Superstitions

Giving away clothing is an act of charity, but if your old outfits end up in evil hands, they could be used to cast a spell of harm against you. They say clothes make the man… but they can unmake him, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some use a table. Others, a doorframe. There are even those who jokingly use their head. Whatever wooden object is closest, you better knock on it for luck before you speak, or else you may just experience something bad… or jinx something good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1980, the New York Islanders hockey team stopped shaving during the playoffs, and they won the Stanley Cup. That moment marked the birth of a new superstition: the playoff beard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One wrong step can have consequences of seismic proportions... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The real estate industry may sound like the last place to find superstitious practices, but some agents have come to rely on a special talisman to sell homes: a small plastic statue of St. Joseph. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the very sky above us lights up with a shooting star, it transports us to another world… a reality where anything is possible. And so, we make a wish. But usually, we don't think about the consequences of that wish coming true... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bad luck is everywhere in the world of sports. But perhaps a famous curse centers around the Chicago Cubs, who didn't win the World Series for 71 years... all because they insulted a goat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don’t toast with a glass of water, or you’ll wish bad luck upon the toast’s honoree and yourself. Though this European superstition sounds like an excuse to get drunk, it’s really an ancient tool to ward off disaster and death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For St. Patrick's Day, we're exploring the very symbol of good luck itself! Where in history does this Irish tradition come from, and what does its presence say about the land it originated from? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You cannot avoid bad luck just by staying indoors. Especially if the number of steps in your home is a multiple of 3. In the Philippines, that is a very bad sign indeed… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For a police officer on patrol, there's nothing better than an uneventful shift. But according to this superstition, if you ever say a specific phrase, your day is about to get a lot more... eventful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Local to Iowa, this superstition adds an extra layer of tension to the loss of a loved one. Like a morbid version of tossing a bouquet at a wedding, the first person to leave a funeral... will be the first to die. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taking stones from the Hawaiian islands may seem harmless, but you may want to think twice before pocketing a memento. Taking a rock from the slopes of Kilauea will earn you the ire of Pele, the volcano goddess herself, and a lifetime of bad luck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tower of London is purported to have six ravens. But these are more than just spooky pets... Rumor has it that if any of these ravens is taken from the Tower, there will be dire consequences for the British Empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The airplane seatbelt “bing” is near-iconic. But few fliers are aware that pilots perform a secret ritual before pressing the seatbelt button — believing that if they forget, the plane will suffer mechanical problems… or maybe even a deadly catastrophe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you look at U.S. Presidents who have died in office, a strange pattern emerges. Since 1840, those elected on twenty-year intervals meet untimely deaths, with few exceptions. Does a 19th-century death curse plague America’s highest office of political power? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s an advantage that newcomers and novices relish: try something new, and succeed like a natural. But what happens when beginner’s luck runs out? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unassuming wall decor, or powerful protection against evil? Horseshoes are said to offer luck and fortune to those who possess them — so long as you manage to hang them right… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10… 9… 8… As the clock winds down on the final moments of the year, people around the world employ charms and traditions to shore up good fortune for the future. But it’s not always our own luck that’s on the line… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The roots of this festive holiday reach way back through history, with links to Nordic myths and the Roman Saturnalia. For colonists in 17th century America, celebrating Christmas was controversial… and in this telling, a despairing Puritan preacher goes so far as to try and cancel it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s one ingredient that can cross the threshold of the mundane, offering supernatural protection against lingering spirits… And you can find it in any kitchen, every ocean, and even our bodies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steering clear of an open ladder is second nature for many people. But for those that dare test this superstition, beware: It might bring more than just bad luck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

According to theatre lore, this famous play by William Shakespeare has carried a witch's curse since it's earliest performances. If you say the name 'Macbeth' inside a theater when you're not performing the Scottish Play... blood will have blood, so they say. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It might ruin your outfit — but far from ruining your day, getting pooped on by a bird is a gift from the sky. This lucky omen means things will start looking up (though you might still want to keep your head down). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether it’s the risky “live fast, die young” appeal or the very real threat of lung cancer, cigarettes have always been considered dangerous. And lighting three from the same match might just set you on a quick path to misfortune — if not death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We could all use a little extra luck from time to time… And what better way to secure some than taking it from one of nature’s craftiest tricksters — a surprisingly subversive symbol of wits and survival: the rabbit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a children's game with a deadly consequence: Hold your breath while driving past a cemetery’s graves... or breathe in a spirit by mistake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1980s, actors who had starred in the Poltergeist films started dying, leaving fans stunned. Was it just a coincidence? Or had the actors fallen victim to the very films that made them stars? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s the world’s unluckiest integer, and it has even spawned its own phobia. Throughout folklore and mythology, wherever the number 13 occurs, disaster follows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our first episode concerns one of the most iconic superstitions: black cats, and their relationship to bad luck. Why is it that, even to this day, we associate these innocent cats with demons, witchcraft, and doom? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’ve never opened an umbrella indoors, or walked underneath a ladder. And every Friday the 13th, you take extra care not to invite misfortune: no stepping on sidewalk cracks, no clumsiness with the salt shaker. Why take any chances? Every week on Superstitions, explore the backstories and hidden lessons inside bad omens, good luck charms, and old wives’ tales—and hear the stories of those who dare defy them. Superstitions is a Spotify Original from Parcast. New episodes air weekly, on Wednesdays. Listen free on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices