Author Archives: feldfebe

Baseball Superstitions

Nationality: Cuban-American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. My friend was on the baseball team when he was in high school. When he played, he would walk onto the field with a mouthful of water and spit it out onto the field, from both sides of his mouth. This would be before it was his turn to bat or to pitch. He believed that doing this would ensure he would do well in that game. He actually had heard about this superstition from a fellow teammate that would always do this as well during their games.
  2. My friend had first heard about this superstition from a fellow teammate. He noticed his teammate performing this superstition one day during one of their games. He had asked them why they did this, and what exactly they were doing. Since that teammate had been one of the best players on their team, my friend believed that this ritual must have been part of the reason why he was so good. So, he started doing the same ritual during their games.
  3. Many sports have rituals such as this that athletes like to perform and even customize to some extent. These rituals can be shared amongst fellow teammates, or kept personal depending on that athlete’s belief towards their ritual; like will the ritual still be effective if it is shared with others or not.
  4. When I was in track and field in high school, we had interesting superstitions and rituals like this that some of my teammates liked to do. I believed that they were effective in their own way, maybe through the Placebo Effect, but not necessarily due to their own power. I tried some of the superstitions as well before my races and I noticed that some seemed to work for me, but I definitely due think that must have been due to other factors.

*For other versions of this superstition, and one’s like it, see:

“The Craziest Superstitions of Baseball Players.” : JUGS Sports. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. <http://jugssports.com/the-craziest-superstitions-of-baseball-players>.

Bloody Mary

Nationality: Cuban-American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. My friend heard this version of “Bloody Mary” from another friend: “A long time ago, there was a girl named Mary. She lived with her father and mother, one year, she got very sick and fell into a coma. She was in a coma for 3 months, and then the doctor finally said that Mary was pronounced dead. But her parents thought she would come back alive so they got her in a coffin and buried her in their front yard, but they left a little hole in the coffin and through the dirt and put a string in it that was attached to a bell and put it in her hand. They waited for hours and when they were about to go in, they heard the bell. They dug her up as fast as they could but by that time, she was dead and her finger nails were all off and she was all bloody, (this is how she got named Bloody Mary) and it turns out, her parents beat her before she got sick and now she haunts because she thinks that the people that are her victims are her parents and she wants them to suffer just like her.” “If you want to summon Bloody Mary, and face her wrath, you have to go to the bathroom, turn off all of the lights, look straight into the mirror, and say ‘Bloody Mary’ thirteen times.”
  2. My friend heard this tale back when he was in elementary school, from another one of his classmates. He remembered being so afraid to even go into the bathroom after hearing this story, and it still has stuck with him ever since this time.
  3. Bloody Mary has been retold many times, in many different ways. This story is especially popular among elementary and middle school students.
  4. I also remember hearing this story when I was younger. As I got older, I do not recall anyone ever speaking about Bloody Mary, or even mentioning it. When I was younger I was also frightened by this story as well, since I remember I actually believed in it.

*For another version of this tale, see:

Richardson, Jancy. “The Tragic True Story of the Real Life Bloody Mary.” Moviepilot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. <http://moviepilot.com/posts/2822134>.

Running Superstition: Eating Ginger Before a Race

Nationality: Cuban-American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. My friend was in Track and Field and decided to share with me a running superstition he shared with his teammates. He strongly believed that before a race he must eat ginger in order to perform well. It could be the day before the race at most, as long as it wasn’t longer than that.
  2. He had heard of this superstition from a track and field athlete he had looked up to for a really long time. Since he admires this athlete, and they claimed it worked for them, he decided to try out this superstition for his future races. He said he noticed a difference, he was a bit faster and also not as winded/exhausted when he completed his races. This would not be the case when he did not eat ginger beforehand.
  3. This superstition is almost like a lucky charm. He shared this with his teammates, and I think beliefs like these can be shared among other athletes as well and they may notice a difference in their own performances if they truly believe in the superstition.
  4. I actually used to be a runner as well, and remember hearing random superstitions similar to this while I was on a team. I believe I have tried a couple out as well, and they have worked for me personally. I think that must be due to the placebo effect though, and not necessarily the power behind the superstition.

The Haunted Dorm Room

Nationality: Cuban-American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. My friend was told that in his building, on his college campus, there is a haunted dorm room on a specific floor- at the very end of the hallway- where nobody lives. He was told never to even go near this room, since it was haunted. There wasn’t a specific story he had heard about the room, but definitely heard many rumors about it. Some have said that the student that lived there before killed himself during finals week, because he just couldn’t handle the pressure. Others say that the student that lived there was killed because he was pushed out of the window by the ghost of another student that also died in that specific room. He doesn’t know for sure if any of these rumors are true, and has not wandered near the room to even check if it’s there. For the most part, he says he believes that a student may have died in that room, but he does not believe the ghost of the former student haunts the place.
  2. He learned about the room, and its rumors, from his suite mates and neighbors that lived in the same building as him. He actually even forgot about these rumors for some time, since he does not truly believe in them. He says he hasn’t had time to check their creditability, but says that he would like to some day just for fun.
  3. Being a college student, I’ve also heard about rumors like these regarding some dorms on my own campus. I think that it has to do with the uncertainty students go through when it comes to partially moving out of your home and into a place that is unfamiliar and new.
  4. I would definitely like to check back in with my friend to see if they ever end up visiting that room. I also find it unlikely that it is truly as haunted as others may have believed it to be, but it would definitely be interesting to check it out someday.

Japanese Superstition: Chopsticks in Food

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese
  1. One day when my friend was messing around he stabbed his chopsticks into his food so they stuck upwards and outwards. His mother actually scolded him, and demanded he removed the chopsticks immediately and to never do that again. His mom said that, aside from it being extremely rude, in Japanese culture it is considered bad luck. My friend has never done something like this again after being scolded by his mom.
  2. He learned about this superstition from his mother when he was having dinner with her one evening. He was just messing around at the end of their meal, and was shocked at how angry she suddenly became when he did this. The fact that it upset her so much is truly what made this superstition stick with him, even though he does not actually believe in the superstition.
  3. Superstitions like these are shared among many different cultures. My friend is actually Chinese, but his mother referred to this as a Japanese superstition. This goes to show that they can be shared among many different cultures, and do not have to be specific to one, although they can vary within cultures when they are shared. I am sure the Japanese superstition translates a bit differently to the Chinese one or to the American one, and so on.
  4. I’ve also heard about this superstition before, and I think it may even have been from my own mom who is also Chinese. I find this interesting, but I also do not actually believe that it will bring you bad luck. I still would not do this though, because I am worried it will come off as rude and impolite.