Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett is a name in American folklore which had a recent vogue among children in America. The lore revolves around a career of a backwoodsman's progress from an Indian fighter and bear hunter to a " coonskin Congressman" and…
Dictionary of American Superstitions
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Birth mark
A birth mark in the middle of the back is a sign of good luck and especially of future wealth.
Bibliomancy
The art of reading into the future by consulting some book, sacred or secular.
Beggar
It is a sign of bad luck to meet a beggar soon after leaving one's house in the morning. One must return and begin again.
Baking
The first cake taken from the oven should not be cut but broken: otherwise, all subsequent cakes baked on the same day will be soggy. Among the North Carolina legends baking a cake while menstruating will cause it to turn…
Bachelor
A bachelor is said to be "jolly." A slogan is superstitious in implication. It is quite unfounded. (Is the bachelor really "jolly" or is this description that of envy on the part of disillusioned married men?). Statistics show that the…