People have been murdering people since the beginning of time, and from all these murders have sprung a large collection of superstitions and strange beliefs. Here are ten of those beliefs surrounding murderers and their victims.
To Not Get Caught
According to folk superstitions, if a murderer buries the weapon he committed murder with, he will not get caught and sentenced for the crime.
Nothing Grows
Nothing will grow in the spot where someone has been murdered.
Headless Spirit
Any person who commits murder will, upon death, become a ghost who must, for eternity, carry his head under his arm.
Shoes
A murderer should not remove the shoes from his victim. To do so will bring about his own capture.
A Sudden Feeling of Fear
Among superstitious folklore, it was believed that if you are suddenly struck with a strong feeling of fear, you had just passed by or walked over a murdered body.
Willow Whistle
It was believed in Bohemia that a murderer must never blow on a whistle made of willow. Doing so, the whistle would reveal his deadly secret for all to hear.
Forgiven
If a murderer wants to be forgiven for his crime, he must go to the grave of the person he murdered and walk seven times around the grave. Many people believe that the murderer, if not forgiven, will die on the sixth walk around the grave.
Buried at Midnight
Among the Manx, it was held that the body of a murdered person could not be buried during the day. Instead, the victim had to be buried at midnight, by torchlight, without religious ceremony. While no reason is given for this practice, it may have been because many cultures believed that victims would haunt the murderer and drive him to his death. Setting the victim’s soul to rest was not to the people’s best advantage. Let the dead weed out the murderers and send them to Hell.
Don’t Hang a Murderer
Murderers should never be hung for the crime of murder. If they are hung, their soul is left loose and they will haunt the living.
From Victim to Ghost
It was believed in Ireland that if you buried a person’s shoes where they were murdered, the victim would haunt the area.
