The Power of Words
Fantasy and mythology is full of examples of different types of curses, and indeed, a world with magic almost always has the challenge of a curse that must be broken or prevented. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Beauty & the Beast are only a few popular examples.
Curses in stories can serve multiple purposes. They may be a punishment (for offending someone/something, trespassing, etc.), a spell that backfired, or even someone just being in the wrong place at the wrong time when someone was doing a powerful form of magic and getting caught up in it.
The ethics of magic usage within your world and the morals of your characters are another consideration you’ll need to take in regard to curses. We’ll talk about laws governing magic later this month, but laws do not always align with ethics and morals.
Worldbuilding Exercises:
- Does magic in your world accommodate deliberate curses, or are they passive occurrences? Can both happen?
- Is any magic practitioner able to cast a curse, or is it limited to certain branches of magic?
- Can a non-magic practitioner cast a curse under certain circumstances? What are some examples of those circumstances?
- Are certain types of curses (changing someone’s hair color, causing food to become dirt in their mouth) more acceptable than others (sleeping for a hundred years, causing physical harm/death, trapping someone in a location)? When does a curse become taboo/forbidden?
- Can curses be broken? If not, why not?
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Rebekah Loper began creating epic worlds and stories as a child and never stopped. She is the author of The A-Zs of Worldbuilding series, and has a fantasy novella published in Beatitudes and Woes: A Speculative Fiction Anthology.
She lives in Tulsa, OK with her husband, dog, two formerly feral cats, a small flock of feathered dragons (…ok, ok, they’re chickens), and an extensive tea collection. When she is not writing, she can be found battling the elements in an effort to create a productive, permaculture urban homestead.
I love curses because normally they call for an act of will of the part of the characters. It might be the decision to cast a curse, or the decision on how to handle a curse you receive.
It’s a fascinating subject.
Yes, I love that you pointed that out! Curses can be such a great plot tool because of that required act of will.
I always like the fact that a fairy cannot revoke another fairy’s curse; you can only try to add your own spell to alter and mitigate it. That makes for interesting interactions and possibilities.
Black and White: C is for Cherufe
I’m always delighted (well I suppose sometimes horrified as well) by the curses that drive the most crazy situations in various folktales.
Folktales can be SUCH fodder for fantasy stories and worldbuilding! Especially with the curses!
I’m a Harry Potter fan so curses play a huge role in that series! It has provided so many fantastic and intriguing experiences!
https://seal-of-melchizedek.blogspot.com/2019/04/dallas-texas-temple.html
They certainly did!
I like someone being tricked into uttering a curse word. The possibilities are endless.
That’s part of why I love fantasy – the possibilities really ARE endless!