Superstitions from the Appalachian Mountains

I was born in the Appalachian Mountains, and trading superstitions is pretty much an everyday occurrence. Here is a list of the more common superstitions I’ve heard.

•If you sing before breakfast, you will cry before dark.
•It’s bad luck to pick up a coin if it is tails side up. Good luck comes if it is heads up.
•You have to get out of bed on the same side you got in it or you will have bad luck.
•It is bad luck to close a pocket knife unless you were the one who opened it.
•It is bad luck to walk under a ladder.
•Breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck.
•Spilling salt will bring bad luck unless you throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder.
•It is bad luck to open an umbrella inside a house.
•Death always travels in three’s – if a person dies in a community, two more deaths will soon follow.
•You should always exit through the door you entered in, as doing otherwise brings bad luck.
•A dog howling at night means death is on its way.
•It is bad luck if a black cat crosses the road in front of you.
•If you walk around with one shoe on and one shoe off, you will have bad luck.
•It is bad luck to look in a mirror at midnight.
•Step on a crack, and you will break your mother’s back.
•If the 13th falls on a Friday, the day is considered cursed.
•Pets will not go into a room where there are ghosts.
•Kill a spider, and it will rain.
•Dreaming of bees is a sign of good luck.
•Carry a buckeye for good luck and to prevent headaches.
•If cows are laying down together, it is going to rain.
•If a black cat crosses your path, make the sign of an X to prevent bad luck.
•Do not place the foot of your bed facing the door; doing so means death.
•Knock three times on wood after mentioning good luck to prevent it from being ruined
•Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds take warning.

While there are many, many more superstitions to be found in the Appalachian Mountains, these are some of the most well-known.