The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and IrelandSteve Roud2003

Is it good or bad luck to encounter a black cat?
Since when have people believed Friday the 13th is unlucky ?
How are eggshells and witchcraft connected?
In which parts of the British Isles is it considered lucky to find a pin?

This endlessly browsable guide answers these and hundreds of other questions about the intriguing and bizarre world of superstitions. The first major survey in over a generation, it looks at what people have believed and why, when particular superstitions arose, which areas of the country adopted them and how they evolved over time.

Superbly informed and wide-ranging, The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland provides a fascinating view of folk beliefs over 2,000 years, as generations have sought to control the present and predict the future throug items as diverse as pins and plums, cabbage stalks and cigarette packets.