Gypsy Curse: Difference between revisions

{{quote|"Memo to self: ''never'' refuse to kiss the Queen of the Gypsies!"|'''Jimmy Olsen''', ''[[All Star Superman]]''}}

A common indulgence of the [[Horror]] movie is the [['''Gypsy Curse]]''' laid down by the stereotypical [[Roma]] (often an old woman).

These [[Curse|cursescurse]]s come as a unique brand. They'll be done out of vengeance (usually to be seen as a [[Disproportionate Retribution]], at least from the victim's point of view) but also as some [[Laser -Guided Karma]] that's being used as a morality tale. Hey kids, don't do that nasty deed because otherwise, one day, you might do it to someone who'll go totally apeshit and ''curse you!''

On the other hand, even when being used for that [[Space Whale Aesop]], there seems to be a law of conservation of Gypsy Curses. The cursed person will find properly getting rid of the curse [[Clingy MacGuffin|impossible]] but there will be [[Curse Escape Clause|some rule]] that allows them to transfer the curse onto somebody else like it's a forged banknote. As soon as the character finds this out, expect to have the next scene full of the most adorable, [[Bus Full of Innocents|innocent looking]] people in the world. This is all part and parcel of the crazy, traditionalist, demonic disingenuationdisingenuity of the [[Roma]] portraying them as [[Moral Myopia|revenge -focused]], not justice focused, uncaring of collateral damage and inspiring selfishness in others. (I.e., it's kinda racist.) It doesn't help that they're often [[Karma Houdini|Karma Houdinis]]s, escaping any repercussion for their actions... or even benefiting!

[[Sub -Trope]] of [[Curse]].

* In ''[[All -Star Superman]]'', Jimmy Olsen believes he was cursed with bad luck after refusing to kiss the queen of the Gypsies. It's never stated whether this has any basis in fact, but considering [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20130829041840/http://superdickery.com/images/stories/monkeys/1458_4_039.jpg all the insane things that happen to him on a monthly basis], it wouldn't be surprising.

* In ''[[Mystery Men]]'' The Spleen, to avoid fessing up to a fart, accuses an old gypsy woman of it. She curses him to forever be the one who "dealt it", and he is [[Blessed Withwith Suck]] and [[Fartillery|KO capable farts]].

* ''[[Holes]]'' had a gypsy curse / [[Hereditary Curse]] combo. However it was a condition of a deal that was broken by the cursed member. {{spoiler|As soon as it was inadvertently fulfilled by descendants of the participants in said deal, the entire family was showered with good luck and fortune.}}

* ''[[Thinner]]'' by Stephen King is about a fat man who runs over a gypsy woman with his car. The woman's 135 year old father wasn't too happy about that, so he placed a curse on the man, causing him to rapidly lose weight. This would be a good thing if he didn't end up becoming dangerously emaciated.

* In [[HPH.P. Lovecraft]]'s [[Short Story]] "[[The Cats of Ulthar (Literature)|The Cats of Ulthar]]", the curse of a mysterious travelling people causes the eponymous cats to take vengeance on an old couple that kills cats for fun. The mysterious travellerstravelers are implied to come from Egypt, making them ''literal'' 'Gypsies'.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* Hey, a ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' example! Angel's soul is a result of him killing a very important girl in the gypsy heirarchy. It may seem like he's [[Cursed Withwith Awesome]] - except that, before, he was a gleeful killer, but now he's wracked with guilt and a fear of ever being truly happy, since, if he is, he loses his soul and becomes the monster again. Of course, when that did happen, he ends up killing another couple of highly important gypsies, so maybe they regret that condition.

{{quote| '''Jeremy Clarkson''': [''pointing at his much shorter co-presenter Richard Hammond''] Did you shrink that man, gypsies?}}

{{quote| ''Sergio!'' }}

* A Romany woman in ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'' puts a [[Gypsy Curse]] on Inspector Braddock when he arrests the men of the clan for a crime they didn't commit, although it's not clear how much she takes it seriously, and how much she's just playing into the stereotype. The curse is that he will never succeed in his political ambitions, and by the end of the episode he's ''abandoned'' his political ambitions, which suprisessurprises her when she offers to remove it.

* ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (Radio)|I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'':

{{quote| '''Jack Dee:''': These days we have to be very careful not to stereotype Romany travelers. [[Hypocritical Humor|In case they put a curse on us]].}}

** Dr. [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_van_Richten Rudolph van Richten]|Rudolph invan the ''[[RavenloftRichten]]'' setting was cursed by the [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|Vistani]] "to live forever among monsters and see all whom you love die by them". But then, van Richten himself cursed ''this whole tribe'' to be targettedtargeted by [[Undead]]... and didn't know about either curse until many years later [[Last of His Kind|the sole survivor]] told him so. It turned out that curses invoked by Vistani aren't so special, but they have some traditional guidelines and a better chance that the curse will work.

* In ''[[Psychonauts (Video Game)|Psychonauts]]'', the main protagonist Raz's circus family is said to have been cursed by psychic gypsies to die in water. This is used to explain why Raz's dad hates psychics and is used to justify the [[Super Drowning Skills]] enacted by the Hand of Galochio.

* In ''[[Gabriel Knight (Video Game)|Gabriel Knight]]: The Beast Within'', Grace discovers that the source of the werewolf curse that Gabriel is investigating stems from a gypsy curse. After Baron von Ralick rapes a young gypsy girl, an old woman of the tribe curses him with lycanthropy.

* Killing Madame Toussaud in ''[[Arcanum]]'' will permenantlypermanently penalize your character's charisma.

* Invoked in one of the missions of ''[[Assassin's Creed Revelations (Video Game)|Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'', in which Ezio must discreetly assassinate (specifically, with poison) Templars who try to take the local Romanies' money chest so that they'll think the chest itself is "cursed" and be too scared to try to steal it.

* In ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131024143653/http://www.activatecomix.com/42.comic Sam & Lilah]'', Lilah was cursed (as a newborn) by an old Gypsy woman her parents accidentally ran down on a rain-slicked country road (on their way home from the hospital with baby Lilah). She cursed Lilah to have any man who falls for her suffer the same fate as tehthe most prominent man who also bore the name. Her parents saw no need to tell Lilah about this... until she started dating a boy named [[The Bible (Literature)|"Jesus"."]] Oh, and Sam (the other half to the title)? His name is short for "Samson." Lilah is short for "Delilah".

** This is turning out (so far){{when}} to be [[Cursed Withwith Awesome]] for those effected by Lilah's curse. Sam gains [[Super Strength]] and super toughness (enough to get hit by a speeding car with nothing more than light bruising). We're not told explicitly what happened to Jesus; only that [[Back Fromfrom the Dead|he rose from the dead]] three days later and is now a [[Physical God]].

* In ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' [[Spin -Off]] ''The Program'', Durriken Lovel comes from a Romani family. The family legend is that the youngest born child of each generation is cursed to have horrible luck. Durriken is the youngest of his siblings, and then his name gets called out on Announcement Day...

* In a "Treehouse of Horror" episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', Homer receives a stereotypical gypsy curse that brings misery on all those around him after trashing a fortune teller's office. He gets rid of it by [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink|attacking her with a leprechaun]].

** The gypsy and the leprechaun then proceed to have sex in front of Homer. The episode ends with them getting married by [[Star Wars|Yoda]], where they proceed to have sex on the altar... It was a "Treehouse of Horror" episode, okay? WEIRD''Weird'' shit happens during those.

{{quote| '''Homer''': "Well, I guess everything's back to normal."<br />

'''Marge''': "May I remind you that Bart is dead?"<br />

'''Homer''': "Well, saying sorry won't bring him back."<br />

'''Marge''': "The gypsy said it would."<br />

'''Homer''': "She's not the boss of me!" }}

* Happens in ''[[Action League NowNOW]]'' in a parody of ''Thinner''. Basically, a gypsy curses the Chief by muttering the word "fatter". He gains an uncontrollable appetite until he basically becomes a bowling ball with a head and limbs. Eventually, he explodes and turns back to normal.

* In ''[[SpongebobSpongeBob SquarePants]]'', a hagfish curses the Krusty Krab after being refused service. Mr. Krabs dismisses it at first, but then no one comes into the Krusty Krab and he starts losing money. He and SpongeBob eventually convince the hagfish to remove the curse... which she does by {{spoiler|taking down a "Closed" sign she had posted in front}}.

{{quote| '''Mr. Krabs:''' That's it? That's the curse?<br />

* In ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]'', "the Nomads", known for being extremely touchy, curse the main character's homeland with a heatwave after Dave asks [[Disproportionate Retribution|if their fishcakes are fresh]].

* ''[[Johnny Bravo]]'': Johnny is cursed to shrink in size by a gypsy he angered.

* Mentioned in passing in ''[[Archer]]'', when Cheryl's puking her guts out: "I'm going to die in a toilet! Just like the gypsy said!"