Clearfield County Paranormal Investigations

Nail:

Being made of iron, nails are reputed to have numerous magical powers, notably as a means of protection against evil and in the treatment of various medical ailments.

Neck:

An aching neck is, according to Dutch superstition, a warning that the person concerned is fated to die by hanging.

Night Jar:

Superstition regards the nightjar, with its nocturnal habits and eerie cry, with a jaundiced eye.; Called the lychfowl or corpsefowl in parts of central and northern England, and the whippoorwill in the US, the nightjar is supposed by some to the reincarnation of a child's sould that has died unbaptised.

North:

Superstition assigns various qualities to the directions of the compass; the north is considered the least inviting of the four directions. The north side of the church is the least favored for burial, being cast in shadow much of the time; some churches reserve the luckier south door for the entrance of brides and others, while the north - or "Devil's" door is reserved for letting demons out during Christening services.

Pinch:

Giving someone a pinch for luck is an old tradition particularly associated with seafaring communities. In former times, families of sailors newly returned from long voyages used to give the man concerned a good pinch to confirm that he really was there in the flesh and that it was not his ghost standing on the threshold.

Raven:

Like other black birds, the raven (an attendant upon the gods of both ancient Greece and Scandinavia) was widely considered a creature of ill omen and is feared for its apparent ability to foresee death.

Red Hot Poker:

Ornamental garden flower with vivid red and yellow blooms, which may be regarded unfavorably if it should flower twice in the same season. Such an occurence is widely thought to presage the death of someone in the gardener's family.

Rook:

In common with other black birds rooks are widely associated with death, but are otherwise unusual in being regarded by landowners throughout the British Isles and elsewhere in Europe as harbingers of good luck.

Rose:

The rose is perhaps the most significant of all flowers in terms of the superstitions attached to it. In ancient Roman times, roses were traditionally planted at gravesides in the belief that they had the power to protect the dead from evil. Over the centuries, white roses, symbolic of innocence, have often been planted at the graves of virgins. This association with death probably lies at the root of the body of generally pessimistic traditions now linked to the flower. Superstition warns that if a rose drops its petals while someone is holding it, is an omen that the person is soon to die.

Royalty:

Superstition, in remembrance of the days when kings and queens claimed semi-divine status, attaches special importance to members of a royal family, sometimes crediting the individuals with special healing powers, or otherwise connecting the death of ruling monarchs with various supernatural happenings. The appearance of meteorites or other celestial phenomenon may be interpreted as a prophecy that a king or queen is about to die, and extraordinary among birds and animals may also be read in a similar way.

Another tradition involves the "royal storm"; a period of foul weather that is always said to accompany the passing of a ruling monarch. Among other superstitions said to forecast the death of the king or queen is the ominous failure of the ash to produce any of its customary winged seeds (as is reputed to have happened throughout England shortly before the execution of Charles I in 1649).

Saining:

Age old superstition, recorded in various parts of the British Isles, involving a ritual ceremony by which a newborn baby or recently deceased body is offered special supernatural protection. The more or less defunct practice of saining requires the whirling of lighted candles in a sunwise direction around the bed in which the baby or body lies.

Scissors:

Being made of metal and having the power to cut, scissors are regarded as potential objects in superstition.