The Curse of the Billy Goat
Bad luck is everywhere in the world of sports. But perhaps a famous curse centers around the Chicago Cubs, who didn't win the World Series for 71 years... all because they insulted a goat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Don’t Toast with Water
Don’t toast with a glass of water, or you’ll wish bad luck upon the toast’s honoree and yourself. Though this European superstition sounds like an excuse to get drunk, it’s really an ancient tool to ward off disaster and death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Four Leaf Clovers
For St. Patrick's Day, we're exploring the very symbol of good luck itself! Where in history does this Irish tradition come from, and what does its presence say about the land it originated from? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Number of Steps in a Home
You cannot avoid bad luck just by staying indoors. Especially if the number of steps in your home is a multiple of 3. In the Philippines, that is a very bad sign indeed… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Rubbing the Seatbelt Light
The airplane seatbelt “bing” is near-iconic. But few fliers are aware that pilots perform a secret ritual before pressing the seatbelt button — believing that if they forget, the plane will suffer mechanical problems… or maybe even a deadly catastrophe.
The 20-Year Presidential Curse
If you look at U.S. Presidents who have died in office, a strange pattern emerges. Since 1840, those elected on twenty-year intervals meet untimely deaths, with few exceptions. Does a 19th-century death curse plague America’s highest office of political power?
Horseshoe Over The Door
Unassuming wall decor, or powerful protection against evil? Horseshoes are said to offer luck and fortune to those who possess them — so long as you manage to hang them right…
Holiday Special: A Christmas Carol (Pt. 2)
He’s faced his ghosts, and reckoned with his past. But after decades of relentless self-enrichment, how can Ebenezer Scrooge truly redeem himself? “A Christmas Carol” is presented by Tales, a Spotify Original from Parcast. For more stories that aren’t afraid to get dark, follow Tales free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Holiday Special: A Christmas Carol (Pt. 1)
Nearly two centuries ago, Charles Dickens wrote a tale of greed and redemption. It starts with a miserly old man, his long-dead business partner, and the sound of rattling chains… When Ebenezer Scrooge is forced to reckon with his past, he’s in for a frightful night of ghostly visitations — and a long overdue moral awakening. “A Christmas Carol” is presented by Tales, a Spotify Original from Parcast. For more stories that aren’t afraid to get dark, follow Tales free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Christmas Traditions
The roots of this festive holiday reach way back through history, with links to Nordic myths and the Roman Saturnalia. For colonists in 17th century America, celebrating Christmas was controversial… and in this telling, a despairing Puritan preacher goes so far as to try and cancel it.
Salt for Protection
It’s one ingredient that can cross the threshold of the mundane, offering supernatural protection against lingering spirits… And you can find it in any kitchen, every ocean, and even our bodies.
Lighting Three Cigarettes
Whether it’s the risky “live fast, die young” appeal or the very real threat of lung cancer, cigarettes have always been considered dangerous. And lighting three from the same match might just set you on a quick path to misfortune — if not death.
Luck of the Rabbit’s Foot
We could all use a little extra luck from time to time… And what better way to secure some than taking it from one of nature’s craftiest tricksters — a surprisingly subversive symbol of wits and survival: the rabbit.
Passing A Cemetery
It's a children's game with a deadly consequence: Hold your breath while driving past a cemetery’s graves... or breathe in a spirit by mistake.
The Poltergeist Curse
In the 1980s, actors who had starred in the Poltergeist films started dying, leaving fans stunned. Was it just a coincidence? Or had the actors fallen victim to the very films that made them stars?
The Number 13
It’s the world’s unluckiest integer, and it has even spawned its own phobia. Throughout folklore and mythology, wherever the number 13 occurs, disaster follows.
Every Wednesday, meet us at the intersection of chaos and fate… We’re unveiling the backstories and hidden lessons inside superstitions from around the world, and telling the stories of those who dare to defy them. Can we truly sway supernatural forces to work in our favor? Or are these eerie codes of conduct simply about exerting control in an unpredictable world?
Superstitions is a Spotify Original from Parcast. New episodes appear every Wednesday. Listen free on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
