The Book Thief Curse
“For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying aloud for mercy, and let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, and when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever.”
—From the 2011 National Book Award finalist The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt, page 30: “Books were scarce and valuable. They conferred prestige on the monastery that possessed them, and the monks were not inclined to let them out of their sight. On occasion monasteries tried to secure their possession by freighting their precious manuscripts with curses.” Mr. Bookman would be proud.
UPDATE [1/4/12]: Times Higher Education has an article by Colin Higgins on the true source of this book curse. Turns out it was a hoax dating back to 1909.
