10 Real-Life Curses That (Supposedly) Killed People

4. The Guinness Family

The Guinnesses have to be one of the most internationally famous families out of Ireland, thanks to their extremely popular beer that's become an icon of the country. Despite their success in business though, the Guinness family history is one marked by tragedy. Arthur Guinness was the founder of the Guinness brewery, establishing the business in 1759. Over the course of building Guinness from the ground up, 10 of his 21 offspring died. Following Arthur Guinness' death, many of his family were said to become beset by poverty, madness or alcoholism. In the last century, the 'Guinness Curse' only seemed to worsen. During World War II, two Guinness family members were killed, one in battle and one by Jewish terrorists. Following the war's end, there were several more deaths in the family, often involving freak accidents. For example, one unlucky family member was killed after hitting her head on a toilet suit before drowning in a bathtub. Bizarrely, even animals seemed to be affected by the curse. Shergar, one of Ireland's greatest racehorses, was owned by the Guinness family before being kidnapped by the Irish Republican Army and never seen again.