When I asked my Tennessee-based family about the most common Appalachian superstitions, I was shocked by how many we still practice today.
Many of these mountain folklore sayings were passed down by my great-grandparents, but still live on a century later.
Never close a knife you didn’t open, or you’ll have bad luck for 7 years.
Keep a penny in your washer.
Always go out the same door you came in.
Eat black eyed peas or collard greens with hog jaw on New Year’s Day.
Don’t wash clothes on New Year’s Day or you will wash a family member out.
Don’t sleep on New Year’s.
Don’t do any canning or gardening on your period.Plant your crops under the full moon.
Don’t walk under a ladder. If you find yourself under one, don’t turn around– back up.
Don’t let anyone sweep under your feet.
Never give someone a set of knives as a gift. If you give them to newlyweds, it will cut their love!
If a black cat crosses your path, turn and go a different way.
Never repay salt that you have borrowed.
If a bad storm is coming, put a 2-edged axe into a stump facing the storm to ensure the storm goes around you.
If you spill salt, throw a pinch over your left shoulder so you won’t have bad luck. When you drop your fork, it means a woman is coming to visit. If you drop a knife, a man is coming to visit.
Don’t cut your baby’s hair before their first birthday.
Your baby has to fall off the bed before their first birthday.
Run a chicken over your baby to keep if from getting chicken pox.
Don’t let a pregnant woman see a dead person or the baby will have a birth mark.
If cows are laying down, or leaves are upside down, it’s going to rain.
Hang a horseshoe upside down to keep good luck from running out. Wear a buckeye in your bra to ward off rheumatism.
Hold your breath when you pass a cemetery, or you’ll be the next to die.
If you see a white horse, you’ll have good luck.
Hold your feet up when you’re crossing a railroad track, or you’ll lose your boyfriend.
If you’re walking with someone you have to go on the same side of a post or obstacle, or it will break your friendship.
Don’t wash clothes on Sunday.
If your nose is itching, it means company is coming.
Open the window when someone dies and cover the mirrors so that their soul can leave.
Hang a mirror by the door to protect against evil.
Never leave a rocking chair rocking, or you will invite spirits.
