- Bad Luck Superstitions
- Good Luck Superstitions
- Folklore Examples of Good and Bad Luck
- Chinese Bad Luck
- Parachute Troops Drop in to Jail
- Bad Luck - Blame the Messenger?
- Ten Funny and Strange Ideas about Luck
Bad Luck Superstitions
A Black Cat which crosses your path will bring bad luck.
Traditionally linked with witches and Halloween they are thought, by some,
to be the embodiment of evil.
Never kill a sparrow because in ancient times it was
believed that they carried the souls of the dead and ending its life will
bring bad luck.
The number 13.
See more bad luck on Friday 13
Mirror: An ancient myth which our ancestors believed was
that the image in a mirror is our actual soul. A broken mirror represented
the soul being astray from your body. To break the spell of misfortune, you
must wait seven hours [one for each year of bad luck] before picking up the
broken pieces, and burying them outside in the moonlight.
Don't walk under a ladder. In the days before the
gallows, criminals were hanged from the top rung of a ladder and their
spirits were believed to linger underneath. Common folklore has it to be
bad luck if you walk beneath an open ladder, and pass through the triangle of evil
ghosts and spirits.
Salt has been a valuable commodity throughout history.
It would bring misfortune if salt were to be spilled. To ward off bad luck
throw a pinch over your left shoulder and all will be well. Make sure Mum is
not watching!
Umbrellas, don't open them indoors
New shoes, putting them on a table will bring bad luck.
Also, whether your wearing new shoes or old, it's bad luck to pass someone
on the stairs.
Magpies Unlucky to see one *magpie, but lucky to see
two:
* Counting Your Magpies
One for sorrow, two for mirth, Three for a wedding, four for a birth, Five for silver, six for gold, Seven for a secret not to be told. Eight for heaven, nine for hell, And ten for the devil's own sel'. Or more commonly: One for sorrow, two for joy; Three for a girl, four for a boy; Five for silver, six for gold; Seven for a secret, never to be told; Eight for a wish, nine for a kiss; Ten for a bird that's best to miss.Good Luck Superstitions
Touch Wood

Examples of Good Luck and Bad Luck Folklore
- If the flame of a candle flickers and then turns blue, there's a spirit in the room.
- If a bird flies through your house, it indicates important news. If it can't get out, the news will be death.
- If you feel a chill up your spine, someone is walking on your future grave.
- A person born on Halloween will have the gift of communicating with the dead.
- A bat in the house is a sign of death.
- If a bird flies towards you, bad fortune is imminent.
- If your palm itches, you will soon receive money. If you scratch it, your money will never come. Will's wife always says about hands itching: 'Right to receive; left to pay out.'
- Many Romans wore lucky charms and amulets to avert the "evil eye."
- If a person experiences great horror, their hair turns white.
- A hat on a bed will bring bad luck.
- Eat an apple on Christmas Eve for good health the next year.
- The superstition of knocking on wood for good luck originates from pagan beliefs in regard to trees.
- Crows are viewed as a bad omen, often foretelling death. If they caw, death is very near.
Crow Story
A large number of dead crows were found along a highway in Canada and it was feared that an out break of Avian flu had been their demise. An Avian Pathologist examine the crows, and concluded that it was NOT Avian Flu but impact with a motor vehicle that caused the problem. He further opined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, and only 2% were killed by cars. An Ornithological Behaviorist was consulted and the problem was discovered; When crows eat road kill, they always post a "look-out Crow" in a nearby location, to warn the birds in the roadway. His conclusion was that the lookout crow could not say "Truck" only "Cah." [Kindly sent in by Pastor Fred]Some Hilarious and Funny Old Wives' Tales
Laugh Along With Will And Guy At What Our Ancestors' Believed- Whooping Cough:a)Take a caterpillar, wrap it in a small bag of muslin, and hang bag around the neck of the affected child. The caterpillar will die and the child will be cured.b) Take the child on a train, open the window and get the child to hang its head out and the coughing will cease.c) Pour a bowl of milk; invite a ferret to lap from the bowl. Get the child to drink the rest of the milk and all will be well.
- To give birth to a boy: eat loads of bananas. [May be true - high potassium content is associated with having boys.]
- Cramp: if troubled at night - put a cork under your pillow.
- Rheumatism: to get rid of it - carry a walking stick made from elder which has exactly 5 or 7 knots.
- Carrots: eating carrots improves your vision at night.
- Toads: if you touch a toad then you will get warts.
- Warts: to get rid of warts rub the infected spot with a cut potato and then bury the potato in the garden.
- Dandelions: if you pick a dandelion then you will wet the bed.
- You'll catch a cold if you go out with wet hair: Untrue since the cold is a virus.
- Tongue: If you bite your tongue while you are eating then you have recently told a lie.
Bad Luck - Trouble?
It's surprising how often if you do the wrong thing, you not only get into trouble, but also suffer a double whammy with a dose of bad luck.Chinese Bad Luck
There is an ancient Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'
Bigamist Plumber
A plumber sent to prison on a driving charge had pleaded with Walton-on-Thames magistrates not to jail him as he was due to marry the next week. Bad luck struck, the local newspaper reported the case thus alerting his wife that he was about to commit bigamy.Parachute Troops Drop in to Jail
Reports Metro online July 2007

Tree-man
Police in America have arrested a man who robbed a bank 'disguised' as a tree. CCTV footage shows the man entering the bank with branches and leaves taped to his body.
Anonymous Accountant
An accountant in Salem, Pennsylvania, has been charged with 'defiant trespass', which carries a two-year prison sentence. His alleged crime? He spoke at a public meeting, objecting to a new sewage disposal plan, for 11 minutes instead of the allotted five.Yet More Bad Luck

Bad Luck - Blame the Messenger?
A woman's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every day. One day, when he came to, he motioned her to come nearer. He whispered, eyes full of tears, 'You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When our house burnt down, you were there. When my health started failing, you were by my side. You know what?' 'What dear?' she gently asked. 'I think you are bad luck,' he said.Ten Funny and Strange Ideas About Luck
...(vidFL2)
- He that is afraid of bad luck will never know good. - Russian proverb
- I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five. - Stephen Wright
- It is bad luck to fall out of a thirteenth story window on Friday. - American Proverb
- I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me and the second one didn't. - Patrick Murray
- Do you believe that getting married on a Friday brings bad luck ? Of course, why would Friday be an exception? - Anon
- If a funeral car passes you should hide your thumb. - Japanese belief
- A black cat crossing the street in front of you causes bad luck.
- A rabbit's foot, a four-clover leaf, or a horseshoe, may ward off bad luck to the owner.
- Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Luck never made a man wise. - Seneca