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Ghosts,
witches, graves, black cats, Halloween, Friday the 13th ...
SUPERSTITIONS
Never slam a door. You might hurt a ghost, who'll haunt you for the rest of your
life.
by Bob Bowman |
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With
Halloween just around the corner, this may be a good time to remind ourselves
that early East Texans had a healthy regard for ghosts, strange lights and things
that go bump in the night.
This regard led farm families, as well as
some city dwellers, to develop what they felt were remedies for supernatural ills.
Some of them offered protection from ghosts:
- Carry a lump
of bread in your pocket when walking in the dark. It will serve as an offering
to ghosts.
- If
you see a ghost, walk around it nine times, and it will disappear.
- If
you can't walk around the spook nine times, crow like a rooster. The
theory is that ghosts don't wear watches and they'll flee if they think daylight
is coming.
- When
passing a graveyard or a house where someone has died, turn your pockets inside
out to make sure you you don't bring home ghost in your pocket.
-
Never slam a door. You might hurt a ghost, who'll haunt you for the rest of your
life.
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If
you're convinced that witches exist on Halloween, here are some remedies
- If a witch
somehow infects you with a spell, drink water from a running creek, using a cup
made of cypress wood, for nine days straight.
- Bury
a knife under your doorstep to protect your home from witches, who supposedly
cannot pass over cold iron.
- Witches
also hate brass. To prevent a witch from making your milk cow go dry, make a bell
out of brass and hang it around the cowıs neck.
-
Put a witch's nail or hair clippings in a small glass bottle. Burying the bottle
will break a witch's spell. Hanging the bottle in the fireplace will keep witches
from flying into the room. And placing the bottle in a fire will kill the witch.
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East
Texans have always been a little uneasy about graves,
and have developed a number of appropriate superstitions, such as these.
- Don't point at a
grave or your finger will rot off.
- Don't
count the number of cars in a funeral procession or youıll have bad luck.
-
Always pick a rainy day for a funeral so the deceased will go directly to heaven.
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Halloween
wouldn't be half the fun without black cats, but you should handle them
with care, as indicated by these admonitions.
- Deadly
diseases can be given to a child by a black cat sucking its breath.
- If
a baby plays with a black cat, it will have worms. Every cat hair it swallows
will become a worm.
- Kill
a black cat on Halloween and you'll have seven years of bad luck.
-
If a black cat meows on your porch or near a window, a death will soon occur in
the family.
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Once
Halloween is over, you can relax - that is, until Friday
the 13th, which arrives in February. Then, you can worry about a new set
of superstitions.
- If
you leave your calendar turned to Friday the 13th, a witch will claim you on the
14th.
- Donıt
consult the stars on Friday the 13th.
- Never
start a new business on Friday the 13th.
- On
Friday the 13th, to sleep without bad luck, fold the pantyhose or stockings of
a woman across the foot of the bed with a straight pen inside one of the folds.
Okay,
now you're ready for Halloween - and Friday the 13th. Don't blame me if your finger
rots off. |
All
Things Historical
>
October 26 , 2003 column
A syndicated column in over 70 East Texas newspapers
Published with permission
Bob Bowman is the author of 40 books on East
Texas history and folklore, and a past president of the East Texas Historical
Association |
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