars) endured a combined 147 seasons without a championship, the longest out of any North American city with a team in the Big Four sports. The disappointments are so numerous many are referred to by two-word titles starting with "The".

* ''Manga/MadeInAbyss'' has the "Curse of the Abyss", a phenomenon that causes adverse effects to those attempting to reach the surface after travelling into the Abyss. The further into the Abyss one travels, the greater the physical toll when resurfacing. Symptoms of the curse include (in order of ascending severity) dizzyness, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, intense pain[=/=]numbness, severe hemorrhaging, death, and [[WasOnceAMan loss of humanity]].

* ''Manga/MadeInAbyss'' has the "Curse of the Abyss", a phenomenon that causes adverse effects to those attempting to reach the surface after travelling into the Abyss. The further into the Abyss one travels, the greater the physical toll when resurfacing. Symptoms of the curse include (in order of ascending severity) dizzyness, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, intense pain[=/=]numbness, severe hemorrhaging, and death.

* ''Manga/MadeInAbyss'' has the "Curse of the Abyss", a phenomenon that causes adverse effects to those attempting to reach the surface after travelling into the Abyss. The further into the Abyss one travels, the greater the physical toll when resurfacing. Symptoms of the curse include (in order of ascending severity) dizzyness, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, intense pain[=/=]numbness, internal hemorrhaging, and death.

* The page quote comes from Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium, specifically, ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'', an expanded version of a chapter from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. After the Nírnaeth Arnoediad (Battle of Unnumbered Tears), Morgoth captures Húrin and tortures him into revealing the location of the fabled Elven city of Gondolin. When he refuses, the Dark Lord curses him by decreeing that his family will lead a life of suffering until the very end, while Húrin, helplessly chained in Morgoth's base Angband, can only watch. Húrin is eventually released after watching his wife and children die one after another, and, wrought with grief, he eventually throws himself into the sea, but not before unwittingly revealing the location of Gondolin to Morgoth's spies, thus fulfilling the curse and making his defiance all the more pointless.

** 2000: Some would say 9/11 was an assassination attempt on UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush, as the Capitol was an alleged target of United 93. Also, on May 10, 2005, Bush survived an assassination attempt when Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live grenade at his during a speech in Georgia, but it failed to detonate. However, like Reagan, Bush finished two terms alive and well. It's been speculated that Reagan's survival ended up breaking the curse.

** [[spoiler:Though Princess Gwendolyn of the Pastel Kingdom does not seem to believe she has a curse, since she has been the way she is for as long as she can remember, her friends in the club start to suspect she may be cursed after all after seeing a picture of Gwen with her family. Gwen’s older sisters, Maria and Lorena, are both {{Princess Classic}}s who are so beautiful that [[FriendToAllLivingThings birds do their hair]] and [[GreenThumb flowers spring up wherever they sleep]]. Her twin brother, Jamie, is so gorgeous that he [[BishieSparkle literally sparkles]] and EvenTheGuysWantHim. Meanwhile, Gwen has sickly green skin, stringy green hair, fangs, demon-like eyes, and cannot smile at someone without looking frightening. Of course, the children have an OverprotectiveDad who has kept them all locked away from the rest of the world for most of their lives, so none of them ever realized that the way Gwen looked was a bad thing. Because of the differences between her and the rest of her siblings, the other members of the CPC start to wonder if she may be cursed after all and just not know it yet.]]

** [[spoiler:Though Princess Gwen of the Pastel Kingdom does not seem to believe she has a curse, since she has been the way she is for as long as she can remember, her friends in the club start to suspect she may be cursed after all after seeing a picture of Gwen with her family. Gwen’s older sisters, Maria and Lorena, are both {{Princess Classic}}s who are so beautiful that [[FriendToAllLivingThings birds do their hair]] and [[GreenThumb flowers spring up wherever they sleep]]. Her twin brother, Jamie, is so gorgeous that he [[BishieSparkle literally sparkles]] and EvenTheGuysWantHim. Meanwhile, Gwen has sickly green skin, stringy green hair, fangs, demon-like eyes, and cannot smile at someone without looking frightening. Of course, the children have an OverprotectiveDad who has kept them all locked away from the rest of the world for most of their lives, so none of them ever realized that the way Gwen looked was a bad thing. Because of the differences between her and the rest of her siblings, the other members of the CPC start to wonder if she may be cursed after all and just not know it yet.]]

* Anyone who enters the Dark World in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' is transformed into a form reminiscent of what's inside their heart. Which doesn't explain why Link turns into a ''bunny''. The seven maidens sent into the Dark World to break the seal on it are cursed to turn into crystals. Carrying a special pearl allows Link to ward off the curse.
** In the Magazine/NintendoPower [[Manga/TheLegendOfZelda comic version]], people who enter the Dark Realm change into monsters when they lose control of their emotions, and those who can't control them turn into monsters permanently. Link eventually gets his under control and it stops affecting him, but he meets an archer named Roam who eventually succumbs.
** A tiny demon curses Link to only use half of his magic power per spell. In other words, the demon's "curse" turns out to be [[CursedWithAwesome extremely beneficial]].
** Ezlo, in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', was turned into a ''hat'' by his former apprentice Vaati.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', being in the realm of Twilight turns him into a wolf. Later, he is cursed to turn into a wolf by Zant, even when in the World of Light.
*** Zant is fond of curses. [[spoiler: Midna herself used to be a Twili, but was cursed into the form of an imp by Zant.]]
** He was also cursed to become a Deku Scrub by Skull Kid in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask.''
*** If he touches a Blue Bubble in ''Majora's Mask'', he is "jinxed" to be unable to draw his sword for a period of time.
*** Which is a ShoutOut to the red/blue bubbles from the original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI's'' Second Quest, where touching a red one disabled Link's sword until the player located and touched a blue one.
*** Another NPC, Kafei, gets turned into a child by Skull Kid, right before he's about to marry his fiance Anju. Link has to go through a subquest to get them back together. [[spoiler: The end of the game never shows if he broke the curse, but he's never shown during his wedding and the point of view is much higher than that of a child.]] In the manga retelling, the Kafei subplot is revealed to be a KarmicTransformation brought on by Kafei picking fun of Skull Kid's age...hence Skull Kid turning ''him'' into a kid as well.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', [[spoiler:Demise forever dooms Link's and Zelda's reincarnations to face [[DyingCurse an everlasting cycle of his hatred taking form and wreaking havoc on the world]], essentially causing every other game in the series to happen.]]

* In Japan, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Colonel The Curse of the Colonel]] has afflicted the Hanshin Tigers ever since fans threw a statue of [[{{UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken}} Colonel Sanders]] into the Dotonbori River after the 1985 Japanese Championship Series. It was believed that the Tigers would never win another championship until the statue was recovered, but they've kept losing since it was found in 2009. Some attribute this to the fact that the glasses and left hand are still missing.

It isn't [[CursedWithAwesome awesome]] and was not [[BlessedWithSuck meant as a blessing]], this is a [[BlackMagic wicked spell]] intended to harm or even kill the cursed character. A common variant is the GypsyCurse. TheProductionCurse is this applied to the people involved in developing a product. Contrast the ProtectiveCharm, which can block or lessen curses. See also OneCurseLimit, in which a victim can only suffer a single curse at one time. See also CurseThatCures, when a character seeks out a curse because it will cure them of a sickness or injury as a side effect, or {{Geas}}, which is a curse that someone must constantly do on their own, or else die.

** A non-lethal curse can be removed by transfering it to someone else who meets the original criteria. The original victim will be cured almost instantly, and the curse will wear off the substitute victim over time.

* ''Film/FearStreet'': When Sarah Fier was hanged for witchcraft, she laid a curse on Shadyside so that once a generation, her spirit is able to possess a person and drive them to go on a killing spree before dying themselves. Also, anyone who disturbs Sarah's bones will be marked for death and hunted by the reanimated ghouls of the past possession victims. [[spoiler: In actuality, Sarah was innocent -- she was framed for witchcraft by Solomon Goode to cover up his own DealWithTheDevil, wherein he and his descendants use magic to enact the possessed killings as a sacrifice to Satan in exchange for prosperity. The ghouls, meanwhile, target the people who touch Sarah's bones because doing so grants visions of what really happened to Sarah, and can expose the deal.]]

*** The mid-1990's through the first part of the 2000's were mostly bad years for Cleveland bereft of anything resembling success or hope, but at least in the NBA the draft lottery meant they had chances to get the top draft pick each of those terrible years. Which they eventually did in 2003, getting them hometown (well, Akron, but close enough) phenom [=LeBron=] James straight out of high school. For seven years James dazzled crowds and scored against defenses seemingly at will, but it became clear that James alone couldn't carry Cleveland to the promised land of an NBA championship -- though the Cavs made it to the second round in James' third year, the team would always get eliminated along the way, with only one trip to the Finals in 2007 (and subsequently getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs). James' contract was up at the end of the 2010 season following a second-round loss to the Boston Celtics, and it was James' first time ever being courted for his services since he never went through the college recruitment thing most other players did. The Cavs were among those who made their pitch to him to stay, but so were other teams with bigger wallets and championship pedigrees like the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks. In the end, James went a step further than other free agents and had a half-hour TV special with ESPN called "The Decision", where he announced that [[MemeticMutation he would take his talents to South Beach]] and sign with the Heat, where he could join with other big-name free agents signed by the Heat in Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. Cleveland immediately ''rioted'' that night, Cavs fans burning his jersey in bonfires and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert sending out an angry, [[YouMakeMeSic poorly-edited]] email declaring that the Cavs would win a championship before the "so-called King" would. The Cavs immediately collapsed to worst in the league the next season and into irrelevancy, with the only time anyone really paid attention to them was when the Heat came into town and everyone went to either boo [=LeBron=] or [[BileFascination watch people boo LeBron]]; James meanwhile won two championships in Miami.

* In all variants of "The Kind and Unkind Girls", the unkind girl [[SecretTestOfCharacter behaves badly]] toward [[ThresholdGuardians a stranger or employer]] and is cursed. Some include [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/diamondstoads/index.html "Diamonds and Toads"]], [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/diamondstoads/stories/wreath.html "The Enchanted Wreath"]], [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/diamondstoads/stories/caskets.html "The Two Caskets"]], [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/diamondstoads/stories/cakes.html "The Two Cakes"]], "Literature/TheThreeLittleMenInTheWood", and [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/diamondstoads/stories/heads.html "The Three Heads In the Well"]].

* In [[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/185.htm "The False Prince and the True"]], the old woman proves to be under a curse. [[spoiler:She is actually younger than the young prince who married her.]]
* In ''Literature/TheLoveOfThreeOranges'', many variants have the prince cursed to marry no one but the woman from the oranges.

*** The Ondor Cliffs north of Gleeba are dotted with graves — these are the graves of Stellestria's enemies, and its suggested that each of the graves' epitaphs is a curse against Stellestria in turn, some of which are pretty powerful in their own right. The first one you read appears to have been scratched into the stone with claws.
* You must fight two curses in ''VideoGame/TheGameOfTheAges''. One on your own town, one on a race you visit.

* Warlocks from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' have a variety of curses they can inflict on a mob or character including the Curses of Agony, Doom, Elements, Exhaustion, Recklessness, Tongues, and Weakness.

* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}} and the Pirate's Curse''

* Curses are a part of the school of Dark Magic in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. Technically a "curse" is anything that causes a change in the natural order and as Tharja points out, this can cut both ways. At one point she "curses" an illness spreading through the camp to be easily recovered from.

* In 1945, a local tavern owner named William Sianis was asked to leave Wrigley Field during the Major League Baseball World Series after his pet goat was bothering other patrons. Outraged, he {{curse}}d the Chicago Cubs, saying they'd never win a World Series again. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Billy_Goat The Curse of the Billy Goat]] lasted 71 years until the Cubs' next win in 2016, [[Mystical108 108 years]] after their previous. Before then, many attempts had been made by dedicated fans (including Sianis himself) to lift the curse with one notable example being [[CreepySouvenir a severed goat's head]] being mailed to the team in 2013.

* The annual Masters golf tournament has held a Par-3 contest the day before the actual tournament since 1960[[note]]excluding 2020 and 2021 due to the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic[[/note]]. No winner of the contest has ever gone on to win the actual tournament that same year, and only Ben Crenshaw and Vijay Singh have ever won the main Masters tournament at ''any'' point after they had won the Par-3 contest. Raymond Floyd came the closest to beating the curse in 1990, holding a two stroke lead going into the final round before getting into a playoff with Nick Faldo and losing. Golfers can be especially superstitious for athletes: Tiger Woods found himself in a three-way tie for first in the 2004 Par-3 and opted to skip it entirely.