For October

Are you rejoicing the fact that it's finally October? Are you glad to see September dead and gone?
If the answer to both questions is a resounding HELL YEAH, then I would assume, of course, that your September was as bad as mine, plagued with terrible misfortunes and many, many WTF-moments.

Since October is the month where paranoia, superstition and myth come to life (and the only month you could dress up all goth-y without looking like Marilyn Manson's long-lost sibling), it is only apt that I kick off the month with a cheery note on...wait for it...superstitions and bad luck omens.

OK *rubs hands with glee*
What is 'superstition', I hear you ask. Well, in caveman's term, a superstition is any belief that is inconsistent with what is considered true and rational, especially such a belief in the supernatural. And among the more prominent ones are of course:

Photo taken from here

• Broken mirrors - "SEVEN YEARS OF BAD LUCK!" That's what my mom would scream each time I break a mirror (and believe me, I've had my share of broken mirrors). According to superstition, the image in a mirror is our actual soul. A broken mirror thus corrupts your soul and seeing your reflection in the fragmented pieces of mirror calls for misfortune. To break the spell of misfortune, you must wait seven hours (one for each year of bad luck) before picking up the broken pieces and then bury them outside in the moonlight.
• Ladders - Before there was lethal injection or gallows, there was the ladder. Criminals were hung at the top rung of the ladder and it is said that their souls linger underneath and hence, bad karma will come to those who walk under the ladder. But seriously, common sense would tell you to NOT walk under the ladder in the first place, right? Seriously, you do NOT need anybody to tell you that *rolls eyes* First off, walking under the ladder when someone is ON the ladder might endanger either person. People can also be injured by things dropping from overhead.

Photo taken from here

• Black cats - Believe it or not, black cats have  long been believed to be a supernatural omen since the commencement of the witch hunts in the middle ages and can be traced all the way up to the Salem Witch Hunts in the 1600s. Back then, black cats were widely associated with evil and even these days, it is considered bad luck if a black cat crosses your path. But hey, did you know that modern Japan considers black cats lucky creatures?
• The Number 13 - did you know that the fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia? If you'd realized, many buildings do not have a 13th floor - houses, streets and even rooms at hotels do not have the number 13. Some associate the number 13 with the devil, some with the cycle of the moon, some even trace it back to the time of Jesus and the Last Supper. People generally avoid the number 13 like plague, for some odd/dodgy reason.

OK, enough about bad luck for now, ay? But yes, for those poor (unlucky) people out there, here's a solution to all your blues:

Picture taken from here

That's right, mates, salt! Besides having the potential to cause high blood pressure or cause hair loss, it is said that in order to ward of bad luck, take a pinch of salt and toss it over your shoulder and all would be well. Good luck with that!