Vengeful Redhead Myths

Natural or colored, your hair color affects how the world sees you ... and how you see yourself. A lot of our self-image is based on the perceptions of other people. You partially view yourself through others' eyes and act accordingly. That's why the color of our hair tends to stereotype us.

• For centuries, red hair has been prized, feared and ridiculed. For many, the thought of red hair automatically conjures up images of wild women, femme fatales and even vampires and witches.

• In the Middle Ages, red hair and green eyes were believed to be the sign of a witch, a werewolf or a vampire.

•  In the early 1600s, at the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a belief in pixies emerged in southwest England. They were then — and have since been — strongly associated with red hair for their mischievousness and otherworldly talents.

•  Belief that redheads are witches is a folk belief based in Germanic culture. From 1483 to 1784, many thousands of suspected witches were stripped and searched for “marks of the devil”. These included any “abnormality” such as freckles, moles, warts and birthmarks. Red hair was certainly considered an abnormality, too. During this time, 45,000 women were tortured and murdered — usually by burning at the stake or by drowning.

•  During the Spanish Inquisition (late 15th to 17th centuries) red hair was evidence that its owner had stolen the fire of hell and had to be burned as a witch.

•  In Greek mythology, redheads turn into vampires when they die.