Irish Sleeping Superstition

An Irish belief about sleeping with socks on.

Informant:

Irish Catholics are super superstitious. We can’t sleep with our socks on or else you’re sleeping with the devil. Which is so weird to me. It was something that my mom told us growing up. Her aunt used to tell her that when she was a kid. It definitely goes back farther. I think what it has to do with is like if you sleep with your socks on, that’s what people would do if they’re having one night stands. They would sleep together with their socks on so they could get up and leave quickly. It symbolizes that you’re not where you’re supposed to be. 

Context:

I asked a group of friends about any superstitions they were raised with. This was one of their responses.

Thoughts:

I was also raised Irish Catholic, and I have personally never heard of this one, but both the superstition and the informant’s interpretation of it make sense to me given the deeply entrenched Catholicism in Irish culture.