Shakespeare's play Macbeth is considered cursed, so actors will not say the title in the theatre before a performance. Instead, it is called "the Scottish play".

When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, he did a lot of research on witches, spells, and potions. This was to make the weird sisters more believable. Their chants and ingredients (eye of newt and toe of frog) are supposedly real. According to legend, a local coven of witches were offended. In return, they cursed the play.

Truly cursed or not, this particular play seems to have had bad luck from the start. On the very first performance, the actor who played Lady Macbeth died and Shakespeare had to take his place.

Another problem, rumored at least, was stage props being replaced by real daggers. This resulted in the death of the actor portraying King Duncan.

Over the years, this play has been plagued with actors falling off the stage, mysterious deaths, and strange accidents. There have even been falling stage weights, such as the one that nearly hit Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic in 1937.

If you do say "Macbeth", you are supposed to exit the theatre, spin around three times, spit, curse, and knock on the door to be let back in.

More Info: www.rsc.org.uk