Current superstitions : $b collected from the oral tradition of English speaking folk
General
Current superstitions : $b collected from the oral tradition of English speaking folk
Folklore -- England; Folklore -- United States
662. If you start anywhere and go back, it is bad luck unless you make a
cross-mark and spit in it.
_Alabama and Kentucky._
MISCELLANEOUS.
663. If two persons shake hands across the gate, they are bringing on
themselves ill luck.
_Alabama._
664. It is unlucky to pass under a ladder.
_Canada._
665. Go under a ladder and you will be hanged.
666. Walking under a ladder is considered very unlucky. In the outposts
girls will climb the rockiest cliffs to avoid such a contingency. On one
occasion in St. John's, where a ladder extended across the sidewalk, of
one hundred and twenty-seven girls who came along, only six ventured
under it, the rest going along the gutter in mud ankle deep.
_Newfoundland._
667. If, in passing, one parts two people, it is a sign of disappointment
to the parter.
668. When two or three people go between different posts, in the entrance
of gardens, cemeteries, etc., it is a sign they will be separated or
disappointed.
_General in the United States._
669. Sing on the street,
Disappointment you'll meet.
670. To count the steps of stairs, as you lie on your back, indicates the
number of your troubles.
671. To fall upstairs means good luck; downstairs, ill luck.
_Massachusetts._
672. To stumble downstairs, or on going out in the morning, means bad
luck.
_Peabody, Mass._
673. Opals are unlucky.
_General in the United States._
674. The opal is unlucky, unless set with diamonds.
_New York._
675. Don't let the tea-kettle boil so as to make a bubbling or thumping
noise, as some say it is unlucky.
_Eastern Massachusetts._
676. A tea-kettle boiling so as to make a bubbling sound is said to boil
away luck, and should be removed from the flame.
_Eastern Massachusetts._
677. Never let your dish-water come to a boil, as every bubble means bad
luck to the family.
_Eastern Massachusetts._
678. Sewing in the twilight is an ill omen.
_Chatham, N.H._
679. To look over another person's shoulder into a looking-glass means
disappointment.
_Deer Isle, Me._
680. When going fishing, fishermen wear white mittens for luck.
_Portsmouth, N.H._
681. It is unlucky to lose a glove.
_Bathurst, N.B._
682. It is bad luck to have any one step across the fishing-pole; you
will catch no fish.
_Talladega, Ala._
683. Crawl under a fence, and you will have bad luck.
_Western Masssachusetts.[TN-5]_
684. To step over the feet of any one who is sitting is ill luck.
685. Getting out of bed with the left foot first, or taking anything with
the left hand when the right is disengaged, is a sign of bad luck.
_Alabama._
686. In getting out of bed in the morning, the right foot is always to be
placed first.
_Ohio._
687. To get out of bed left foot first makes one cross. "He got out of
bed left foot first," is a universal saying.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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