Superstitions reserch

As part of my reserch, in my notebook ive managed to get some people i know to write me down as many superstitions they can think of, of know of to try and get more ideas of what people are told. im also gonna ask people from different generations to see if this verys at all. I want to get an idea of how in the minds of people some of them are, while others have sort of faded into nothing as they become less relivent. This is what im looking at, representing superstinions in modern situations as well as looking at represenation of an idea through a more unusal way or a more conceptual manner, and i think by getting social interaction feed back ill be able to push my ideas forward. 

update** 
so far ive managed to get a few people to do this, and they seem to have rather alot of the more well known superstitions in common. I think if i carry on with this i will be able to find some unusual ones but also get to know which ones are more commonly known

superstitions in photography- Ansley west

Ive actually found it rather difficult to find photographers that has looked at superstitions and old wives tales, so far the only one ive been able to find is the work of Ansley West. In her work shes used a very conceptual approach to her work. Ansley West is fine art photographer from Atlanta, Georgia. She received her BFA in photography from the University of Georgia. Her art interprets narratives both real and speculative through her compositions, often using herself to recontextualize those stories.
Her superstitions project are a collection of images that are in triptyics and while she uses text her images are very conceptual and i really think some are stunning visually. 

The images are often related to the idea and obviously set up, while some looks candid and documentry style, they have been created in that way and i really like this. This idea of a mix between documentry and conceptual is something i want to look into my work. I love her use of colour, and how maybe one image maybe suggestive of the superstitions while the other two are not as obvious or always so related. i dont really like the text, but it does help to make the connection between the images and the basis of the work. 
I also love the idea of a dyptic or even more so a grid effect for some of the images, i think it would work better with some of the images more then others which i think stand alone images would look better, but i guess with experimentation i could see what works best!

The ring

The ring is a horror film based around the idea of a video tape that u watch will kill u in 7days. The plot is about a woman finding out what happened when her neice is killed, and finds the legendry tape. The random mix of images and sounds makes no sence, but once over the phone will be rung and u will be told that u have '7days' the only way to stop it is to make a copy of the tape, and we see how and why the tape was create and the history of the mysterious girl in the video. 

 The bit that interested me was in the first section of the film in which we see two teenage girls discussing the legend of the tape, and not realising the truth in it watches it. 

 The idea that the tape follows a set pattern of what happens. idea that a video tape can cause ur death falls into the idea of superstition and unless u copy it, no matter what you do you will die.

Even though im not what im wanting to do a horror film but finding it hard to look at anything else thats done on superstitions.

Urban Legends collection

The urban legends collections is a group of teen horror/slasher movie to which the deaths surrounding the main character is based on famous 'urban legends' The main film,  or the original urban legends film the plot revolves around the idea of revenge by killing everyone surrounding the main characture by using horrific 'urban legends' Urban legends  urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories usually believed by their tellers to be true. As with all folklore and mythology, the designation suggests nothing about the story's veracity, but merely that it is in circulation, exhibits variation over time, and carries some significance that motivates the community in preserving and propagating it. everyone has heard these storys and pass them on as if they know someone whos actually seen/had it done to them, when really it has just been passed around and made to be truth. The plot is a very good twist on the idea of urban legends was just something interesting to look at for this idea.

Dead Silence

As ive found it very difficult finding photographers that deal with superstitions ive decided to look at some films i know contain the theme of superstitions, myths and legends. One of the ones i was recomended to was Dead Silence. Dead silence is a horror film based around a ventiliquist doll and how its lead to people from the main characters home town or life dying.  The idea its based on a superstition that a ventriliquist doll is ment to be a bad omen and brings death with it. And this one in particular that caused his wifes death is attached to the legend of Mary Shaw, even with her own lil poem of warning:

'Beware the stare of Mary Shaw,

She has no children, only dolls.

If you see her in your dreams,

Be sure you never, ever scream.

(Or she'll rip your tongue out at the seams.)'

the plots not overly bad, its rather jumpy in places and there is overall a good plot with a twist at the end. However horror isnt really where i want to lend myself with these images...

While its more a story of  ghosts and redeption but itsnt that the way for most of the legend based horror films? 

i think superstion lends itself to the idea of horror purely as they were created to scare people into doing what is conventional or scaring people einto certain idealologys.

superstitions list

list of superstitions

I found this list of superstitions, some of them are very well known... others not as much. below is a random selection of them:

BABY

To predict the sex of a baby: Suspend a wedding band held by a piece of thread over the palm of the pregnant girl. If the ring swings in an oval or circular motion the baby will be a girl. If the ring swings in a straight line the baby will be a boy.

BED

It's bad luck to put a hat on a bed.   If you make a bedspread, or a quilt, be sure to finish it or marriage will never come to you   Placing a bed facing north and south brings misfortune.   You must get out of bed on the same side that you get in or you will have bad luck.   When making the bed, don't interrupt your work, or you will spend a restless night in it.

BRIDGE

If you say good-bye to a friend on a bridge, you will never see each other again.

CLOVER

It's good luck to find a four-leaf clover.   Clover protects human beings and animals from the spell of magicians and the wiles of fairies, and brings good luck to those who keep it in the house.

COIN

It's bad luck to pick up a coin if it's tails side up. Good luck comes if it's heads up.

COUNTING CROWS

One's bad,

Two's luck,

Three's health,

Four's wealth,

Five's sickness,

Six is death.

CRACK

Don't step on a crack on a sidewalk or walkway.   Step on a crack

Break your mother's back.

EYELASH

If an eyelash falls out, put it on the back of the hand, make a wish and throw it over your shoulder. If it flies off the hand the wish will be granted.

FINGERNAILS

It is bad luck to cut your fingernails on Friday or Sunday.   Fingernail cuttings should be saved, burned, or buried.

FRIDAY THE 13TH - how did Friday the thirteenth become such an unlucky day?

  fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities combine to make one super unlucky day.   There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned.   There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.   A particularly bad Friday the 13th occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.  

In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.

  Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.   It is traditionally believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. Tradition also has it that the Flood in the Bible, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.   Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness.

 FRIDAY THE 13TH - how is fear of the number thirteen demonstarted?   More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor.   Many airports skip the 13th gate.   Airplanes have no 13th aisle.   Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.   Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.   On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.   Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue   In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.   Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.   If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.

Superstitions as a whole

Superstition is a credulous belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to folk beliefs deemed irrational, which is appropriate since irrational means "not based on reason". This leads to some superstitions being called "old wives' tales". It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the irrational belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events.

Many superstitions and old wives tales are passed down from families, i know my mum always mentions some of them, while other more unusual ones are forgotten of ignored. For example when mentioning this project and an idea of breaking a mirror my friend got rather freaked out by the idea. Its funny how we still do some of these old wives tales that were created for nothing more then to scare people into doing certain stuff.
How many of these are still relivent to the modern world and how many are still remembered? in my notebook im going to write down as many superstitions i can remember or think of, and get my friends to do the same.