| ! NOTICE ! |
| This topic has been thoroughly debunked scientifically! |
| Similar Articles: Dybbuk Box |
Overview and History[]
Busby's Stoop Chair is a 19th century oak chair currently located at the Thirsk Museum in the town of Thirsk in North Yorkshire, England. The chair was named for English coin counterfeiter Thomas Busby, who allegedly put a curse on the chair while being escorted to his public execution for murdering his father-in-law and crime partner Daniel Auty over a business dispute.[1]
According to local Yorkshire folklore, the curse was placed over an argument that started with Auty sitting in a drunken Busby's favorite chair at the local inn and angering the belligerent man. The curse, according to legend, ensures that anyone who dares to ever sit on the chair again will die imminently. When soldiers who sat in the chair did not return from World War II, the townspeople were quick to blame the curse for their fates.[2] This also occurred with a local chimneysweep who hung himself and a builder's apprentice who fell to his death from a building under construction. Eventually the chair was moved to the Thirsk Museum to prevent people from trying to sit on it.
Interpretations[]
In 2014, the legend was essentially debunked by furniture historian Dr. Adam Bowett, who found that its spindles were machine-turned. Chairs from the time period in which Busby died were made with a pole lathe. Bowett went further and dated the chair to have been made after 1840, nearly 150 years after Busby was executed.[3]
References[]
Gallery[]
Image Gallery[]
