Author Archives: ambenson

Macbeth Superstition

Main Piece:

“There’s an unwritten rule in the theatre that you cannot say the word ‘Macbeth’ in the theatre because it gives bad luck to the production.”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore during an over-the-phone interview. My informant is a university student who currently resides in California, but she goes to school in New York where she learned this piece of folklore.

My Thoughts:

My informant told me that she did not know the history surrounding the superstition. However, if she had to guess as to why the superstition exists is because of the witches in the play. Witches commonly associated with evil could bring bad luck to the play so if “Macbeth” is uttered in a theatre (other than what is called for in the script) disaster could ensue. The origin online is said to be speculated as due to the play being produced by financial unstable companies so the play would end in financial ruin for many companies since Macbeth is associated with high costs. Thus, bad luck was then associated with Macbeth. There are also cleansing rituals if someone does say “Macbeth” that someone must do before they can be readmitted into the theatre.

Children’s Monster: The Snaggle Bug

Main Piece:

The following was transcribed from an interview between the informant and the interviewer. “A” represents the informant and “B” represents the interviewer.

A: “To keep us in line, he [the informant’s cousin] had something called, um, it was like a really bad, like a boogeyman, the boogeyman would get you if you misbehaved, but this person was called the snagglebug. And, um, sometimes he would be Mr. Snagglebug, he was this fictional, fictious character that would um, if you misbehaved, he’s the one that’s going to come and get you. So anytime that we were starting to get out of line, my cousin, my older cousin, he was probably about fourteen years older than us, he would just say the Snagglebug is gonna get you. You better get yourself together. And then he had a description that he was scary. He had claws. He would come and get bad kids. So that was something that he would use to keep us in line.”

B:”Were there any other descriptions that he would give?

A: “I can’t remember. He was like a scary monster. Long claws. I think he had horns. Um, big, you know, big googly eyes. Something like that. Scaly skin. So, he was scary and we never wanted to see him. But sometimes, he would call on the phone and say, ‘are they acting up?’ and [the cousin would say] ‘the snaggle bug is on the phone’ ‘no!’ we were like. And so he was sort of like the boogeyman to help you behave.”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore from an African American, my mother, who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. I collected this during an interview at the informant’s house. This monster story was effective for my informant to keep her in line while she was a child which is why she still remembers it, but she has not told anyone else a similar story.

My Thoughts:

Monsters in order to keep children in line are a rich category in our culture’s folklore. As my informant stated, the boogeyman is one of the most well-known monsters, and the Snaggle bug monster is most likely just a variation from the boogeyman. My informant told me that she did not know anyone else outside of her family that was aware of the Snaggle bug, but since the boogeyman has no distinct description the Snaggle bug could easily just be the boogeyman with a different name. The name Snaggle bug could have been derived from Snuggle bug. The name takes a relatively common phrase for children and gives it a darker meaning that would be especially potent for young children. The Snaggle Bug is just meant to make children behave like the boogeyman.

New Year’s Tradition: No Dirty Laundry

Main Piece:

The following was transcribed from an interview between the informant and the interviewer.

“You wanna have all of your laundry done going into the new year. You don’t want to go into the new year with any dirty laundry… and i can imagine that might have just started with, from you don’t want to be carrying a baggage, any dirty baggage, or anything from the former year into the new year. So, you have to have all your laundry done. That was a superstition to start your New Year off.”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore during an interview at the informant’s house. My informant, my mother, is African American who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and who currently resides in California. She used to do this as she was growing up taught by her family.

 My Thoughts:

My informant believes that this tradition is important because it signifies not having any old baggage going into the new year. It represents starting the new year with a clean, fresh start. This tradition is meant to encourage leaving emotional baggage that happened in the previous year. This tradition symbolizes washing away the old and being ready for the new.

New Year’s Tradition: Black-Eyed Peas

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from an interview between the informant and the interviewer: (The informant is represented by “A” and the interviewer “B”)

A: “Oh, I can give you one more food tradition. Um, which I know is general in the public, but a superstition is black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. So, all of that is you just gotta have some black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. So, and it doesn’t matter, you know, what form it takes although for us, it would always just be somebody would just, some fresh black-eyed peas. And you know what would go with it. It could be anything. You could have greens and spaghetti and fried chicken. Um, you know, we didn’t have jambalaya or gumbo growing up, but, um,… they would mainly be that it could be some fried fish, but you just had to have some black-eyed peas. ”

B: “Do you know if there’s any like, else, like…?”

A: “No. The tradition was it was supposed to be for, I don’t know where it started, but, all I know is it’s supposed to be for good luck for the entire year..”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore during an interview at the informant’s house. My informant, my mother, is an African American who grew up Cleveland, Ohio but currently resides in California. Although, she does not currently do this, she used to do this while growing up.

My Thoughts:

Black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity and good luck into the new year. This superstition is mostly prominent in the South, but families that have migrated from the South have spread this tradition nationwide. There is speculation as to why black peas are associated with good luck. My informant was not aware of any of them, but black-eyed peas swell when they are cooked which is thought of as a possible reason that they are associated with prosperity. There are also several legends as to where this tradition stemmed from dating back to the Civil War.

Folk Remedy: Ginger Ale, Saltines, and Chicken Noodle Soup

Main Piece:

“Whenever anyone in our household would get sick, it didn’t really matter what kind of sickness you had, or at least that’s what I remember, but whenever you got sick you were immediately put on a diet of chicken noodle soup, saltine crackers, and ginger ale.”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore during an interview at the informant’s house. My informant is an African American who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. My informant also said that this remedy was used for anything from a fever and a stomach ache to chicken pox and the measles.

My Thoughts:

It is not uncommon in American folklore for chicken soup to be the go-to meal when someone, in particular a child, is sick. Ginger ale is also common to use to help with stomach issues like indigestion. So, both of these foods are widespread in their use as a folk remedy for illnesses. Saltine crackers are also a folk remedy to deal with an upset stomach. All of these foods are meant to help with common illnesses by using food easily accessible instead of buying western medicine which in the case of children, especially young children, these foods may be preferable to giving them over-the-counter drugs. It also may just be less expensive to give them these comfort foods when they are ill.