A lot of old Southern superstitions go beyond the obvious ghost stories & dramatic legends. Sure, those are still important, but there are also plenty of superstitions that are part of people’s everyday routines, including what they do with rocking chairs or where they put their hats. A lot of these traditions are ones people continue to follow today. Here are eight old Southern superstitions that people still believe.
1. Painting porch ceilings haint blue to keep spirits out
Anyone who has spent some time in the Lowcountry may have noticed that there are lots of porch ceilings painted soft blue, almost like the sky. It’s a tradition that preservation specialists like Leigh Schoberth trace to West & Central African culture. Today, people believe that the color keeps spirits out.
Indigo blue supposedly confuses wandering spirits that are called “haints.” While there are quite a few people who don’t believe in these spirits, there are many who keep the tradition of painting their porch ceilings haint blue, just in case.
2. Putting blue bottles on trees to trap roaming spirits
A similar superstition involves putting blue bottles on trees. Sure, they might look decorative, but people do it because they believe the bottles will trap any spirits wandering around at night. Folklore scholar Robert Farris Thompson says the tradition came from Central African spiritual ideas that made their way to the American South.
Originally, it was only an African superstition. But it has since spread regionally in America to become something that many people in the South continue to believe in doing.
3. Not letting an empty rocking chair rock on its own
People across parts of Appalachia see a rocking chair moving by itself as a bad omen. In some versions of the superstition, it means that death is approaching. That’s why many families will stop the chair if it keeps moving after someone stands up, so don’t be surprised to see an older relative reaching out to do so.
It’s actually one of the longest-standing regional superstitions that people remember today. Sure, it might not be real, but do you really want to risk that?
4. Avoiding sweeping someone’s feet
In theory, cleaning the floor sounds relatively harmless, yet you’ll still find quite a few Southern households being mindful of sweeping across someone’s feet. It’s something documented in folklore archives, including the Dartmouth College Folklore Archive. Apparently, sweeping across someone’s feet means that you’re sweeping away their chance of marriage.
The superstition originated from both African-American & Appalachian oral traditions. Today, a few people joke about it, but there are also those who take it completely seriously.
5. Telling the bees when someone dies in the family
Appalachian folklore says that beekeepers should walk to their beehives and speak aloud after there has been a death in the family. It sounds poetic, but there are actually field recordings in the Library of Congress that reference such a practice. The superstition originally came from European settlers when they came to the area.
Failing to tell the bees means that you’ll have to pay a penalty, which could include the bees leaving their hive or refusing to make any honey. Some superstitions also said that the bees would die.
6. Covering mirrors in the house after a death
Apparently, that’s not the only thing that you should do after a death. People in parts of the Appalachian Mountains believe that you should cover mirrors during mourning periods, whether that’s by hanging clothes or sheets. They believe you should do this to all reflective surfaces as soon as someone passes.
Doing so will supposedly stop any spirits from being stuck, as a spirit that sees its reflection will become trapped in the mirror or house itself. There’s also a superstition that a person who looks into a mirror in a house with a dead body will be the next one to pass away.
7. Keeping hats off beds
A lot of Southerners will tell you not to put your hat on the bed, although they might not always be able to explain why it’s a house rule. Folklorist David Pickering believes it’s a mixture of worries about hygiene from the frontier era & older sayings from Europe about luck. They didn’t want lice to get into their bed.
However, the more superstitious version of the story says that putting a hat on the bed is bad luck and that it would cause arguments. Some versions of the superstition say it could cause financial issues or even death.
8. Not stepping over a child
Older people in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi are wary of stepping over a child who is sitting on the floor. Supposedly, stepping over them will prevent them from growing. Anthropologist Hilda Roberts wrote about it in Louisiana Superstitions, saying that many people followed the habit without knowing the history behind it.
Thankfully, there is a fix for anyone who accidentally steps over a child. You simply have to step back over the child in the opposite direction from the way you first stepped over them.
Even though a lot of these traditions came from completely different places, like African or European culture, many of them continue to exist side-by-side in America. They’re superstitions that people have passed down without much thought. And it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere soon.
