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Superstition
It is a old Polish belief that you should not have a cat around
a sleeping baby. It is believed that the cat will lie on the
baby's face, especially the mouth and nose, and the baby will
suffocate.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HAMTRAMCK
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Birth BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
Date learned: 03-00-1992
Fish And Milk
Before having a catfish dinner, I asked my mother if I could
have some milk to go with it. But my father interrupted and said
that if you've never had milk with fish before then it will kill
you.
Submitter comment:
My father had a very serious look on his face. I knew he was
wrong because they had served milk along with our lunches which
sometimes include fish as a main course.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Louise
Keyword(s): FOOD POISONING
Date learned: 00-00-1970
When a black cat cross your path while driving down the road,
you should turn around and go another way, because you will have
something bad to happen to you if you don't.
Where learned: LOUISIANA ; New Orleans
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank BELIEF -- Color BELIEF -- Bad luck BELIEF -- Conversions |
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; 48214
| Subject headings: | 686 Properties attributed to specific numbers or numerals individually. 686 Seconds / Twice / Two BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Good luck PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
If a horse has one white hoof, buy it. If the horse has two
white hooves, take a chance. If the horse has three white hooves,
think hard before you buy. If the horse has four white hooves,
don't buy it.
Submitter comment:
This saying is popular in horse circles. There is some truth
to the saying that white hooves frequently seem to be weaker than
darker hooves.
James Callow comment:
See Wayland Hand, North Carolina, no. 7633, for parallels from
Ontario, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Illinois, and in particular
Pennsylvania, where "a horse with one or more white feet is
considered more or less impaired in value." Hand seems to think
that such horses are called "white-stockinged"; but our
informant/collector notes that a stocking applies to the leg, not
to the hoof or foot. Also see the OED, s.v. "stocking."
"A horse with one white foot is always weak in it; and if he
goes lame, it will be that foot." -- Hyatt, Illinois (1965), no.
2530.
See Hyatt, Illinois (1
Date learned: 00-00-1956
If dogs howl all night, it means that someone is dying.
Submitter comment:
I heard this from a girl I went to school with. She told this
the morning after her mother had a miscarriage. Her mother had
miscarried during the night while the dogs in the neighborhood
howled.
| Subject headings: | Observation BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Birth BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour |
Date learned: 00-00-1966
How To Become Invisible
Find a black cat. On a full moon go to where the roads cross
and boil a kettle of water. Drop the cat into the water. Boil
the flesh off the bones. Put the bone between your eyes and then
in your mouth. This will allow you to become invisible. Take
the bone out of your mouth and you will become visible again.
James Callow comment:
See Hyatt 5: nos. 10061, 10076, 10078, 10082-10086, 10091-
10095, etc. for the invisibility (disappearance) effect. Also
see Hyatt 1: 74-97 for an earlier section on the black cat bone.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Lansing
| Subject headings: | Charm / Enchantment / Conjuration Favorites BELIEF -- Body part Senses BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Moon BELIEF -- Sign Geometric figure Cross and its various modifications BELIEF -- Color |
Date learned: 02-10-1992
If you skin your knee or elbow let a dog lick it for two days
and it will heal.
Submitter comment:
This is what her father told her to do when she was younger
and she said it worked and felt a lot better than alcohol.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Lansing
| Subject headings: | 686 Seconds / Twice / Two BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Animal |
Date learned: 02-10-1992
Menstruating women were not allowed in the barn in the olden
days because the cows would cease to give milk.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): Female Hygiene Myths
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 02-00-1985
Manx Cats
I was told by a woman who gave me a manx kitten the following
story. The manx is from the Isle of Man. There were a couple
aboard a sailing vessel (for good luck) that sank just off the
United States coastline. The two somehow made it to shore. This is
how they came to the U.S. Also, if you notice they look a bit
different from the average cat. They have no tail, their hind legs
are longer than the average cat, and they hop, sort of, while
running. This is because they had mated with rabbits on the Isle
of Man, and this has become a part of their genetic structure.
Submitter comment:
I did a little investigating of my own and found truth in where
the manx originated, and the description of their physical
appearance is accurate, but I could not verify the mating or
shipwreck parts of the story.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Mount Clemens
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 00001970S
Chills
If a person has a sudden chill up his/her spine, a mouse has
run over his/her grave.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Body part Senses BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Sensations and involuntary actions Chills, shivering |
Don't let a cat cross the street in front of you, especially
crossing from right to left. This was a sign of bad luck.
James Callow comment:
Cf. Hand, North Carolina, no. 3808; Puckett, Ohio, nos. 7581,
21242 ("good luck"), 21249.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): POSITION
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Dogs howling at night (or singing as elders would say) was a
sign of death, meaning that someone was dead or someone was going
to die.
James Callow comment: See Hand, North Carolina, nos. 5208-5214.
Where learned: GEORGIA ; ATHENS
| Subject headings: | Observation BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour |
Date learned: 01001950 CA
Superstition
Whether you're walking or driving, never cross the path of a
black cat or you'll have bad luck.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal |
Date learned: 00-00-1971
Good Luck
If cats are always hanging around your house, that is a sign
of good luck.
Where learned: ILLINOIS ; CHICAGO
IF A BLACK CAT CROSSES YOUR PATH AT NIGHT, YOU WILL
HAVE BAD LUCK THE NEXT DAY.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GROSSE POINTE
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Color BELIEF -- Bad luck Animals |
Date learned: 04-26-1972
RATS LEAVE A BURNING BUILDING.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal |
Date learned: 11-27-1971
IF RATS LEAVE A HOUSE, SO GOES THE WEALTH.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Observation BELIEF -- Mammal |
Date learned: 11-27-1971
WHEN COWS FLOCK UNDER A TREE OR LAY DOWN IN THE FIELD,
IT IS A SIGN OF AN APPROACHING STORM.
Where learned: NEW YORK ; LE ROY
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Weather sign or control |
Date learned: 03-00-1971
AND IF A CAT SAT WASHING HER FACE WITH HER PAW, THE FIRST
(PERSON) SHE LOOKED AT WOULD BE THE FIRST OF THE FAMILY
TO DIE. SO NOW I AM HAPPY TO SAY THERE ARE NO CATS
IN MY HOUSE.
Where learned: NEW YORK ; ROCHESTER
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 03-11-1972