Knock on Wood

“If I say something I think will be jinxed or bring bad luck, I’ll run over to the nearest wood thing and knock on it frantically”

Context: Informant remembers starting this behavior around the start of high school, at about age 14. There is no pattern to the number of times the informant knocks, but they will leave conversations at any point to complete the gesture. The informant does not remember who passed this gesture on to them and does not know of many people who use the same gesture, but hypothesizes the initial knowledge may have been passed unknowingly by interviewer.

Analysis: The folk behavior of ‘knocking on wood’ is meant to ward off bad luck or jinxes brought on by the verbal mention of such knowledge. It acts as a measure of protection for the informant, and requires immediacy. It is implied that if one does not complete this action, they might be accidentally inviting bad things to happen to them. Additionally, whether the practice does ward off jinxes or not, its belief has significance to the perception of subsequent events and may be used as reasoning for good/bad luck following the gesture. Notably, this gesture is in response to a specific statement, not a broad gesture to ward off evil. The individual must speak the opportunity for jinxes into existence, and this gesture is not useful before a statement has been theorized.