Superstition of the Week - Ladders

LADDERS

A common superstition claims that walking under a ladder will bring bad luck. Where did this idea of bad-luck ladder come from? One thought says it dates back to the time when hanging was the most common punishment for a crime. Before gallows were invented, criminals were hung from the top rung of a ladder. Thus, it was considered bad luck walking beneath the ladder because the bad spirits that lingered there would be disturbed.

Other folklore says the bad luck has to do with walking through an open ladder or a ladder leaned against a wall. In these cases, the ladder acts as part of a triangle. One belief is the triangle is associated with the Holy Trinity and to break that triangle meant one was in league with the Devil. However there is another belief that this goes back even further to Ancient Egypt when the priest placed ladders in the tombs for the dead to ascend upwards. During these times it was thought the geometric shape of the triangle was sacred, evil as well as benign spirits may be resting there and it should be avoided.

More importantly though, if one has inadvertently found themselves to have walked under a ladder, don’t panic. To placate the disturbed spirits, one can immediately place their thumb between their index and middle finger. This is supposedly an age-old method of warding off bad luck. Other warding off methods include crossing your fingers and spitting over your left shoulder (for courtesy, please check behind you first) or keeping silent until you see your first 4-legged animal. We did find what you should be spoken to the animal, but we recommend saying “I read it on the Edible Raven blog.” We are sure that should score you some good luck.