Uncommon / local superstitions?

Not sure about superstitions, but at work I heard about a council estate where all the kids had rotten teeth. When a health worker went to visit she found out that all the mom's were rubbing honey on their chins and letting the babies suckle there to pacify them. VEry localised creepyness...

I have two that seem to be relatively little-known.

One concerns Tootsie Roll Pops. If your wrapper has a complete image of a kid playing Indian, shooting a bow, it's good luck. The only other people I've met who know this one took the same folklore class from the same professor, although I'd heard of it one time before that class. (Yes, I save those wrappers. The plan is to reupholster my parents' ancient card table and have the good luck wrappers under clear vinyl.)

The other concerns the wish bite. It's somewhat better known, but not well known. Any food always served in wedges and always eaten with a fork (i.e., cake, pie, but not pizza), if you eat the point last, you get a wish. Woo-hoo, huh?

Oh, I thought of another one. Being in a car which passes under a railroad bridge when a train is on it, not a stopped train but one in motion, gets you a wish. ("I wish my nation's infrastructure was better maintained so I had no worries I'd be killed beneath this train and collapsed bridge!")

Maryn, who makes wishes but isn't actually superstitious

This one isn't very scary and it's very local, but kind of cute. When my husband and I were dating he took me to see his college campus. As we were walking the grounds we came up to a bell tower, the bottom was constructed like an arch and the sidewalk ran underneath it. He told me the legend was if you walked under the bell tower you'd never get married. Then he jokingly grabbed my hand and asked me which way I wanted to go. So obviously I chose to walk around it and not under. It's clearly the reason we're married today.

pezie said:

This one isn't very scary and it's very local, but kind of cute. When my husband and I were dating he took me to see his college campus. As we were walking the grounds we came up to a bell tower, the bottom was constructed like an arch and the sidewalk ran underneath it. He told me the legend was if you walked under the bell tower you'd never get married. Then he jokingly grabbed my hand and asked me which way I wanted to go. So obviously I chose to walk around it and not under. It's clearly the reason we're married today.

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*LIKE*

Maryn said:

I have two that seem to be relatively little-known.

One concerns Tootsie Roll Pops. If your wrapper has a complete image of a kid playing Indian, shooting a bow, it's good luck. The only other people I've met who know this one took the same folklore class from the same professor, although I'd heard of it one time before that class. (Yes, I save those wrappers. The plan is to reupholster my parents' ancient card table and have the good luck wrappers under clear vinyl.)

Maryn, who makes wishes but isn't actually superstitious

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My brothers and I used to fight over those Tootsie Pop wrappers, Maryn, for just that reason. I'd forgotten all about it until you posted, though.

Chris P said:

Kind of cute? That's adorable!

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Scott Cole said:

*LIKE*

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Aw, thanks.

Oh boy, where do I start? There's a tradition about speaking of the dead (doesn't need to be in graveyards, or the place where they died) will bring back those who are mentioned, so they can hear what is being said about them.
If you see a baby, you're meant to give the parent a silver coin (5p, 10p, 20p, 50p) after touching the child's forehead with the coin. It's good luck.
If you see a large stone embedded in your lawn for whatever reason, you must leave it three days and nights to let the fair folk find new lodgings.
I have lots of these...

I have heard a similar one about cemeteries, but not about pointing at them. I was told you should hold your breath when you passed one or else you'd suck in the souls.

And, another one about tunnels. If you could hold your breath the whole way driving through them, then you'd get your wish.

I usually wished as many wishes as I possibly could until we hit the other side. Most of mine came true so...

But I don't wish for very big things.

I have no explanation for why both my examples include holding your breath.

I have a ton of them but can never remember them. A lot of them are the same as Chris in Mississippi, which is interesting!

I'll add: Never kill a spider. Never collect lightning bugs, but tying strings around June bugs and flying them is good luck. A spider following you is good luck. Too many things to list about deer, lol.

Toads are good luck. Then a lot of things that just make sense, like never picking up rocks in big creeks (superstitious until you pick up the one that's a water moccasin's house!).

Wishbones. Mirrors (not only not breaking them, but turning the light on before going into a room with one).

That's what I've got for now.

I'm in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, this week. They have a mythical beast along the lines of the Chupacabra called a Hodag. It's really a fraud, dreamed up in the 1800s by the owner of a timber camp to keep his unhappy workers from running off into the forest to get away. But the legend has it as mischevious/mean, a fighter, with fangs and a rigged backside and tail like an alligator's that can be used as a weapon too.

I'm not sure that something like that is the same as a superstition, but I think it's a fun critter to tell tales about.

Being a Southern African American, I have plenty!

Don't laugh when the hearse passes by or you'll be the next to die.

If you see a black dog on a road,turn the other way. Do NOT follow the dog or go past it. These dogs exist to mark slave cemeteries. If you don't respect them as what they are aka grave markers,bad mojo from hell will get down on your behind. The only way to remove it is to go back to the spot where you saw the dog and leave a gift and/or pour out some liquor.Then you apologize and next time show a little respect. I wrote a story about this one because I heard it so much growing up.

Don't accept gifts or offers from old men. They could be Petey Wheatstraw,an old tale of Southern AA folklore.

If you see an owl fly over your house,death is coming.

Don't fool around with crossroads at night. Don't even drive across them. In the words of my stepdad,strange chit pops off because they are a gateway between our world and the spirit world.


In my mom's hometown,there is a legend about Ibo slaves drowning themselves rather than become slaves. Supposedly,they chant and you can hear their chains rustling whenever there is a full moon. If you hear them,you aren't supposed to go investigate. Because if you do,they'll drag you into the pond to drown with them.

I also heard much of what Chris said. To this day,I refuse to split a pole.

Never eat anything red at a stranger's house. Hoodoo can be dropped on you in a way too disgusting to mention here.

Never toss your hair into the trash or yard. A bird will get it,make a nest and never will your hair grow again because the bird will constantly be pecking at it.

Don't allow strangers to take your picture. Again,hoodoo can be worked with your image.

Buy salt and read Psalm 23/91 over it. Then spread it around the entrances to your home. People that don't like you or have ill will towards you will not be able to enter your home. Also,keep your Bible on either one of these Psalms because they provide protection.

Don't tell a stranger your real name. This is another hoodoo belief. Names carry power and they can use it against you.

OMG, the hair thing. Yes! You have to be very careful about your hair. I'd forgotten that one. In my family, that came from the Indian side, and there are things you do when someone dies, too, that involve hair. Funeral customs are a whole 'nother thing than superstitions for us; you have to do a lot of things regarding actual death.

We in my family have devil dog cautions and a lot of ghost-type omens, but most sound like the usual Scottish or Irish superstitions that folks are often familiar with. I've never heard the slave cemetery one. So interesting.

Your mother might know one my friend and I never figured out. He's from that area, that culture. Hanging fish from branches to ward off something. His grandparents did it, but he never knew the tale of why.

backslashbaby said:

OMG, the hair thing. Yes! You have to be very careful about your hair. I'd forgotten that one. In my family, that came from the Indian side, and there are things you do when someone dies, too, that involve hair. Funeral customs are a whole 'nother thing than superstitions for us; you have to do a lot of things regarding actual death.

We in my family have devil dog cautions and a lot of ghost-type omens, but most sound like the usual Scottish or Irish superstitions that folks are often familiar with. I've never heard the slave cemetery one. So interesting.

Your mother might know one my friend and I never figured out. He's from that area, that culture. Hanging fish from branches to ward off something. His grandparents did it, but he never knew the tale of why.

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I've heard the fish thing,too. I can't remember what it's for,either!

My Nan said to place sheets over mirrors if someone dies in a house. The idea is that the passing spirit would get a look at itself,realize that it's dead,and refuse to pass on. It would also raise hell and make the house uninhabitable.She swore by this one. I tell you,some of these old folk tales raise the hair on the back of your neck.

I've heard devil dog stories from all over the world. I think with the South having so many Scots-Irish settlers and African slaves,the legends mixed together.

Ah, the hair thing. Nail parings, too. I'm originally from South Louisiana and I was told: Never throw them away; always burn them because a witch will use them to place a spell on you.

Oh, and my mother had a ton of these. One that truly frightened her was if the wind blew a door open and I'd say, "Come on in." She said that was inviting the Devil in and she'd grab salt, throw it at the door and then quickly sweep it out that door.

On the splitting a pole, I was told that it would cause you to have a falling out with the friend you split it with. The only way to stop this falling out is for both people to say "bread and butter".

Kitty27 said:

I've heard the fish thing,too. I can't remember what it's for,either!

My Nan said to place sheets over mirrors if someone dies in a house. The idea is that the passing spirit would get a look at itself,realize that it's dead,and refuse to pass on. It would also raise hell and make the house uninhabitable.She swore by this one. I tell you,some of these old folk tales raise the hair on the back of your neck.

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My dad's family was Polish, and we did the sheets over the mirrors thing. It wasn't so much about the haunting - that was just going to happen for at least one year out past the death. It was so the soul didn't get lost on its way to report to Purgatory; at least, that's the explanation I got.

Jcomp said:

Working on the WIP, I was reminded of and decided to cite a superstition my father brought up to me back when I was a kid. We were visiting the Jefferson Davis memorial in Mississippi where there's a confederate graveyard (my dad's a big history buff) and while we were walking the considerable grounds to look for the cemetery I noticed the cemetery up ahead and pointed towards it.

My dad directed me to bite my finger and said it's extremely bad luck to point at a graveyard. I've looked it up since then and haven't found any reference to such a superstition anywhere, which just makes me more curious about it. Nonetheless, I've kept it in mind to never point toward a cemetery since then.

Would love to hear from others about uncommon or local superstitions. Do share.

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Hi Jcomp. I believe that is a corruption or an off shoot of this one.

Pointing at a funeral procession will cause you to die within the month

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I have heard several versions of that one.

I've heard about holding one's breath when passing a cemetery also, and occasionally I still do it.

Here's an English one I heard about a few birthdays ago: On a child's birthday, you should put a smear of butter on his/her nose. This is to make them slippery so the goblins can't catch hold of them. I forget what the goblins do if they catch you, but anyway--butter on the nose.

Here's a very local, very Southern one, more a legend than a superstition. Keep in mind the place I live has plenty of swampland, in addition to old plantation houses: Once upon a time, a plantation owner had a slave named Old July who drove his carriage for him, amongst other things. The plantation owner was cheating on his wife, I forget with whom, but the point is Old July caught them at it. The plantation owner, to keep Old July from spilling his secret, went to Old July's shack in the swamp behind the plantation and set it on fire. But Old July had some sort of magical powers, and the fire burned green because his shack was steeped in it, and Old July ran screaming into the swamp never to be seen again. However, every once in a while, you can see flashes of green light in the swamps, and that shows you where he's been.

I've never heard that story outside of this region, but my mom and dad both told it to me when I was little--and both told it a little differently as well. The green light is phosporous, obviously, and I still think of that story every time I see it.

This would actually make a great story prompt. Found a site with quite a few good ones.

www.corsinet.com/trivia/scary.html

If you're a smoker, you should know about the 'Lucky'. When you get a fresh pack, you turn one of the smokes filter side down. That's your Lucky, and you smoke that one last for good fortune.
I've also heard about the Tootsie Roll Pop with the star (I heard it gets you a free pop).
I've also heard about the one when driving through tunnels, except I heard you're supposed to honk your horn all the way through it for good luck... In retrospect, that seems extraordinarily dangerous.