Great thread! Stirred up a lot of old memories.

Had to laugh about the not bathing/brushing teeth after having a baby, might keep the husband away for awhile.

My mom-in-law is Austrian, when I was pregnant she was always warning me about "marking the baby." Lots of things can do it but there are counter measures. She about had a fit when I went to a funeral in my 8th month. I think she had to go to the priest for that one.

My dad told me if you eat onions before bed you'll wake up with holes in your t-shirt. I was fascinated by this one as a kid.

An old southern woman told me how to get rid of plantar warts. I had to chant at the full moon three times while rubbing the warts with a cloth. Afterwards I had to bury the cloth. Within the week they were all gone. They left gross holes that healed over without a scar. It was like they all just fell out. Don't know if it was a placebo but it sure worked and they never came back.

This is why I sort of get annoyed when people talk about things like always looking at a clock at a certain time. It has happened to me before, but I finally realized that there were many times that the time read differently, but people forget those. With superstitions it is sort of the same. If you believe something, you will block out all evidence to the contrary, and will continue to believe, no matter if it makes sense or not.

And then there is the ability of the subconscious mind to influence you in various ways. If you believe something down to your core, even when you are not thinking about it your subconscious probably is, and this can affect your actions and thought processes. Some phenomena that we would deem paranormal involves the same concept. While there are legitimate paranormal experiences and happenings, there are some things that are more related to the person's brain. For instance, I believe that when someone begins to attempt lucid dreaming, meditation, or anything that involves an altered state of consciousness, their subconscious beliefs and fears have a tendency to manifest themselves while the outside layer, or conscious part, of your brain has been tuned out.

I think this may go for what one sees during sleep paralysis as well. I do not know if this is the case, but it is possible. So I think that people need should probably affirm to themselves what they do and do not believe, so that when something manifests from your subconscious you may be able to recognize it as such, instead of believing it to be some external force. It could be external, but how will you know if you do not know what is coming from inside your own mind?