Superstitions

It’s all come to this…. In the year 2066, the apocalypse is upon us. It begins with a house fire, and ends with a coven of witches battling for their lives against a militarized Witch Hunt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It doesn’t matter if you’re the president of the United States or the president of your student body class. Every politician needs a good luck charm. Once you have one, hold onto it — because giving it away can cost you everything.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The conditions are perfect, the fish are biting, and the catch of the day is just one cast away. Just remember what your grandpa told you about respecting the lake. Otherwise your fortunes might pull a real bait and switch… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Was a baseball team in Japan cursed by the KFC mascot? In today’s story, a young baseball player in Osaka resolves to undo the curse, and meets a mighty river kami in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the British monarchy, some superstitions still reign supreme… With her coronation day ahead of her, and a royal wedding soon after, Alix can’t help but feel the weight of ancient omens even as she tries to modernize the monarchy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weigh anchor and pop the bubbly! Today’s superstition is a nautical drinking tradition: Toasting a ship’s maiden voyage with champagne can appease fickle sea gods, and ensure safe passage. But bad luck awaits if you scoff at tradition…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the Giants moved from New York to San Francisco, they suffered a losing streak that lasted over half a century. Some fans believe a curse was to blame, and that an old plaque once lost to time was at the center of it…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In feng shui, a bedroom mirror doesn’t simply reflect its surroundings. It responds to the energy you put into it. And in today’s story, an influencer’s boyfriend discovers what can happen when you play with ancient magic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re a fan of cheese, you might say “cheese is life.” But one Swiss tradition takes it a step further… “Le fromage des morts” is meant to be a legacy of sorts. It’s a wedding gift meant to last a lifetime. But in today’s story, an ambitious banker bucks tradition… with rotten consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever since Julius Caesar allegedly ignored warnings about the 15th of March, that date has been doomed. In today’s story, a vogue ballroom competition — not the Roman Senate — sets the scene for a legendary showdown.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Students at this Kentucky university partake in a tradition meant to bring good luck. But in today’s story, one impassioned professor doesn’t quite get it — and undoes the work of generations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They say that French royals had a special gift bestowed by the divine. Anointed with holy oil, they could change a person’s life with just one touch. But as Remy is about to find out, with a royal touch… comes royal responsibility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our final look at star-crossed lovers, Daisy is a gardener who likes following rules. She can read the soil just as well as she can interpret a star chart. But it turns out that even the most grounded among us can be swept off their feet, with a little help from intuition… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your moon sign reflects the deepest, most hidden part of yourself. Hidden even, sometimes, from your own understanding. Today’s couple seemed to be a perfect match. But only too late did they realize why they were doomed from the start. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s something a little mysterious about first impressions. Those indelible first seconds with a new acquaintance can be delicious… or disastrous. In today’s story, can two musicians with incredible chemistry keep the heat of their first spark? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the fate of our love lives written in the stars? This month, we’re telling the stories of four astrologically interesting couples, exploring the best and worst matches in the Zodiac. Starting with 11-year-old August, a Pisces and hopeless romantic desperate to find love at summer camp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you lose your keys, it might be chalked up to bad luck. But in Sweden, you can get worse luck if you set your keys on the table. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some believe rats contain souls of the dead. Others believe that where there are rats, there is death. Either way, if you see these rodents abandoning a ship, you may want to consider joining them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mirrors are said to reflect not only your physical appearance, but your soul as well. In today’s episode, a physical trainer confronts himself in a special mirror… and changes his life for seven years.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For our last episode of the year, we'll tell you a Christmas Story. One about a famous author who had a very *particular* set of superstitions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, you’re invited to a very special gift exchange… where cursed presents throw a party into chaos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From poisonous makeup to drug-addled stars, the set of the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" was rife with misfortune. Rumors said that a curse had settled over the production, which has affected every version of the Wizard of Oz made after it. In today's episode, an ambitious director pushes his students too far and discovers how real the curse can be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For thousands of years, our ancestors have looked to the sky for answers about the world around us. So when people go mad, it may not be their fault. Just ask the full moon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bloodsucking fiends appear in the folklore of every culture on the planet. But for some, they were more than just horror stories. Today’s story comes from early 18th-century Europe. A doctor tries in vain to save lives, while a monster waits in the shadows… determined to see him fail.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if you could learn everything you needed to know about your one true love just by uprooting a stalk of kale? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The final episode in our four-part series on witches. Our three young witches enjoy a magical retreat, and discover they all share a diabolical connection. When an innocent is threatened, they must band together before "Hell on Earth" becomes a reality. Season of the Witch is a special storytelling series across Parcast Network. Follow Tales and Haunted Places to find more spooky stories and historical haunts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Where did the association between witches and broomsticks come from? An au pair named Jia is about to find out.  Season of the Witch is a special storytelling series across Parcast Network. Follow Tales and Haunted Places to find more spooky stories and historical haunts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They might take the form of innocent pets like cats, dogs, or toads. But familiars are far more than cute little witches’ companions. They’re demons from Hell — and they’re here to wreak havoc. Season of the Witch is a special storytelling series across Parcast Network. Follow Tales and Haunted Places to find more spooky stories and historical haunts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a strange blemish that can take many forms, but always says the same thing: this woman has been touched by the Devil. When Sadie gets a mark of her own, she’s thrust into a world of witchcraft and power.  Season of the Witch is a special storytelling series across Parcast Network. Follow Tales and Haunted Places to find more spooky stories and historical haunts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the Philippines, Pagpag means “to shake off dust or dirt.” The belief is that you should not go straight home after a funeral or a wake, lest an evil spirit attach themselves to you and follow you home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just because you leave the planet doesn't mean you leave superstitions behind. Since the early days of space travel, NASA astronauts have been taught to observe specific rituals before going to space. Because if they don't, they may wind up lost in space… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From a certain point of view, birthday celebrations can be seen as a little... ritualistic. Candles, special songs, birthday cake... Where did all these practices come from? And what are they meant to protect us against? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your luck can change drastically depending on what day of the week you cut your nails. Fortunately, there’s a playful rhyme to help you remember. And if you forget? A broken nail will be the least of your worries… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a ritual that can be found around the world, invoking the rabbit on the first day of a new month brings good luck. And in this story, a teenage witch is about to discover just how much fortune she can find…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you become successful, all eyes are on you. But there is one eye above all others that will always be watching, waiting to take away your success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Timekeeping devices have been around for millennia. But at what point did we stop seeing them as tools... and start seeing them as a reminder of our own mortality? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Toys are supposed to be harmless and fun — their arrival signaling playtime, not disaster. But in 1930s Syria, one toy was thought to cause a devastation so severe, it was banned from the country. If yo-yos could control the weather… what else could they control? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meteorology is an advanced study, but not a precise one. So when the heavens themselves seem determined to destroy you, who wouldn't turn to some seemingly ridiculous rituals? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sailors are a superstitious lot, and refraining from whistling might sound like a typical warning from an old salt. But if you're not careful, an errant whistle can blow up a storm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why do we think weddings have to be commemorated with tiny flakes of paper? And what are the consequences for getting too wrapped up in the idea of "the perfect wedding"? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To bestow good luck, an American might say “break a leg.” But in Italy, there’s a different phrase: “In bocca al bupo.” The problem is, if you say thanks in return, you might end up in the mouth of a wolf… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you look for it, you can spot the number seven everywhere. But of all the numbers, why did we pick this one to be the lucky one? And what happens when you rely on it too much? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In many cultures, it's considered polite to bless someone after they sneeze. But this dates back to a much older belief, where if you sneeze without a blessing, your soul can fly right out of your body. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gemini season is upon us, the season of twins. Which makes us ask: Are twins *really* telepathic? How do we explain the uncanny connection between the closest of siblings? For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When planets align, chaos can follow. For thousands of years, the movements of those heavenly bodies have been used to understand — and even predict — earthly upheavals. History is dotted with uncanny examples.  For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s so common that we hardly think of it as a superstition. Today, we use it to wish for luck and to excuse a broken promise or white lie. But throughout history, crossing your fingers has been used over and over to invoke the Divine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you feel an inexplicable chill, you may be coming down with a cold… or someone just walked over the patch of earth where you’re destined to be buried.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s not just bad luck. It’s an affront to ancient gods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you want a bright and sunny Southern wedding, there’s only one thing to do: One month before the nuptials, bury a bottle of bourbon. But take care to dig it up on your wedding day. If you don’t, you might suffer a thunderstorm… or worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When an owl speaks, death follows. But if they can bring doom, can they reverse it, too? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices