20 Common Superstitions With Bizarre Historical Origins

We are so used to knocking on wood whenever we don’t want to jinx anything we say. Some say it’s from pagan beliefs and is highly demonic, but folklorists say otherwise. The earliest recorded practice of knocking on wood is traced back to a 19th-century British children’s tag game called Tiggy Touchwood. This involves touching wood to keep you safe from whoever is ‘It.’ Call it a modern tag game for adults, I guess.

It’s a widely known practice to sprinkle salt to ward off evil spirits in most cultures. This practice traces back to ancient Roman and Greek customs treating salt as a sacred symbol of hospitality and wealth, reinforced by medieval Christian lore about blinding the devil believed to sit over the left shoulder.

Going the long way just to avoid walking under a ladder is popularly said to come from the ancient Egyptians, 5,000 years ago. According to that theory, passing through meant disrespecting the gods since the triangle formation of the ladder is deemed as something sacred. Some later traditions tied the shape to the cross as well, though the superstition’s real trail only becomes documented much later, in 18th- and 19th-century Britain. One way or another, though, just be careful when walking under or around a ladder.

One of the most famous superstitions is to avoid looking at a broken mirror, or breaking a mirror is bad luck in itself. This comes from the Greeks, who practiced telling fortunes through mirrors dipped in water. When your image comes across as distorted, it means bad luck. The Romans, on the other hand, believed human life renewed every seven years, so a shattered mirror dooms you to seven years of misfortune.

Friday the 13th is the day of bad luck. This is linked to the Norse legend where Loki crashed a banquet of 12 gods as the 13th guest, which led to so much misfortune. Another version is that on October 13, 1307, which was a Friday (surprise), the French king arrested hundreds of Templar Knights. And to think that it’s Taylor Swift’s favorite number (which has worked out great on her side, so good for her).

Black cats used to be so adorable until a 1233 papal document described a satanic cat demon worshipped by a heretical sect, fueling the belief that black cats were reincarnations of Satan (audible gasp!), even if the ancient Egyptians dearly adored them. To make matters worse, medieval Europe even decided that when a black cat crossed your path, it meant that the devil was watching. One popular but unverified legend claims King Charles I treasured a black cat as his good-luck charm, and that after it died he lamented losing his fortune — shortly before facing his eventual downfall in the English Civil War. Historians find no evidence connecting the two events.

Hanging a horseshoe over the door feels like one of those traditions everyone knows, but few people question. Long before it became a lucky charm, people believed iron had the power to ward off evil. The famous legend stars Saint Dunstan, a blacksmith, who put that belief to the test when the devil wandered into his blacksmith shop. He nailed a horseshoe onto the devil’s hoof and let him go only after he swore to stay away from houses protected by one. Not exactly great customer service, but it got the job done.

Crossing your fingers has been linked to pagan rituals, but not in the way you might expect from the simple anti-jinxing gesture we use today. It is usually used by people to seal a wish, and some theories claim that Christians once used it to secretly make the sign of the cross. However, folklorists have found little written evidence for these ancient origin stories, with documented references to the familiar luck gesture appearing only in the early 20th century. So speculation about it being used for wishes or to ward off bad witches is still up for grabs.

Blessing people who sneeze seems like a random habit, but this traces back to a sad time in history. A plague ravaging Rome in the sixth century resulted in people going into fits of sneezing, followed by death. In an effort to offer well wishes, Pope Gregory the Great urged people to say “bless you” to them.

Aside from the fact that it’s significantly weird to open an umbrella indoors, it is said to be a bearer of bad luck. But originally in 18th-century London, umbrellas were a force to be reckoned with. They were so hard to open that when you tried to open one in a crowded room, an injury might follow. It was more or less a safety precaution for people within its vicinity.

This is a pretty rare sighting for some; that’s why wishing on a shooting star has become a standard protocol when you see one. It’s almost like wishing on the impossible, and the history behind it is quite an adorable one at that. During the second century, Greek astronomer Ptolemy said that shooting stars appear whenever gods try to peek at what is happening in the world. Once a god was listening, it was your chance to make a wish.

Avoiding cracks on the sidewalk has always been a child’s game, often framed as a way to keep kids from tripping while playing. In older African and European folklore, these were believed to be an opening to the spirit world, so make a mistake and off you go. So be careful of cracks on the road when you see one.

Finding a lost coin on the road always meant luck — extra money for the day or a gift from someone high above. But of course, like any other belief, there are two sides to a coin (pun intended). They say that if you find the coin to be lying tails up, then it signifies bad luck. So the next time you find a coin on the street, make sure to check it first before picking it up.

You have heard how 13 is unlucky; now you will get to know how the rest of East Asia avoids the number 4 like the plague. The very simple reason is language, since the word four sounds a whole lot like death in languages such as Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean. Makes you wonder how many unlucky numbers there are in the world!

The evil eye is particularly popular in the Mediterranean and Middle East as a bad jinx on your luck, and the belief is tied to the idea of the envious eyes of the gods. If you have too much good fortune in your hands, you may become the subject of a god’s jealousy, which could bring bad fortune instead. That is why the blue eye-shaped beads we see around, called nazars, were made to ward off that jealousy.

A very grim belief in Turkey links to avoiding chewing gum at night. This explains that when night falls, the gum in your mouth turns into the flesh of the dead. Quite a scary way to stop kids from chewing gum before bed!

A belief in Japan has people tucking their thumbs inside their fists when passing through a cemetery. They regard the thumb as the parent finger, and tucking it away is believed to shield their parents from death while walking through the graves. It’s a bit dark, but an endearing way to show your love for your parents.

Yellow most of the time symbolizes positivity and happiness, but on flowers, it’s trouble in Russia. Yellow flowers symbolize separation and death in said country, so showing up with such flowers during a date would never guarantee you a second one there, that’s for sure.

For those who wish for a happy love life, it might be a wise choice to steer yourself away from a moving broom. In Brazil, it is said that if your feet get swept by a moving broom, then you are doomed to be single forever, and the only way out of this curse is if you spit on the cursed broom. Tough luck on the single people, huh?

Best believe that this is the only time you can be happy about an itchy palm because in the Caribbean, when your right palm itches, it means money is coming your way. But when the left one itches instead, you are about to owe someone instead!

This content was created with the help of AI.