The Book of the Bizarre: Freaky Facts and Strange Stories (66 page)

In the nineteenth century, every summer some people would examine ash trees to see whether or not they produced any seed. The barrenness of an ash tree was said to be a sure sign of public calamity. Aged and wise
men maintained that the ash trees of England produced no seeds in 1649, the year in which King Charles I was beheaded.

BABY MAGIC

It has been said that if a baby looks at you from between its legs, you will get pregnant.

BATS: FRIEND OR FOE?

In the nineteenth century, it was said that if a live bat were carried three times around the house and then nailed outside of the window with its head downwards, it would have the effects of a countercharm. Nowadays, it is considered lucky if you see a bat flying around on its own in the daytime, but if you disturb a bat and make it fly, you will have bad luck. Even more disturbing is the belief that a bat coming into the house is a sure sign of an impending death in the family.

BEANS, BEANS, BAD FOR THE MIND

• Sleep in a bean field all night if you want to have awful dreams, or even worse, go crazy.
  
• A common superstition among miners says that accidents in the mining pit occur more frequently when bean fields are in bloom.
  

BED LORE

• It is said one should never sleep with his or her feet toward the door, because only corpses lie like that.
  
• Some believe that it is unlucky to get out of bed backwards.
  
• In Scotland, there is the belief that it is unlucky to leave a bed while making it. If the bed-making is interrupted, the occupant of the bed will pass a sleepless night, or some much worse evil will befall him or her.
  
• Some believe that if three people take part in making a bed, there is sure to be a death in the house within the year.
  

SUPERSTITIONS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS

JOHN MADDEN