Popular Romances of the West of England, Second Series / or, The Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall

by Robert Hunt

MEETING ON THE STAIRS.

It is considered unlucky to meet on the stairs, and often one will retire to his or her room rather than run the risk of giving or receiving ill luck.

I find this superstition prevails also in the Midland counties.

TREADING ON GRAVES.

“To see a man tread over graves,

I hold it no good mark;

’Tis wicked in the sun and moon,

And bad luck in the dark!”

So sings Coleridge in his ballad of “The Three Graves.”