There are countless horror movies available, with some having ancient and folklore superstitions as the basis of their plots. Here are some to mention, with their superstition origins explained.
The Black Cat (1981) is a movie about a psychic who’s able to communicate with his cat. The fear of a black cat crossing your path origins are a mystery, but the cat’s ability to move silently, practically undetected, put some people on edge, and their association with Egyptian religion added to the uneasiness in some Christian cultures. In 3,000 BC they were held in high esteem, amongst the ancient Egyptians, and were protected by law from injury and death, and the cat’s death was mourned by the entire family. The families embalmed the body of their cats, wrapped in fine linen and placed in mummy cases, made of precious materials. Entire cat cemeteries have been unearthed by archaeologists. Many people believe that a black cat brings good fortune, and in Britain, on the Yorkshire coast, wives of fishermen believed that their menfolk would return safely if a black cat was kept in the house.
In Western superstition an unlucky day is considered to be Friday 13th, when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday. The movie (1980) tells the story of a group of teenagers who are murdered one by one. This superstition has arisen from the middle-ages, originating from Jesus’ last supper and crucifixion, in which there were 13 individuals present the night before his death, on Good Friday. Whilst there’s evidence of Friday and the number 13 being unlucky, there’s no record of the two items being referred to as especially unlucky in conjunction before the 19th century. People now avoid tasks, such as conducting business and travelling, on this day, and in the world of gambling everything depends on luck. Lucky numbers, such as 7, for some reason has achieved prestige, so it’s seen to be believed. Online game sites, like Lucky Nugget Casino, take your superstitions seriously, as they understand that players are looking for that luck streak.
Candyman (1992) is about a graduate student, researching urban legends, who hears about a legend of the Candyman being summoned by saying his name five times in the mirror. There’s a folklore that saying Bloody Mary in the mirror three times would conjure an apparition. Bloody Mary appears to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name. By repeatedly chanting her name in a mirror, placed in a dimly or candle lit room, is supposed to have conjured her apparition, which either appears as a corpse, witch, or ghost, or sometimes seen covered in blood. The folklore states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, strangling them, taking their soul, scratching their eyes out, or drinking their blood. In 1978 folklorist Janet Langlois published an essay on Bloody Mary, which led to the tale becoming a popular slumber party ritual done by girls as well as boys.
