There are numerous superstitions about the night.
Why? Man, Myth and Magic (Vol. 15) describes it best:
“Fear of the dark is one of the universal human terrors. Night is the ‘witching time’, ‘the black bat’, and its alien realms are infested by horrors and evil dreams, by specters and goblins, by uncanny sounds in the house and unearthly things that stalk the darkness and gather at crossroads.”
However:
“For although night is mysterious and ominous, it is also the time of love-making in which children are conceived and so it has symbolic connotations of potential fruitfulness, the darkness of earth in which the seeds ripen, the darkness of the womb in which the fetus grows. Night is the time of both death and conception.”
1. Not a Good Time to Sweep
Sweeping at night is said to be bad luck. It is best to sweep or vacuum during the daylight hours.
2. Refrain from Whistling
It’s believed that whistling while outdoors at night will attract snakes.
3. Attract the Devil
Incidentally, whistling at night might also attract the Devil.
4. Don’t Eat in the Dark
Another superstition warns against eating in the dark. Some say eating in pitch blackness allows evil spirits to find a way into your mouth and take possession of your body.
5. Bad Company
You might also discover that an evil spirit will decide to dine beside you.
6. Shadow People
Shadow people are most often seen at night when we are at our weakest.
7. Door Opening
A door or window that opens on its own in the night is an omen of death.
8. Ticking Clock in the Wall
To hear a clock ticking inside the wall at night is also an omen of death and means that your time is nearly up.
9. Mustard Seeds Against Nightmares
If you have trouble with nightmares, circle your bed with mustard seeds before going to sleep at night.
10. Pleasant Dreams
A bay leaf placed under the pillow at night before sleep will bring pleasant dreams.
11. Ghost Hours
Cemeteries are said to be haunted at night between the hours of midnight and 1 a.m.
Sources:
Italian Superstitions. Andrea Malossini. 2013.
Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural. Volume 15.
Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina. Volume 4874, Issue 8569. 1964.
Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Utah. Anthon Steffensen Cannon. 1984.
Superstitions: A Handbook of Folklore, Myths, and Legends from Around the World. D.R. McElroy. 2020.
