It’s the most famous curse in theatrical history: Shakespeare’s Macbeth is cursed. Theater people just call it “The Scottish Play” in an attempt to avoid that curse. Here are some examples of when the Macbeth curse proved horribly true—if those involved can be believed. 

• Macbeth was first presented in London in August 1606. The actor playing Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare’s company used only male actors) died that night, after the performance. (This one probably isn’t true—theatrical records from the era are spotty, so the name of the actor isn’t even known, or if Macbeth’s debut was even in August 1606.)

• President Abraham Lincoln was an active theatergoer up until the day he died—when he was shot in a theater during a viewing of a comedy called Our American Cousin. Eyewitnesses from 1865 report that the night before his assassination, Lincoln had read Macbeth.

• Sir Laurence Olivier starred in a lavish production at London’s Old Vic Theatre in 1937. While speaking his lines on stage, a weight fell from the rafters and hit the ground, missing Olivier by about a foot. But the show must go on, and it did…although during another performance one of the swords used during a fight scene—a real sword—flew into the audience and hit a patron. It didn’t kill him, but it did make him suffer a heart attack

• Before a 1942 production starring John Gielgud debuted, three of the show’s actors died. On the day the show was set to open, the set designer committed suicide.

• Charlton Heston starred in a 1953 version. He somehow avoided death in a motorcycle crash while rehearsals were underway. But he made a full recovery and took the stage, only to have his legs mysteriously catch fire. It was later discovered his tights had been soaked in kerosene by an unknown culprit.

• British actress Diana Wynyard portrayed Lady Macbeth in a 1948 production. During rehearsals, she told a reporter that she thought the play’s curse was silly. While performing in a sleepwalking scene the next day, Wynyard fell into the orchestra pit.