So, I sort of feel like I jinxed my day by posting yesterday. I'm not a superstitious person in general, but I tend to subscribe to the whole "don't say how lucky you are out loud, because it's like asking for trouble" way of thinking. I feel like I can logically justify that in my head because I believe in the devil. On the other hand, I'm baffled by other superstitions like the complete standstill some of the world experiences in regards to the number thirteen.
Black cats? I don't care for cats, honestly. Kittens are cute but then they grow up into controlling bags of allergies. Still, I just found out that people have to keep black cats inside on Halloween. What the crap is that about? They're cats--they're no more evil in one shade over the other. (Yeah... I really don't like cats--partly because they always drape themselves across me as if they know I'm allergic. Oh... and they know. They're creepy smart.)
Ladders--I love to walk under ladders.
Mirrors--Isn't breaking them already enough bad luck in itself?
Despite all of this, I like to write about superstitions and such. I find creepy lore especially interesting. I wonder if perhaps some people believe about superstitions just to hedge their bets--or for a good excuse to take a day off work. (The husband says traffic is disturbingly light on Friday the 13th.) What is it about human nature that creates these strange illogical quirks? Sometimes, it's related to religious beliefs--even if it's just a general "if there is a force of good... there is a force for evil" belief. I also like to write about characters that can wield that "evil power" in some way or another. There is something tangible about the concept of "cursing and hexes." I like that. I guess it's good that I'm not superstitious about writing about superstitions. Nearly every one of my stories has some elements of folk lore or superstition built in.
My NaNoWriMo book deals with demons that are created by fire, and dogs that can drag them back to hell. I also have a "men in black" agency... which I would call a more modern paranoia. Still, demons... demons are fun. (In fiction--probably not so fun in real life. Definitely not actually.) My Honor series deals with superstitions and lore on a near constant basis. Magi, vampires, zombies, cursed objects, elixir of eternal life, skin-walkers, hellhounds, etc. It's all fun and games when dealing with the dark.
Is anyone else as fascinated by the weirdness that is superstition?
Isn't it weird that someone uncomfortable with even numbers actually isn't superstitious? If I could describe it, though, it wouldn't be that the numbers are unlucky so much as "sharp" as if they have an edge to them. I view even numbers with the same leery misgivings that I would a sharp knife being left out. It makes no sense--which is key with OCD. You know they don't make sense--and yet, they are.
Happy Saturday to everyone. Hopefully, I'll be home and in a better mood by tonight. I really hope so anyway. Yesterday was "sharp spike to the eyeball" awful. Today MUST be better. Do you hear me, FATE! Did you hear that??? Fate owes me better than this CRAP!
