Popular Halloween Superstitions
Halloween will be here before we know it, so what better time than now to talk about things that go bump in the night and why we tend to put a lot of stock in objects like a rabbit’s foot – things that are supposed to protect us or bring us good luck – when we’re feeling particularly vulnerable.
Don’t feel like you’re alone, even the most studied individuals – and that includes scientists and politicians – are superstitious at one time or another. Hey come to think of it, didn’t the late former President Ronald Reagan and his wife read the daily horoscopes?
Yup, being a bit superstitious is “perfectly normal” according to British scholar Professor Bruce Hood – Dean of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol. According to Hood, “âÂ?¦Superstition is practically a part of our DNAâÂ?¦dating back to man’s origin. Man has a natural predisposition to believe in the irrationalâÂ?¦”
It’s nice to know I’m in such esteemed company.
So what exactly IS superstition? Basically the belief in something you can’t necessarily explain. Sounds an awful lot like religion to me. Which – coincidently – many researchers and scientists classify as a superstition.
But the fact is – mankind was superstitious back when it didn’t know any better – and continues to be superstitious now that it DOES know better. SO what’s up that?
There are some truly great superstitions. We may or may not put much stock in them, but to a greater extent we buy into them anyway becauseâÂ?¦wellâÂ?¦.because that’s what out grandparents told us, or our parents or whatever the reputable source happens to be!
There are some very interesting Halloween-based superstitions and I’ve written some of my favourites down for you below:
“Bobbing” for Apples. We’ve all bobbed for apples at on time or another although maybe the game’s significance at Halloween has been lost. Originally, on Halloween, an “apple bob” was a means of learning your fortune. Someone – usually the village elder or respected grandmother would take 20 or so apples and in which a small cut was made – just deep enough to insert a piece of paper with a simple fortune written on it. The apples were thrown into a large tub of water and kids and adults (mostly kids) were invited to duck their heads into the tub and retrieve an apple. Upon doing so they draw out the slip of paper and read their fortune. Hopefully, whoever wrote the brief fortunes didn’t write anything cruel like ” Today you will get hit by a truck”.
Mashed potatoes on Halloween? You better believe it. Into the heap of mashed potatoes goes a ring, a penny, a button, a heart-shaped charm, a shell and a key. Mix well to hide all the items. Turn of the lights and give everyone a big heaping spoonful on their plate. Ideally, everyone will have an item in their mashed potatoes. Legend has it that the one who finds the ring win marry first; the penny signifies wealth; the button – bachelor or spinsterhood; the heart – passionate love; the shell – a long journey, and the key – great success and power. Make sure your guests dig around for the item with their forks. The last thing you need is someone choking on a penny.
Ladies, a sure-fire way to see your future husband: Retire into a dark room with one lighted candle as your only light-source. Place the candle in front of a mirror and peer into it. At the same time, you must either be eating an apple or combing your hair. After a few moments it is said that the face of the man whom you will wed will appear over your shoulder. I’m not sure why this same thing can’t harbour up the image of your future wife. This bears looking into.
Finding a Gieco in your house on Halloween night. My wife hates them. She goes absolutely bonkers when she finds one in the kitchen. Obviously she doesn’t know that the tricky little Gieco is supposed to bring good fortune and protection to the house. Maybe now she understands why I don’t want to kill them. Besides that – they eat bugs.
And my personal favourite: Eat a salted Herring: There is an old country superstition which says that if a woman should eat a salted herring just before she goes to bed, her future husband will appear to her in a dream, carrying a cup of water with which to quench her thirst. My own take on this is if you at a salted herring before you go to bed, you’re going to vomit.
Fortunately the whole concept of Halloween has lost some of its edge over time. It wasn’t always like that you know. Halloween gets its name from the fact that in the Christian calendar, the occasion occurs the day before ‘All Saints’ or All Hallows’ Day. It was also the last night of the old year according to the ancient Celtic calendar. It was a night in which goblins, witches, warlocks, Elvis impersonators and other evil spirits walked abroad and devoted themselves to all sorts of mischief. There are all sorts of variations to Halloween’s early beginnings. Needless to say, Halloween has always been considered a particularly sinister occasion for supernatural experiments. Over time the underlying element of fun, partying and trick or treating has subdues any of Halloween’s more negative aspects.
Pull away the charming veneer of Halloween superstitions and you find something that someone some where put some credence to. Apparently is just human nature.
So what are you gonna do the next time a black cat crosses your path? Run the other way or keep walking as if nothing happened?
