Superstitions

Articles about common superstitions, their origins and the beliefs surrounding them. Topics include numbers, animals, everyday actions and objects thought to bring good or bad luck.

A Black Cat Crossing Your Path

Black cats have been feared for centuries, but the superstition about them crossing your path has darker roots in witchcraft and religious history.

Chain Letters

Chain letters promise luck or money if you pass them on, but they're actually superstition-based scams that are illegal in many countries.

Dead Man's Hand

Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead holding two Eights and two Aces, creating poker's most infamous unlucky hand and spawning centuries of card table superstitions.

Saluting Magpies

People salute magpies because of an old British superstition that seeing a lone magpie brings bad luck.

Sneezing

Why people used to think sneezing meant your soul was leaving your body and how these superstitions shaped the way we respond today.

Spilling Salt

Why throwing salt over your shoulder might actually protect you from bad luck.

Stealing Rocks from Hawaii

Tourists who steal rocks from Hawaii send them back by the thousands, blaming the souvenirs for curses and bad luck in their lives.

The Myths and Truth About Mirrors

Mirror superstitions span from ancient burial rituals to broken glass bringing seven years of bad luck, here's what's actually real.

The Number 13

Why some buildings skip the 13th floor and why so many people fear the number 13.

Walking Under a Ladder

Walking under a ladder is widely considered bad luck, but the superstition likely stems from old Christian beliefs about blasphemy and the Trinity.

Women on Board Ship: Bad Luck

Why sailors banned women from ships and the superstitions that fueled centuries of seafaring tradition.