This Medieval Well May Be Both Blessed and Cursed

In medieval times, pilgrims flocked to England in quest of St. Anne's Well, which was said to cure ailments and wash away sins. Archaeologists now say they've rediscovered that large sandstone well on a private farm near Liverpool using only a 1983 photo and a description, reports the Liverpool Echo. When archaeologists arrived at the site, there was little evidence of the well at all as "it had become completely filled with earth," says a rep for Historic England. Once excavated, however, it was "found to be in reasonable condition," per an archaeologist. Legend has it that the supposed mother of the Virgin Mary herself descended the medieval well's three steps and bathed in its 4-foot-deep pool, located near a priory of monks, reportedly giving the water the ability to cure eye and skin diseases, per Seeker and ScienceAlert.

But the well—believed to have healing properties into the 19th century—also features in a more ominous legend suggesting it's cursed. During a dispute over the well in the 16th century, the prior reportedly cursed the estate manager of a neighboring landowner, whom he believed had a hand in the monastery being seized by the king. The prior said a "year and a day shall not pass ere St. Anne thy head shall bruise"—then the prior himself collapsed and died, according to an 1877 newspaper recounting of the legend. The estate manager is said to have disappeared after a night of drinking, only to be found dead in the well with "his head crushed in." ScienceAlert points out the discovery has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. (These ancient Greek tablets also told of a curse.)