Su·per·sti·tion
/ˌso͞opərˈstiSH(ə)n/
noun
1. excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings.
The spiritual and meaningful properties of a stone, crystal, or precious jewel, can be considered a superstition. For example, a Ruby is considered a symbol of courage, life force, and passion, while Moonstone is symbolic for intuition, inner work, and patience. The general idea is that different stones promote different strengths.
Tiger’s Eye is no different. It is a beautiful gemstone, brown with golden stripes that resemble the eye of a tiger. The Tiger’s Eye is known to promote Stability, as it is believed to contain the energy of both the earth and the sun. The stone is stabilizing and grounding; it keeps your feet on the ground and allows you to see people and situations as they truly are. The stone is known for being the “stone of the mind,” helping promote creative thinking and clarity.
One such Tiger’s Eye stone was carefully polished and set into a man’s ring.
Famed movie star, Rudolph Valentino, was born in Italy in 1895. He immigrated to the United States in 1913, and moved to Hollywood. He achieved stardom for his breakout role as Julio in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), and was idolized as the “Latin Lover” of the 1920’s as he had starred in several romantic dramas, including The Sheik (1921).
When Rudolph saw the beautiful ring in a shop in San Francisco, he had to have it. The shopkeeper warned him against it, telling him all the rings’ previous owners had met with misfortune. Undeterred, he purchased it.
Rudolph wore the ring throughout the filming of The Young Rajah, and the film flopped terribly. Thinking the ring might have had something to do with it, he put it away for a time, while he filmed Son of the Sheik. The movie opened in 1926, and Rudolph couldn’t help himself, he pulled out the ring and wore it to the premier. Unfortunately, the ring was not done with him, and just a few short weeks later, he collapsed outside of his New York apartment and was rushed to the hospital.
Rudolph had suffered several ruptured ulcers, and was rushed to surgery, but soon died of septicemia.
That could all be bad luck, or coincidence. But what happened next makes coincidence hard to believe.
Rudolph Valentino’s funeral drew more than 100,000 mourners and caused several suicides from grief. When going through his will, the executors of his estate gave Rudolph’s lover, Pola Negri, her choice of his belongings. She chose his favorite ring.
Almost immediately, Pola became gravely ill. As a precaution, she put the ring away, and mysteriously got better. The ring stayed out of sight for several years, until she met a handsome young actor named Russ Columbo. Russ was said to be a near-double for Rudolph, and Pola felt it fitting to give him the ring, “from one Valentino to another.”
A few short days later, Russ got into a heated argument with a friend, where he was shot and killed.
All of Russ Columbo’s possessions went to his cousin. Knowing how much the ring meant to Russ, his cousin gifted the ring to Russ’ best friend, Joe Casino, who took the cursed ring and locked it in a glass case. It wasn’t until many years later, when he finally decided the curse was a fantasy, made up, that he took the ring out and started wearing it.
Weeks later, Joe Casino got into an auto accident in which his car was hit by a truck. He died on the scene.
The ring was then passed on to Joe’s brother, Del, who thought the curse was nothing more than a series of grim coincidences. He wore it for many years without incident, and even loaned it to a Rudolph Valentino impersonator, who also wore it without incident. At this point, Del was certain the curse was absurd. That was until his home was robbed. The thief taking Valentino’s ring.
It was stolen by James Willis, who set off the alarm in the house and when police arrived on the scene they shot Willis and killed him. Inside his pocket was the ring, which was recovered and placed back in the safe.
The thief, James Willis, took Valentino’s ring, but set off an alarm in the house and was unable to escape before police arrived. Police had him surrounded and when they fired a warning shot, it somehow managed to strike James, killing him instantly. The ring had been in his pocket.
This time Del took the ring and locked it away, that is until it was requested by 21 year old figure skater Jack Dunn, who was being considered for the role of Rudolph Valentino in an upcoming biopic on the actor’s life. Del graciously lent him the ring as well as some of Valentino’s clothing for a screen test. Jack Dunn died ten days later from tularemia, a rare blood disorder that he’d apparently contracted after handling a dead rabbit on a hunting trip.
Del took the ring back once again, and kept it in a chest until the day he died, miraculously of natural causes.
The ring was returned once again to the vault, and shortly after the bank suffered a cashier’s strike, and then a fire. The rings current location is unknown.
The executors of Del Casino’s estate took the ring as well as several other of Del’s possessions, and locked them in a bank vault in Los Angeles. It was then discovered that the rings curse went beyond just people; the bank was robbed twice. During one of the robberies the ring was stolen, but it didn’t get far. Several of the thieves were shot and killed by police during the police chase. After he was arrested, the leader of the gang of thieves said that if he had known the ring was in the vault, he would have chosen another bank.
The ghost of Rudolph Valentino has been spotted pacing the grounds of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery crypt. Many believe he is searching for the ring, wanting to destroy it before it does any more harm.
If a ring can be cursed, then can a wedding dress be haunted?
