Black Cats, Ladders, Umbrellas, and Friday The 13th

I am not a superstitious person by nature, of course, I'm not really religious either.  I think black cats are beautiful, especially when they have long hair and orange eyes.  Usually if I see one "cross the street" I yell for it and try to drag it home, whereas my husband crosses himself and demands I do not stop the car while he says a prayer.  Black cat superstitions are due to the fact that they are aloof, independent, and the color black is associated with evil and death...

Hogwash!

A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic.  ~Irish superstition
It is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat.  ~French superstition

That last one is because the carrier will get clawed nearly to death because cats don't usually like water. Duh.


Walking under a ladder has long been regarded a bad luck, but why? Some believe that in the medieval times, a leaning ladder was thought to resemble a gallows, so if you walked under a ladder you were guaranteeing your own death by hanging.

Another possible explanation also relates to the medieval gallows, which is almost the same explanation. A ladder was placed against the gallows so that after a public hanging, the body could be cut down. If you happened to walk under the ladder as this was happening, you could be hit by a dead body being cut down.  

Gallows have been outlawed so I think you're safe.


Why is it taboo to open an umbrella indoors?

Because you don't want to offend the spirit of the umbrella.  Say what?

Richard Webster's "The Encyclopedia of Superstitions" says:

"A common superstition is the belief that opening an umbrella inside a house causes bad luck. The origin of this is that the umbrella acts as a shield against the sun or rain outdoors. To open it indoors offends the spirit of the umbrella, who will cause bad luck to occur as a result."

Now that's plain ridiculous.

My son is Atheist ant yet he is afraid of Friday the 13th.  I have to explain to him EVERY time one rolls around that unless he's secretly a Knights Templar, that he is being silly and buying into hype.  My Catholic husband says a prayer at every opportunity, but he's, well, Catholic, so I just shake my head, I can't talk sense into him.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Templars.  Basically, it comes down to he wanted their money and thought they had too much power, they were either tortured, killed, or disappeared which led to the superstition over the fear of Friday the 13th or the number 13 in general.

Add to that at the Last Supper in Christian theology, there were 13 dinner guests, so that number is unlucky because Christ was betrayed. 

Coincidence.

The fear of the number 13 is so pervasive that it even has a phobia named after it: triskaidekaphobia. Based on this phobia, airlines typically do not have a 13th row, and most tall buildings do not have a 13th floor.

I don't buy into any of that superstitious nonsense, but so many people do, that as Halloween approaches, people are starting to get a little crazy again and I just have to shake my head,