Strange Superstitions

Hmmm - just the standards like knock on wood and not saying how well everything is going- a variant of averting the evil eye, I guess.

I knock on wood fairly often, and black cats make me nervous.

But I worked in the theatre for many years and they have tons of superstitions. You can't say the word MacBeth or quote from the play while in a theatre or you have to go thru a big ritual to remove the curse. (Go outside, turn around 3 times, curse out loud, spit, then knock on the door and ask to be let back in. ) Walking under ladders and opening umbrellas indoors are okay, but hats on beds are bad. The seat closest to the door of the dressing room is unlucky - so it's generally not used. And of course, there's the whole Break-a-leg thing. On a related subject (in my mind anyway) there are a lot of theatre ghosts.

Well, sewing superstition described by Roberta existed in the USSR as well; people believed that the one doing this will get his/her memory impaired.
Another example of weird superstition: some people believed that if a student meets a clergyman of any religion on his way to exam, he/she will fail.
And what about superstition that links whistling inside the house to poverty?

the number 7 is lucky.

That reminds me of another theatre superstition, steissd. Whistling backstage is extremely unlucky. That one's based on reality, at least. They used to signal curtains and scenery flying up and down with whistles, so a whistle at the wrong moment could drop a piece of scenery on someone's head.

My grandmother used to say that if you sat at the point of the table (the corner), you'd never get married, and she would go to lengths to assure that my brother, cousins and I would not sit at the point.

She (and her sister) also used to do a "keep away the evil eye" thing by saying (I'm gonna get the spelling wrong, I just know it) Kinnehurra. That would keep away the evil eye in case you got too cocky and bragged. For example, if you were taking a long car trip, and said out loud, "The traffic is great! We're making terrific time! We should be early at our destination!" She would insist we say "Kinnehurra", otherwise, thousands of cars would appear from nowhere, creating the traffic jam of the century.

Macsm: It is not alright to open an umbrella in the house. I had been warned about that many times. The first time I defied the superstition, my finger got caught in the spokes; the second time, I got poked in the eye. There will not be a third time.

It is bad luck to wear an opal if you were not born in October. That was my mother's birthstone and she refused to let me borrow her opal ring for that reason, or at least that's what she led me to believe. (LOL). However, when she passed away, my daughter (and, of course, I repeated my mother's words to her) didn't give me a moment's peace until I gave her the ring. Well, she forgot to take the ring off at the swimming pool. That was in the afternoon. That evening, and the rest of the week, I too went swimming, underwater, until my eyes were chlorine contaminated. I called the pool administrator about that ring every day, and, of course, it never was found. So, do I believe it's bad luck. Yes indeed, I do.

Our worst family superstition was that if you put on your slip backwards it would be bad luck to change it and you had to go all day long with it turned inside out or suffer the consequences. And then there was something about spilling the salt at the table but I cannot remember what it was. Maybe you guys have heard of this superstition.

Volvos are bad luck. At least, it's bad luck to be stuck behind one.

Spilt salt - throw it over your right shoulder.


My mother had one she said my Father's mother taught her, but this only existed after I was grown. Cut off the point of a piece of pie-save it until last, make a wish- then eat it. Would like to hear anyone else on this one!

macsm, I think the theater is right at the top of the list for superstitions. Perhaps the only other area that can compete is sports.

Steissd, My grandmother's family was from Russia. I suspect that the sewing superstition is a variation on a theme. Never heard of the clergyman one.

Jespah, The point of the table is a new one to me. In my family, it was pronounced kunnahurra. It wasn't for bragging. It accompanied each and ever compliment or positive statement. "Oh, what a beautiful baby, kunnahurra." "He's such an athletic boy, kunnahurra." The theory behind this was that a compliment lets your guard down. Then people with evil intentions will zap you with the evil eye while you're vulnerable. Kunnahurra was supposed to ward off the evil eye.

Joanne, A backwards slip?! It had to remain inside out? Okey dokey.

cjhsa, You just made that up! And I'd rather be behind a Volvo than under one. Now that's bad luck.

BillW, Never heard of the pie superstition.

Here are a few more from my past:

All baby carriages, cribs, etc. had to have red ribbons on them to ward off the evil eye.

If your nose itches, you're going to have an argument. If your palm itches, you're going to come into some money. If your ears are burning, someone is talking about you.

One of the stranger superstitions from my family concerns illness. My cousin was a sickly baby. Knowledgeable folks in the family decided that someone had given him the evil eye. To ensure his longevity, it was determined that he had to be given a name that would suggest long life. Can you guess? My cousin's middle name is Old.

I've always heard reference to the burning ears one. As in, "Are your ears burning? We were just talking about you."

My sister and I have had a good luck superstition since childhood. (I think we got it from a book, but I no longer remember.) You will have good luck for a month if the first words out of your mouth on the first of the month are "White Rabbit." (dlowan's gonna love that one!) There is no bad luck if you forget. We call each other on the last day of the month to remind each other, and my nieces are now doing it too. On January 31/February 1 of this year, my sister and I were together in the wee hours, and we both forgot! We now live in the same city, but we are very rarely together at that hour... Anyway, I like having an opportunity to bring good luck upon my head!

My mother was from Louisiana so we grew up with all of the handscratching, earburning stuff. An odd one was not washing your hair while you were menstruating. I refused to obey and she and I really did fight about it.
Many years ago, when a cousin first moved to New Orleans, her underwear was stolen from the laundryroom of the apartment building she lived in. Her mother, my aunt, freaked! Apparently, when someone steals your underwear, they have some kind of power over you. Any Creoles or Cajuns online? What's the deal with that?

I grew up in Louisiana, but we're not Cajuns, we were transplanted Yankees. I've never heard about the underwear thing! Sounds like voodoo to me.

In Florida, never get stuck behind a female driver with purple hair and whose hands are on the steering wheel, ABOVE her head. Very bad luck.

I was never very superstitious, but when I played baseball I always avoided stepping on the foul line on my way to and from the pitcher's mound. Sports people have all kinds of wacky superstitions.

eoe, My mother and I fought like crazy over that bizarre menstuation/hair washing superstition. According to my mother, if you wash your hair while you menstruate, you will faint. I countered by telling her that in the olden days people washed their hair by bending over the sink. Holding your head upside down like that can make you faint whether you're menstruating or not. As for the underwear superstition, it's possible it only comes up when your underwear is stolen. If no one takes it, why bother mentioning it?

macsm, I like the idea of your superstition. It's one of the few I've heard of that is positive--with no negative aspects to it.

Larry, I'm not at all superstitious now. But I was surrounded by crazy evil eye stuff when I was a kid. Sports--rife with superstition.

In sweden we have all the black cat, walking under ladders, umbrella stuff too. But my grandma gave me another one; Never, absolutely never, leave your keys on a table. This will bring you bad luck, though I don't remember for how long!

I never leave my keys on the table, and when my wife leaves hers on the table, I reprimand her, but just a little....

Us Indians have tonnes !!! One of my favorite ones (as in I always laugh when someone says it to me) is not to grow green chillies in yr garden, as it causes arguments amongst family members !!