Is the legendary dybbuk box a cursed relic or a clever marketing invention?
In short: The 2012 horror film The Possession centers on a mysterious box housing a malevolent spirit. While the movie became a financial success, the real-world artifact that inspired it may be nothing more than a fabricated story designed to sell an ordinary piece of furniture to unsuspecting buyers.
The Possession, directed by Ole Bornedal and produced by Sam Raimi, draws its narrative from a 2004 Los Angeles Times article titled A Jinx in a Box?. The film follows a young girl who discovers an antique box at a yard sale, unknowingly releasing a dybbuk—a dislocated spirit from Jewish folklore known as Abyzou, or the Taker of Children. As the girl’s behavior turns violent, her father seeks help from a Hasidic rabbi to perform an exorcism. Bornedal viewed the script not merely as a horror story, but as an allegory for the emotional trauma of divorce.
Production of the film was surrounded by reports of unsettling events, including exploding lights and a mysterious fire that destroyed the movie's props in a Vancouver storage facility. Despite these anecdotes, the film received mixed critical reviews, with many noting its reliance on genre clichés. Nevertheless, it was a box-office hit, grossing $82.9 million worldwide against a $14 million budget. The film's success was bolstered by the genuine unease of its cast and crew, who were reportedly reluctant to handle the real-life box that inspired the story.
The legend of the dybbuk box originated from an eBay post in 2003 by Kevin Mannis. However, a 2019 investigation by Skeptical Inquirer challenged the authenticity of the entire phenomenon. The report concluded that the object is likely a standard minibar from New York rather than a historic Jewish wine cabinet. Mannis himself later admitted to creating the story from whole cloth, even offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who could find a reference to a dybbuk box in history prior to his original 2003 post. Today, the object resides in Zak Bagans' Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, serving as a testament to the power of modern folklore.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Possession
- Also: Wikidata — The Possession · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — The Possession · CC0
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