A raft of horror films remind us of the grip troubled sleep once had on our imaginations.
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Articles on Superstitions
Displaying 1 - 20 of 29 articles
Superstitions have a role in helping hockey fans and players feel more in control of the game.
Critics of superstition have often painted openness to magical interpretations as weakness or moral failing.
An anthropologist explains why we all have some irrational beliefs and the reason they give us comfort.
A sociologist unpacks how common superstitions like fear of 13 can gain steam.
The idea of a ‘witch’ was usually female in Western Europe, but not so in Orthodox Russia – partly because of the period’s rigid social hierarchies.
Phallic graffiti was more than just funny in Roman Britain.
In the 1960s, the Catholic Church sought to downplay demonic possession, but its views since then have changed.
Numerology ties in with how our brains work, but that doesn’t mean its claims make sense.
The past century’s vampires have often been a bit dashing, even romantic. That’s not how the myth started out.
In both ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, reflected images were thought to hold mysterious powers. Damaging a mirror was believed to invite the wrath of the gods.
Are you hesitating to buy anti-Covid-19 toothpaste? 100 years ago, you might have found some miracle elixirs to protect you from Halley’s Comet.
The idea of organized satanic witchcraft was invented in 15th-century Europe by church and state authorities, who at first had a hard time convincing regular folks it was real.
The internet has allowed pseudoscience to flourish. Artificial intelligence could help steer people away from the bad information.
In the early 1900s, fortune-telling provided entertainment, social connection and a job for some Australians. Its legal status made criminals of women, yet allowed others entry to the police force.
The curious history of a ritual meant to ward off bad luck.
Fear of a disease that seemed to turn people into beasts might have inspired belief in supernatural beings that live on in today’s creepy Halloween costumes.
In medieval England using magic was a bit like drug use today: against the law and seen as immoral, but still widespread across society.
The scientific explanations might not be definitive, but your brain is largely responsible.
Ghost stories are often about the departed seeking justice for an earthly wrong. Their sightings are a reminder that ethics and morality transcend our lives.
Top contributors
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Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina
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Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Assistant Professor, University of Groningen
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Lecturer in Astronomy, Nottingham Trent University
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Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature, Northumbria University, Newcastle
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Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Texas State University
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Mathematics Education Primary and Secondary PGCE, Newcastle University
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Postgraduate Research Scholar, University of Newcastle
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Classics, Swansea University
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Lecturer in Modern European History, University of Bristol
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Director/Psychologist, The Oaks Health & Psychology, Victoria University
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Associate Professor of Anthropology and Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
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Tutor and Researcher Radio Broadcasting, Murdoch University
