by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 12, 2020 | Appalachian, superstition
Today I’m sending you off to check out my guest post on Dave Tabler’s Appalachian History site. Throughout the month of October, he’s hosting a fun, spooky series of post all about Appalachia and I’m delighted to be participating. Dave created...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 20, 2020 | Appalachian, superstition
Have you ever knocked on wood? Or avoided walking under a ladder? I think we’re all at least a smidge superstitious. But Appalachia makes a veritable sport of it! And in this year when everything seems bound to go wrong I was thinking . . . what the heck?...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 12, 2020 | Appalachian, folklore cures, superstition
Ever get a cut that just won’t stop bleeding? Or a nose bleed that goes on and on? Or maybe your dog cut his paw and you can’t figure out how to get the blood to stop! I know . . . yuck. But there are some Appalachian remedies/superstitions that could be...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Dec 30, 2019 | Appalachian, holidays, superstition
I’ve written in previous posts about new year’s traditions like first-footing and eating lucky foods. But do you know about blowing out the old for the new year? The idea is to throw open all the doors and windows in the house just before midnight so that...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Sep 12, 2019 | Appalachian, Hiking, Nature, superstition
It definitely feels like summer today in the mountains of Western NC. But even as I sweat, I’m noticing signs pointing toward a rough winter. Last week I saw my first wooly worm. All black. This morning I saw another just the same. Acorns are already falling and...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 8, 2019 | Appalachian, Nature, superstition
Honeybees aren’t native to WV, but they came to the state with European settlers and, escaping their hives, decided to settle in themselves. Locals soon discovered the sweet treat inside the wild hives and began developing techniques for discovering bee trees....