13 Not-So-Spooky Halloween Superstitions That You Should Be Aware Of

One of the most popular Halloween traditions that people love is Trick or Treating. It’s a fun activity that is open to anyone and everyone. It’s even open to pets. Yeah, your pets are very much allowed to participate in trick or treating as long as they are walking safely by your side, not eating candies willy-nilly because that wouldn’t be good.

On another note, there is something you should know about this fine candy-giving tradition, which is that this has existed since medieval times. Trick or treating was even known as “guising” in both Ireland and Scotland way back then. And, instead of asking for candy, people asked for money or food in exchange for poems, songs, or other tricks.

Trick or treating isn’t the only Halloween tradition that is thousands of years old. In fact, there are other Halloween traditions and superstitions out there that are roughly the same age. And these things, especially superstitious beliefs, have greatly influenced communities and cultures throughout time. Want to know what they are? Scroll and read this short list.

1. Black Cats
   In the Dark Ages, many people believed that a black cat represented bad luck and a bad omen. They also believed that a witch was certainly around if a black cat was seen lurching around the surroundings during Halloween time. They even had a saying that if you hurt a black cat on Halloween, you’ll suffer seven years of bad luck.
   
   PSA: Hurting a black cat, or any type of cat or animal should never ever be an option because that’s just cruel and wrong. Don’t do it. Don’t hurt animals, ever.
2. Bats
   A bat circling your home or neighborhood three times is bad news because some people think it symbolizes impending death. A bat entering your house suggests that your house is haunted and a ghost just let it in.
3. Jack O Lanterns
   Carve jack-o’-lanterns to guide lost souls home. Burn a candle inside the carved jack-o’-lantern to keep evil spirits away.
4. Dressing up
   Wear a costume to fool the spirits walking among the living before they cause mischief and take your soul.
5. Don’t eat blackberries
   Some people in the British Isles believe that blackberries shouldn’t be eaten after Halloween because eating blackberries after Halloween is evil.
6. Eat an apple
   Some individuals hold the belief that if you eat an apple at midnight while wearing a bedsheet, you’ll never catch a cold that year. Another saying goes that you can predict how many kids you'll have by counting the seeds of the apple that you just sliced in half horizontally.
7. Owl hooting
   Hearing an owl hooting is a warning that a witch is approaching – the witch maybe is even coming sooner than you think.
8. Halloween birthdays
   Halloween babies are supposedly magical because they are thought to possess particularly unusual abilities to ward off evil spirits and see fairies and spirits.
9. Spiders
   A medieval superstition claims that seeing a spider on Halloween means that a spirit of a loved one is watching over you. Another spider superstition (this belief is not from the medieval period this time) claims that if a spider is swallowed by a candle and dies, witches are around.
10. A sprig of rosemary and a silver coin under the pillow
    On Halloween night, place a sprig of rosemary and a silver coin under your pillow so you can see your future husband in your dream.
11. Ghosts
    If you ever see one or five ghosts, just circle around them nine times and they will disappear.
12. Broomsticks
    During the Middle Ages, old women who used wooden brooms as walking sticks through the forest were thought to be involved in witchcraft. Additionally, some women who were suspected of taking part in nightly rituals used some kind of substance (possibly a hallucinogenic ointment) to give them the impression that they were floating, flying through the sky with their brooms.
13. Orange and black
    The classic Halloween colors are orange and black. The color orange represents the harvest and the turning of leaves. The color black represents the "death" of summer and the beginning of a new season.



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