The Delhi Purple Sapphire isn’t actually a sapphire at all, but a cursed amethyst that has terrorized everyone who dared to handle it for more than a century. This blood-soaked gemstone allegedly carries the vengeful spirits of Hindu gods, unleashing supernatural fury upon anyone foolish enough to claim ownership. The stone’s dark history began in 1857 during the brutal Indian Mutiny, when British forces ransacked temples and sacred sites across the subcontinent.
According to the chilling account left by its final owner, Colonel W. Ferris stole the Delhi Purple Sapphire from the Temple of Indra in Cawnpore during the violent uprising. The theft would prove to be a fatal mistake. Within months of possessing the cursed gem, Ferris lost his entire fortune and watched his health deteriorate rapidly. His son inherited the stone along with its supernatural baggage, only to suffer an even worse fate – complete financial ruin and an early death that left his family destitute.
Edward Heron-Allen and the Delhi Purple Sapphire’s Reign of Terror
In 1890, celebrated Victorian author and scientist Edward Heron-Allen acquired the Delhi Purple Sapphire from Ferris’s desperate son. What followed was a nightmare that would consume the rest of Heron-Allen’s life. Almost immediately after taking possession of the cursed amethyst, strange and terrifying events began plaguing the scholar. Friends who borrowed the stone reported violent accidents, mysterious illnesses, and financial disasters that struck with supernatural precision.
Heron-Allen documented every horrific detail in letters and journals that read like Victorian horror fiction. He described encounters with a ghostly Hindu yogi who seemed to follow the stone wherever it went. The spectral figure would appear in mirrors, lurk in shadows, and fill rooms with an oppressive sense of dread. Desperate to break the curse, Heron-Allen had the amethyst blessed by priests and even encased it in protective amulets featuring zodiacal symbols and scarab beetles. Nothing worked.
The scholar’s attempts to rid himself of the Delhi Purple Sapphire proved equally futile. He threw it into London’s Regent’s Canal, only to have it mysteriously return to his possession within months. A friend who agreed to take the cursed gem soon begged Heron-Allen to reclaim it after suffering a series of calamities. By 1904, Heron-Allen had given up trying to destroy or dispose of the stone. Instead, he sealed it away with a warning letter for future generations.
The Delhi Purple Sapphire’s Hidden Years and Modern Victims
This event shares similarities with: 2012 Phenomenon: When Ancient Maya Calendars Sparked Global Doomsday Panic
When Edward Heron-Allen died in 1943, his daughter donated the sealed package containing the Delhi Purple Sapphire to London’s Natural History Museum. The cursed amethyst remained locked away for nearly three decades, hidden beneath the museum like a supernatural time bomb. In 1972, curator Peter Tandy finally opened the mysterious package and discovered Heron-Allen’s chilling warning letter alongside the infamous gemstone.
The letter detailed the stone’s bloody history and urged future handlers to treat it with extreme caution. Heron-Allen specifically warned that the Delhi Purple Sapphire was “trebly cursed and stained with the blood of men.” He described how the gem brought misfortune to everyone who touched it, including suicide, financial ruin, and violent death. The Victorian scholar’s descendants still refuse to handle the cursed stone today, with his grandson calling it too dangerous to touch.
Even modern museum staff have experienced the Delhi Purple Sapphire’s supernatural wrath. In 2000, curator John Whittaker transported the amethyst to a symposium and encountered a terrifying thunderstorm that nearly forced him to abandon his vehicle. His wife screamed at him to throw away the “damned thing” as lightning struck all around them. Whittaker’s subsequent attempts to attend similar events resulted in violent illness and kidney stones that left him writhing in agony.
Supernatural Encounters Continue to Plague the Cursed Stone
The Delhi Purple Sapphire’s reign of terror hasn’t diminished with age. Museum curator Richard Savin experienced his own brush with the curse while transporting the amethyst in the 2000s. A violent storm erupted around his car, with lightning flashing on both sides as his terrified wife begged him to dispose of the cursed gem. Savin reported that he becomes violently ill whenever he attempts to attend meetings of the Heron-Allen Society, as if the stone’s malevolent spirits actively work to prevent such gatherings.
The Natural History Museum now displays the Delhi Purple Sapphire in their Vault section, where it continues to fascinate and terrify visitors. Some staff members remain hesitant to handle the cursed amethyst, despite official skepticism about its supernatural properties. The museum’s position is that Heron-Allen’s account represents Victorian-era storytelling rather than genuine supernatural phenomena, but the string of coincidences surrounding the stone suggests otherwise.
Paranormal investigators and occult scholars continue to study the Delhi Purple Sapphire’s history, searching for explanations behind its apparent curse. Some believe the stone absorbed the spiritual energy of the Hindu temple where it was housed for centuries. Others suggest that the violent circumstances of its theft created a psychic imprint that continues to influence reality around the gem. The fact that Heron-Allen was deeply involved with mystical societies like the Rosicrucians adds another layer of mystery to the stone’s dark legacy.
The Delhi Purple Sapphire remains one of history’s most documented cursed objects, with over 150 years of supernatural incidents linked to its presence. Whether the curse represents genuine paranormal activity or an elaborate Victorian hoax, the stone continues to inspire fear and fascination in equal measure. Its blood-soaked history serves as a chilling reminder that some treasures are too dangerous to possess, carrying with them the vengeful spirits of ancient gods who refuse to forgive those who dare to steal from the sacred.
