We all feel a certain pressure to be above superstitious beliefs. There's a powerlessness within superstition that we'd rather avoid.
But what if we simply can't?
There are just some situations that people can't help but feel convince that something supernatural or otherworldly at play.
It may be due to an old bed time story or urban legend that they never could shake, or perhaps there is something about the dark that brings out the beliefs.
Whatever it is, plenty of Redditors had experiences to share.
Francucasteddaju asked, "People who aren't superstitious, what is something that still creeps you out/ you won't mess with?"
The Underworld
"The basement when the lights are off." -- rosekayleigh
"I don't believe in anything paranormal, spiritual, religious, etc. But sometimes the dark makes me feel so uneasy and on edge, even if it's a room I've just been in with the lights on, like a primal fear kind of thing."
"Which is super weird considering I'm a night owl." -- diosexual
Just Gotta Do It
"I don't know where these superstitions originated or how exactly they're supposed to work, because I live in the American south and we have a bunch of superstitions from both Europe and Africa, but..."
"Most people around here paint the roofs over their porches a specific shade of blue to ward off bad spirits. I also turn my shoes in two different directions after I take them off by the door."
"This supposedly confuses hags/haints/bad juju in general so it won't find you."
"I do this fully recognizing how ridiculous it is."
-- noregreddits
Regional Tales
"I grew up with stories of Bell Witch. As an adult, I don't believe any of it is real. But it was such a huge part of the culture I grew up with in Tennessee."
"We used to dare each other to call for her three times in front of a mirror in a dark room. None of my family or friends ever did it."
"My mom claimed she did it once, and ended up with scratches down her face. To this day, I don't have the balls to do it."
"I'm getting an eerie feeling just typing this out."
-- efluxr
Zip the Lips
"As a health care worker: Saying it's 'quiet' today."
"You just don't do it. If you say that, the rest of your shift is certainly not going to be quiet."
"Also, being on call overnight during a full moon is for some reason guaranteed to be your busiest call shift."
Irish Tales
"My grandma was Irish and she always told me if you hear music at night don't follow it." -- Bunnystrawbery
"Unless you're in a rave." -- stygyan
"For some reason Irish folklore just manages to creep me out so much more than all the Hollywood horror ghost stories." -- aloic
Never Again
"I was able to postpone a final I wasn't prepared for in college by telling my professor that my aunt died."
"My aunt ended up actually dying the day after from a brain aneurysm and her funeral was held on the same day as my make up final."
"It's 13 years later and I still regret that and don't f*** with that kind of sh** anymore. I'm not religious, nor am I superstitious, but that f***ed me up and it felt like I caused her death."
Avoid At All Costs
"Setting the volume to 44."
"I'm not superstitious but 4 sounds like the word for death in my mother tongue. I always go to 43 or 45. I keep having uncontrollable thoughts of getting into a car accident if I set the volume to 44 in my car."
"I know it makes no sense, aside from potentially inducing a self-fulfilling prophecy, but still."
-- Morbidhanson
Leave Things As They Are
"Totems/dolls/weird voodoo guardians. Look if you buy a car and it has like a doll or something in the glove box, dont remove that sh**."
"Second you do everything goes to hell."
"Found a tiki head in my barracks room, took it out, internet failed, power failed, ac failed. Put it back in after searching through a dumpster and everything works now."
Inherited Approaches
"I will never put a hat on a bed, even for a second. Or a couch for that matter. That's about the only superstition I've ever taken seriously, and I have no idea what it means, and only seen it in one other place, in a movie from the 80s. Drugstore Cowboy."
"But my dad told me once when I was a kid, kind of an off hand comment, but for some reason I've always taken it seriously and I even passed it on to my sons."
"My wife hates it lol."
-- Rowe0311
Steer Clear
"Both my parents are nonreligious, very pragmatic people, and I'm their creepy black sheep type daughter."
"For some reason having to do with a story from his teen years that my dad REFUSES to talk about (weird because he's a very talkative person), I was never allowed to have a ouija board."
"I've watched scary movies since I was little with my parents, they never cared about any of my darker interests, but that's where the line was."
"To this day I've never touched one and I've been out of the house for half a decade."
-- qabril27
Fair share
I am a nurse and saw my fair share of dead people (two as of yesterday) but I have a keen sense of "this person is gonna die today". Like sometimes I dreamt of my patient dying and the day after I learnt that he died at that exact time. I also had strange dreams such as one time (the one that creeped me out the most), I dreamt that I forgot to buy a birthday present for the girlfriend of my boyfriend's bff (a girl I met once and that I don't follow on any social media).
When I told him about my dream he laughed it off just to come back one hour later with an uneasy look on his face, and he showed me her fcb page. It was, indeed, her birthday. I had no way to know. It was awkward. These very specific dreams creep me out sometimes. And sometimes I feel in my guts that my patient will die, and... I rarely get mistaken. Like nearly never. I want to believe that it is from experience but I am indeed a young nurse.
I get that sense too sometimes! Although my sense is usually around silly things, pregnancies, or just random moments that are a little off putting to see in advance. It must be hard to have those moments with patients, but I think it shows your compassion too. You're "in tune"
Fae-ry Real
Fairy Rings or anything Fae related.
My cousin told me very firmly that all faerie stuff is all ridiculous, not real, and that the only reason he keeps a faerie fort on his property is that the government pays him to out of a heritage maintenance fund. He keeps injured cows in the ring because it helps them feel safe once he's separated them from the herd. He then goes on to tell me that his uncle, who lived down the street, bulldozed his faerie fort and then BAM! Cancer! And urged me never to mess with faerie forts.
I visited the for later on that day and left some whiskey for whatever may be there. My cousin signed the cross at me for protection, once I got back.
That song
Generally, I'm not superstitious, but when I got into a bad car accident a few years ago I developed some weird ones. I wouldn't wear my hair in a bun if I had to drive for quite a while since that was the hairstyle I was wearing the day of the accident and I have not listened to the song that I was listening to when I got hit.
Lefties
I never put my left shoe on first. I read that it was unlucky in some weird library book back in high school and it stuck. I also have clinically diagnosed OCD so maybe that has something to do with it...
Q
I work in a 911 center. The "Q" word is strictly taboo. Do I know it's nonsense? Yes. Have I heard people say it and then seen absolutely nothing happen? Yes. Will I ever say it while at work? Absolutely not. I won't even think the word. That's just tempting fate.
What's the q word tho
Quiet. As in, "It sure is quiet." Or any sentiment or statement that we are not busy. Because shortly thereafter the excrement will hit the fan.
T-bone
The number 13.
About six years ago, I had finally had enough of my stupid, specific superstition, and I finally decided to let my car stereo be at a volume of 13, since this seems to (infuriatingly) be the perfect volume on every electronic device.
About 10 minutes later, I get my custom ordered 2012 Wrangler Rubicon t-boned by an old man who ran a red light.
The number 13 is no longer welcome in my life. Never again.
Days are a changin'
Just talking about this with my coworker - I will not change a calendar early - just can't do it have to wait til the first day of the new month/year. No idea why....tried to look it up maybe bad luck?
Mocking the sharks
I don't let my son wear swimwear with sharks on it to swim in the ocean. It just seems like you're mocking sharks and if you got attacked by one it would seem like your own fault.
Lingering
That when someone dies their soul lingers for a few days in our realm. You have to tell them it's ok to leave or ask what unfinished business they have and help them out or else they won't leave to their final resting place.
I'm not too religious but grew up catholic, when my husband's grandpa died, two days later, two of the daughters of the deceased invited a lady who sees things when in prayer and is her friend. This was 4 years ago, the woman had cancer and already passed away. I was waiting for my ride but they invited me to pray while I waited. We were St Cesar's house.
The lady started a normal rosary but started saying that, let's call him Cesar, was still here, so the daughters told him "dad is ok to go, go find mom, we are ok.". The praying lady said he couldn't leave cause he was worried about the family business and some specific stuff about some money. There is no way the lady knew the specifics. It did shock me.
-c05u
Three-finger scratch and pranks
According to the customs my tribe follow, we also believe that the soul will linger on for few days after the death of the person. So we have a ceremony on the 11th or 13th day after their death to honor them and let them know that they can leave this realm safely. We cook their favorite dishes, pour their choicest drinks, and keep flowers in front of their photo. Apparently, they will make their presence felt by either scratching someone (a three-finger scratch), or emit a sweet-smelling fragrance, or play a prank. The younger the person who's dead, the higher are the chances of pranks being played.
I did not give it much thought until I witness two incidents. An uncle of mine was a chain smoker (who eventually died of a heart failure). On thé day of the ceremony, the entire house was smelling like cigarettes.
As if someone had lit a smoke and was walking around. Nobody else smoked in that house and all the linen and curtains from my uncle's room were put to wash.
The second incident was on the day of the ceremony of my aunt. She died after suffering a lot of emotional and mental turmoil caused by her son. So we knew that her soul was not gonna leave in peace. When we all sat down to drink, the entire table collapsed and the bottles broke. It might be a correlation and not causation, but it was weird as the table was sturdy and only a year old.
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