The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Superstition: Pregnancy

Remedy:

If a woman is frightened during her pregnancy, the child will have a birth mark.

Submitter comment:

Learned at home on the farm.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT

Keyword(s): BABY ; BELIEF ; Birth Mark ; CHILD ; CURSE ; FEAR ; Frightened ; Offspring ; PREGNANCY ; SUPERSTITION

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Superstition: Pregnancy

Birthmarks:

Mother always said "if a child was born with a birthmark, to do this, before the child got into the bath or anything." Take the afterbirth, the sack the baby grows in, take the lining from the sack and rub the baby all over with that. The skin would come out clean and the birthmark would be gone.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Original BN [P720, P760.750] crossed out. Replaced wtih current classifications

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT

Keyword(s): Afterbirth ; BABY ; BIRTH ; Birth Mark ; CURE ; CURSE ; Delivery ; Labor ; Newborn ; Placenta ; PREGNANCY ; REMEDY

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Wart Cure

At midnight on a moonless night, take a dead cat to the cemetery. This must be the first moonless night after a very bad person has died. At exactly midnight, the devil will come to claim the soul of the person who has died, so you have to throw the cat in the direction of the grave and say, "Devil take soul, soul take cat, cat fetch warts and let that be that." The warts disappear shortly afterwards.

Submitter comment:

From Mark Twain.

Data entry tech comment:

Informant and collector are the same person.
Informant was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, where he probably learned this.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; FLORIDA ; NASHVILLE ; PENSACOLA

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