It’s late October, and an adorable black cat has begun traipsing around my yard. If I were superstitious, maybe I’d be nervous… but I’ve got a black cat of my own. There are plenty of myths about black cats being in danger on Halloween due to the superstition surrounding them, but thankfully they’re just myths.
Superstition does play a role in this world though. Everything from changing the name of a boat to having a 13th floor on a building is considered bad luck. There are a lot of boating superstitions out there, but today we’ll talk about some of the other superstitions people commonly hold to, including the fear of black cats. Read on for more!
Unpacking Superstition: What it Is
First, let’s talk about what superstition is. According to Merriam-Webster, superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. It’s also referred to as irrational, a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.
There’s a mountain range in my state called the Superstition Mountains that’s got its own myths and legends. Superstition is the name of a funky and fun Stevie Wonder song, too, but we’re not here to talk about mountain ranges and music – we’re here for superstition.
If a Black Cat Crosses Your Path…
According to the Animal Welfare League, the idea of the black cat bringing bad luck started with the Norman and Germanic people during the Medieval Period (500 AD -1500 AD). They believed that, if you saw a black cat, it was a sign that a death would occur. A massive culling of black cats took place around that time, which eventually led to the spread of the Bubonic Plague. The moral of the story? Love black cats. They’re sweet, harmless, and kill mice that can carry major diseases!
(I might be biased, but our black cat is amazing. He guards our house like a watchdog to make sure no one comes in who shouldn’t be there, and he’s even meowed a warning that there was someone “who didn’t belong” in the house!)
Renaming a Ship is Bad Luck
The idea that you shouldn’t rename a ship actually has very cool origins. Historically, it was believed that every ship has its name in the Ledger of the Deep that Poseidon keeps. According to How Stuff Works, “Renaming a ship means you’re trying to slip something past the gods and you will be punished for your deviousness.”
Of course, there’s likely a more practical reason why people avoided naming their boats. Every boat has its own reputation in every port of call. If the boat was renamed, people wouldn’t recognize it by its reputation, and it would probably cause problems for the captain and crew.
Other boat-related superstitions include these beliefs:
- Whistling on a boat is bad luck because you’re challenging the wind itself.
- Redheads were not allowed on board because they were believed to be unlucky or because they had fiery personalities.
- Women weren’t allowed on board because they were “too tempting” and made the seas angry
(All I have to say about those last two is this: Grace O’Malley. She kicked all the butts, sailed the sea, and was – gasp – a red-haired woman!)
Why Some Buildings Don’t have a 13th Floor
Some builders avoid building a 13th floor because they don’t want to alienate people who have triskaidekaphobia – a fear of the number 13. Thirteen is considered an unlucky number by some, so hotel and apartment building owners worry that their visitors or residents won’t want to stay on the 13th floor, so instead they number the floors from 12 to 14, with no floor in-between.
There are numbers that are considered unlucky in other cultures as well. For example, Wikipedia shows an elevator panel in Chinese that has no 4th, 13th, or 14th floor. The reason? The way “four” is pronounced in Chinese is very similar to how they pronounce the word “death.” In fact, some people in East Asian nations suffer from tetraphobia.
Don’t Walk Under a Ladder
There are actually several “origins” of this superstition. Egyptians believed that, if you walked under a ladder, you might see a god climbing up or down it. Another belief is that, because a leaning ladder formed a triangle, Egyptians didn’t want to break the triad of Osiris, Isis, and Horus.
The ladder belief translated to Christianity too – with some saying that Christians avoided walking under ladders so as not to “break” the Trinity. Charles Panati of “Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things” wrote that “because a ladder had rested against the crucifix, it became a symbol of wickedness, betrayal, and death. Walking under a ladder courted misfortune.”
Others say that ladders were avoided because of medieval gallows. Some say that ladders resemble gallows and others say that, in the 1600s in England, criminals were forced to walk under a ladder on their way to the gallows.
Wherever you go in the world, there’s a reason not to walk under a ladder… but probably the best reason is that someone might be up there and you don’t want to risk something falling on you, or clumsily knocking the person off their ladder.
(Honestly, that’s why I don’t walk under ladders. I am a little stitious.)