Response to Southern Superstitions: Scott Horvath

I grew up around a couple of southern superstitions. The main difference between southern superstitions and more general superstitions is in the religious aspect. Southern superstitions tend to be more religious than others. They will contain beliefs about the devil or the afterlife of some kind. For example, back in my home town there was a belief that if you stepped on a certain grave you would be consumed by the devil himself. The person buried in the grave was hung long ago because they were believed to be possessed by the devil and still to this day the superstition that this is true still exists.

Most other superstitions deal with bad luck or other negative aspects of life but they never deal with religion like southern ones. This difference is what makes southern superstitions more fearsome than others. From my perspective, superstitions that go into the afterlife or the devil have a bigger overtone than bad luck for 7 years or something of those sorts.