The curse of Macbeth lives on among professional actors, who often honor the superstition not to utter the name of the play. Professionally trained stage actors often just call it "The Play" or "The Scottish Play." They don't have any problem performing in it, but they don't want to say the name!

It's funny how things live on like that.

By the way, this King James is THAT King James – the king who commissioned an English translation of the Bible that remained popular for centuries, and still is among those who love its poetic voice. It's popular more darkly among reactionary Christians who claim God directly handed down the translation. (Divine inspiration isn't the dark part. What they do with it is, but that's for another place and time.)

King James was also, in all probability, queer as a three dollar bill. That's something historians mostly kept quiet for centuries, but it's widely acknowledged today.

Such an irony that he inspired witch hunts and encouraged Shakespeare, quite the queer figure himself (have you read his gay love sonnets?) to beat that drum.

I say that because gay men and lesbians would soon become part of the general witch hunt, and would remain subject to it for centuries — right up until today, and especially by people who express reverence for the King James translation of the Bible.

The world is endlessly weird but fascinating!