There are few areas of human existence not touched by folklore and superstition. Unsurprisingly, burials and funerals come with a whole raft of beliefs and practices. Some of them persist to this day, while others, like sin-eaters, have largely died out. Despite the practice apparently lasting from the 17th to the early 20th century, there […]
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Cemetery superstitions: How to avoid bad luck in a graveyard
Cemeteries are either fascinating monuments to social history, or eerie gardens populated by the dead. The decline in the popularity of burial and the relocation of post-death practices to undertakers rather than families has created an aura of mystery around death, particularly nowadays. Cemetery superstitions still hold sway, even now. But earlier eras had a different […]
Roses are Red: The Sinister Side of Valentine’s Day Folklore
Sending mean cards? Eating mashed earthworms? Using jack o’lanterns to light medieval love banquets? They’re all surprising yet vaguely sinister ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Trying to divine the origins of Valentine’s Day proves challenging. Some believe the day is named for St Valentine, a priest who conducted marriage ceremonies in secret. Officials executed him […]
Premature Burial: Lived Once, Buried Twice
Fear of premature burial reaches that primal part in all of us that Sigmund Freud surveyed in his 1919 essay, ‘The Uncanny’. Edgar Allan Poe explored the horrors of premature burial in his 1844 story, ‘The Premature Burial‘. Stephen King even skirted the edges of the fear with his short story, ‘Autopsy Room Four’. In it, […]
Moths in Folklore: Bringers of Death and Letters
Moths aren’t exactly popular insects. Within folklore, they’re typically viewed as either messengers from the dead or symbols of death. Some of the symbolism crosses over with that of the butterfly. It’s easy to see why they get muddled up. Both butterflies and moths belong to the Lepidoptera family. T. R. New points out that […]
Rats in Folklore: Signs of Bad Luck and Harbingers of Doom
Rats get the blame for an awful lot throughout history – usually spreading the plague. Clearly, they don’t spread the plague…but the fleas they carry do. It’s not just the plague they carried. They’d also ruin food supplies. In ancient Egypt, people believed rats represented both destruction and discernment. They’d decimate food stores, but they […]
