The Ring is one of the most popular horror movies of the early 2000s, yet there is still some mystery surrounding who actually created the famous cursed tape that the story revolves around.

The premise of The Ring has already become legendary in horror fandom. A strange videotape with disturbing imagery has the ability to unleash a fatal curse on anyone who watches it within seven days unless they duplicate the tape and pass the curse onto someone else. Adding to the fear factor is that the curse takes the form of malevolent ghost, Samara Morgan, who emerges from the TV screen on day seven and leaves her victims twisted in a mask of horror. What makes the premise so terrifying is that the tape seemingly comes out of nowhere.

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While the mystery of the cursed tape’s origins is part of the film's appeal, every good horror story needs some lore to discuss.

The Ring: Samara’s Curse Explained

Close-up of Samara in The Ring

In order to try and explain how the tape came to be, Samara’s origins need to be explored further. It’s suggested in The Ring that Samara is a natural force of evil. She didn’t turn evil, so much as she was born evil. Similar to The Omen or Rosemary’s Baby, Samara was born with supernatural abilities and a vindictiveness that set her apart from normal children. As she grew up, it became clear how much of a danger she was as she began using her psychic abilities to harm animals. Anna, her adoptive mother, finally decided to kill Samara by throwing her down the infamous well. Samara didn't die, and instead spent seven days trying to climb her way out of the sealed well before succumbing to starvation.

Several decades later, a Poltergeist situation plays out when rental cabins are built on top of where the well once stood. Building living quarters on top of a final resting place is one of the worst things that can happen in a horror movie, and The Ring is no exception. One of Samara’s powers is being able to project strange, disturbing imagery. It’s believed that at some point during her haunting, she was able to imprint these images and her own rage onto a VHS tape kept in Cabin 12 right above the well. The tape, from then on, became her vehicle and entryway back into the world of the living. Like a virus, she seeks to multiply the suffering she can cause, requiring her victims to make someone else watch the video within seven days or die.

After the disappointing reception for Rings, it remains to be seen if fans will get another entry in the saga of Samara and her cursed tape. Each movie in the series has added to the lore, so it would be interesting to see what more could be revealed if another sequel to The Ring is made.

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