Home Superstitions
For Friday the 13th
As many apartment dwellers know, most buildings skip the 13th (and sometimes fourth and 44th!) floor. In fact, a whopping 80% of high rises omit the unlucky ordinal just on tradition alone. But for those of us who live closer to the ground, there’s plenty of bad omens lingering around at home.
Most superstitions are hundreds of years old, stemming from the human instinct to attribute reasoning to the inexplicable. But even if it seems silly, these unfounded fears have positive side effects. Research has found that people who truly believe in superstitions can often perform better at certain tasks and experience less stress.
So for the believers (and non-believers) out there, this is what you need to avoid for good karma.
We think this bedroom in 829 Brooks Avenue has a cool idea — lean mirrors behind nightstands to add depth and a bit of glamour. This home has a lot of soul! – Property Details
1. Mirrors can steal your soul.
Most people have heard that a broken mirror brings seven years of bad luck, but intact reflectors are also ominous — just think of ill-fated characters like Snow White, Narcissus, and Dracula.
The legend goes that the glass can steal your soul. In fact, Victorians traditionally covered mirrors when someone died, in case the deceased’s spirit gets trapped inside.
2. Evil ghosts sit in your rocking chair.
New mothers and porch sitters take note: the Irish have long believed that rocking an empty chair invites dark forces to come sit in it. If the chair moves of its own accord, that’s even worse — the malicious spirit has already settled in it, and may bring death to the family.
The front door of 938 Palms is so unique, we wouldn’t want to go through any other doors anyway!- Property Details
3. Pick a door and stick with it — or else.
According to folklore from the Pacific Northwest, it’s bad luck for you and your family to leave the house through a different door than the one used to enter it.
In this master suite of 2269 Westridge, there’s no question which side of the bed we’d rather wake up on with a view like that! – Property Details
4. You can wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
The saying goes that you should get out on the same side you got in or it’ll be a bad day. As for the following night, make the bed if you want to sleep well, according to an American proverb.
5. Open umbrellas insult your home’s guardian spirits.
6. Don’t sweep away good luck.
7. Ladders have a hidden religious significance.
8. Shoes on the table could lead to death.
Old mining traditions are likely behind this superstition. You see, when a miner died in a colliery accident, his shoes were placed on the table as a sign of respect. Therefore, doing so when you aren’t dead was seen as tempting fate.
9. Fix any broken clocks — before they signal doom.
This bedroom at 1233 Appleton Way is in sunny Venice, not Spain, so you can keep the windows open and the breezes flowing in all year – Property Details
10. Keep your bedroom windows shut on Nov. 1.
11. Bells scare away hardships.
Both wedding bells and jingle bells bring smiles to peoples’ faces, but an echoing gong can also prevent misfortune. Celtic culture believes that ringing a bell frightens evil spirits away.
12. Blue porches ward off ghosts.
13. Acorns will protect your home from lightning.
Norse superstition claims all you have to do is put one of these nuts on your windowsill to prevent your home from being struck by lightning. In fact, that’s where window blind pulls with acorns first originated.
14. Hang fennel over your door to avoid witches.
It is believe that if you hang fennel over your front door, or stuff it in your keyhole, you’ll keep witches away from your home.
Knock, chop, eat on this beautiful wood table built-in to the island in the custom kitchen of 4411 Roma Court – Property Details
