Seven Southern Superstitions

Just playing around with my southern roots for a spell and tossing out seven sunny south superstitions.

A superstition is the belief that one event causes another without any physical process linking the two events. Sayings and superstitions have been around about as long as the spoken word. Most of them defy logic and likely came about as a result of ignorance and fear of the unknown. Many superstitious practices can be attributed to false interpretations of natural events. Others arise from a desire to predict the future or simply to ease the anxiety of uncertainty.

We may laugh today when a superstitious saying pops out of the mouth of a friend, acquaintance or family member, but it is likely each of us has one or two we cling to, whether we admit it or not. Honestly, can you see a black cat crossing your path or a ladder propped against a building and not steer clear?

These southern superstitions gave me a chuckle and invited comment. See if they are new to you or if they spread to your part of the country and got a regional twist.

1. Pull three hairs from a dog’s tail and put them under the doorstep. Your dog will not stray from home. (He might bite you though, so fair warning.)

2. Sweeping after dark will bring sorrow to your heart. (That goes for any housework as far as I can tell.)

3. Slips from plants should be stolen. Only stolen ones grow. (Do be careful pinching off the plants at Home Depot.)

4. If you want to learn to pick a banjo, take your banjo to the forks of a dirt road on a dark night and start playing. (Wear your running shoes.)

5. To become beautiful, get behind a door and eat a chicken foot or swallow a chicken gizzard whole. (Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.)

6. Run into a cobweb, you’ll get a letter. (And tick off a spider.)

7. Kissing a gal behind the ear brings bad luck. (She won’t care.)

I ran across these researching backgrounds for characters. Got my fingers crossed there are are a few you haven’t heard. It you have a favorite superstition; I’d love to hear it.