Myths & mysteries
Discover facts about myths & mysteries. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Myths & mysteries
Giving sharp knives as gifts severs friendships
According to folklore, giving someone a blade can sever the bonds of friendship. The recipient can avoid the bad luck by handing over a penny to “buy” the…
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Dropping silver thimbles summons foolish people
Folk belief held that the ping of a dropped silver thimble would summon the village fool, who would show up and pester whoever dropped it.
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Empty chairs by fireplaces invite ancestors
The empty place by the hearth was meant to comfort ancestral spirits who might visit, not to save a seat for a living relative.
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Throwing old shoes at ships ensures safe trips
At ship launches, crowds hurled old boots at vessels, believing the commotion would distract sea guardians and protect the voyage.
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Red thread tied to doorknobs diverts malice
The thread was meant to draw the evil eye away from residents at the entrance and absorb the negativity.
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Opening windows during storms releases entities
The belief was that an entity trapped inside needed an open route out; it was folklore, not a way to change the weather.
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Walking under ladders breaks geometric fields
The superstition says a leaning ladder forms a triangle with the wall, and walking through it breaks that protective shape and invites misfortune.
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Silver coins from leap years act as wards
In some folklore, leap-year coins were hoarded as protective charms because the calendar’s “extra” time was thought to ward off chaos.
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Fern seeds supposedly grant total invisibility
Folklore promised invisibility to anyone holding a fern seed, though ferns reproduce with spores rather than seeds.
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Destroying old photographs breaks dark links
The ritual treated an image as a link to its subject: destroying it was believed to sever an enemy's lingering hold over you.
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Burning handwritten letters severs dark ties
Some traditions treated burning a handwritten letter as a cord-cutting ritual, symbolically severing the sender’s influence.
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Pope John XXII issued a public decree banning alchemy while secretly hoarding a massive private alchemy lab
His 14th-century decree targeted alchemy as a way to crack down on counterfeiters, even as he secretly funded his own alchemical research in the papal…
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Medieval monks practiced bibliomancy by blindly pointing at random Bible verses to make major life decisions
They treated the randomly opened passage as divine guidance, even when it had no obvious connection to the decision.
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Finding pennies face up brought unexpected good fortune
In the superstition, the coin's orientation mattered: only a face-up penny counted as lucky.
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Floating ship mirages appear completely suspended in midair
Temperature layers over the ocean can bend light, making distant ships appear to hover in midair.
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Ship masts sometimes glow brightly during severe storms
A strong electric field ionizes the air around the mast, creating a blue glow known as St. Elmo’s fire.
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Mysterious glowing fireballs shoot directly out of a river
The Mekong's Naga fireballs are reported as glowing spheres rising from the river; local explanations connect them to unseen aquatic forces.
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Knocking on iron was an alternative to tapping solid walls
In the superstition, touching iron was a fallback when wood or another solid surface wasn’t available, meant to undo the jinx of saying something too…
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Builders added crooked stairs to trip up unseen guests
Some people believed uneven stairs could trip invisible intruders. The same crooked steps could trip the homeowners, too.
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Colorful atmospheric arches form during specific weather
Faint glowing bands can stretch across the horizon when bright evening light meets heavy precipitation, though spotting them may mean standing outside in…
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Mirrors were covered during storms to deflect lightning
Households feared a mirror might draw a thunderbolt into the living room, so they covered the glass during storms.
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Waterfalls flowing backwards happen due to extreme winds
Powerful winds blowing over coastal cliffs can push falling water back upward, making a waterfall appear to flow into the sky.
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Labyrinths on cathedral floors trapped wandering forces
Some believed the winding paths of cathedral floor mazes could confuse and trap unseen negative forces.
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Sailors wore gold earrings to pay for unexpected fees
Sailors wore gold earrings as portable savings: if they landed somewhere unfamiliar, the gold could pay for local services.
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