Omss-Culture: Culturebox: You Must Forward This Story to Five Friends



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culturebox You Must Forward This Story to Five Friends The curious history of chain letters. By Paul Collins Posted Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, at 1:33 PM ET On the occasion of the release of the horror film Chain Letter, in which "a maniac murders teens when they refuse to forward chain mail," Slate* asked Paul Collins to plot out the real history of the form.* "This prayer has been sent to you for good luck. The original copy came from the Netherlands. It has been around the world nine times. The luck has been sent to you. You are to receive good luck within nine days of receiving this letter. It is no joke. You will receive it in the mail. Send 20 copies of this letter to people you think need good luck. ... Zorin Barrachilli received the chain. Not believing it, he threw it away. Nine days later he died. For no reason whatsoever should this chain be broken." To continue reading, click here. Paul Collins teaches creative writing at Portland State University, and his latest book is The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World. Follow him on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Rutgers Suicide Shows How Insanely Digital Our "Private" Lives Have Become Slate Fact-Checks the Facebook Movie Bogus Trend Watch: Are Women on Bicycles Really More Stylish Than They Used To Be?	Advertisement
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Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
culturebox You Must Forward This Story to Five Friends The curious history of chain letters. By Paul Collins Posted Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, at 1:33 PM ET On the occasion of the release of the horror film Chain Letter, in which "a maniac murders teens when they refuse to forward chain mail," Slate* asked Paul Collins to plot out the real history of the form.* "This prayer has been sent to you for good luck. The original copy came from the Netherlands. It has been around the world nine times. The luck has been sent to you. You are to receive good luck within nine days of receiving this letter. It is no joke. You will receive it in the mail. Send 20 copies of this letter to people you think need good luck. ... Zorin Barrachilli received the chain. Not believing it, he threw it away. Nine days later he died. For no reason whatsoever should this chain be broken." To continue reading, click here. Paul Collins teaches creative writing at Portland State University, and his latest book is The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World. Follow him on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Rutgers Suicide Shows How Insanely Digital Our "Private" Lives Have Become Slate Fact-Checks the Facebook Movie Bogus Trend Watch: Are Women on Bicycles Really More Stylish Than They Used To Be?	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe \| Newsletter Center \| Advertising Information Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address. If you have questions about newsletters, please go here.
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. Copyright 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC \| Privacy Policy Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1150 15th Street NW \| Washington, D.C. 20071

Culturebox: You Must Forward This Story to Five Friends

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