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Beliefs

Folk Beliefs & Superstitions

Browse canonical folk beliefs and follow their documented variants across countries, themes, topics, and contexts.

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Luck & Misfortune13Death & Funerals10Dreams & Divination6Birth & Pregnancy5Body Omens4Marriage & Love2Money & Prosperity2Taboos1
A hand with an itchy right palm, symbolizing the superstition about receiving money.

Itchy Right Hand Money Superstition

Money Omen An itching right hand or palm is traditionally interpreted in one well-documented superstition as a sign that money will soon be received. The… 

A room with a mirror and a sign about the superstition that combing hair after dark leads to sickness.

Hair Combing After Dark Superstition

Nighttime Grooming Taboo The superstition warns against combing the hair after dark. Folklore records attach several different consequences to the act, including bad luck, forgetfulness,… 

Person crossing a fence for luck as part of the fence-crossing luck superstition.

Fence-Crossing Luck Superstition

Boundary and Journey Belief Recorded fence-crossing superstitions do not give one universal rule. Older folklore collections instead preserve several related beliefs in which how, when,… 

a cat sitting outside a door with a sign about same-door superstition, suggesting leaving through the same door entered

Same-Door Superstition

Household Folk Belief The same-door superstition holds that a person should leave a house or building through the same door used to enter it. Leaving… 

Shattered mirror with pieces broken into sharp fragments, symbolizing the superstition linking broken mirrors to family misfortune or death.

Broken Mirror Superstition

Mirror Omen According to one of the best-known mirror superstitions, breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck. Historical records show that mirror breakage… 

Close-up of a death-watch beetle on a wooden surface with a black background, illustrating the superstitious belief surrounding ticking soun…

Death-Watch Ticking Superstition

Household Omen A faint, repeated ticking heard from old wood was once interpreted as a warning that someone in the household might soon die. The… 

an old stopped clock symbolizing superstition that stopping the clock predicts death in some traditions

Stopped Clock Superstition

Household Omen In recorded folklore, a clock that stops unexpectedly can be interpreted as an omen of death, especially when its hands appear to preserve… 

Old coffin with a creaking sound superstition linked to another death in folklore.

Creaking Coffin Superstition

A coffin that creaked in a carpenter’s shop was once recorded as an omen that another coffin order would soon arrive. The surviving record is… 

Cracked bread loaf seen as a superstition linked to death and bad luck in midfourtime beliefs.

Cracked Bread Loaf Superstition

Bread Omen In several documented folk traditions, a loaf that cracked or split while baking was read as an omen of death. Depending on the…