Canada does not have a single national body of superstition: traditions differ sharply by province, language, settlement history, occupation, and family background. Newfoundland and Labrador preserves an unusually large written record of omens and folk beliefs, while Acadian archives in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia document separate French-speaking traditions. This article documents 75 historically recorded or locally established Canadian superstitions, omens, divination practices, and luck traditions, with many examples drawn from Atlantic Canada because its institutional folklore collections are especially detailed.
Many entries survive primarily as historical folklore rather than beliefs followed by most Canadians today. A custom documented in an Newfoundland outport, on the Southern Shore, or in an Acadian community should not be treated as a belief held throughout Canada. Religious devotions are also identified separately where they overlap with protective folk practice, and Indigenous sacred teachings are not relabelled as superstition merely to enlarge the list.
Household, Luck, and Everyday Omens
A Horseshoe Brings Good Luck
Newfoundland collections record horseshoes being kept for luck and protection. They could appear over houses, fishing structures, and even boats. Finding one on the road was also counted among favourable omens in older local accounts.
Thirteen People at the Table
Older Newfoundland records describe thirteen people dining together as an unlucky arrangement. The motif was inherited from wider European folklore and became part of the settler tradition rather than developing as a uniquely Canadian belief.
Breaking a Mirror Brings Seven Bad Years
A broken mirror was associated with seven years of bad luck in Newfoundland folklore. One recorded local version added that repairing the mirror and continuing to use it could partly weaken the supposed spell.
Spilled Salt Is Unlucky
Spilling salt on a table appears repeatedly in Newfoundland folklore as an omen of misfortune. Although the same motif occurs in many countries, its presence in local archival collections shows that it became established in Canadian Atlantic household tradition.
Touch Wood After Talking About Good Luck
Newfoundland folklore records touching wood after boasting about good fortune. The action was meant to prevent an existing run of luck from ending, closely resembling the familiar English-language practice of knocking or touching wood.
Enter With the Right Foot First
An older Newfoundland rule held that the right foot should cross a household threshold first. Entering with the other foot was treated as unlucky, making an ordinary doorway a small ritual point in daily life.
A Silver Coin Under a Corner Post
Builders in Newfoundland outports were said to place a silver coin beneath a house’s cornerstone or corner post for good luck. Archival accounts note that coins could later be discovered when old buildings were dismantled.
A Four-Leaf Clover Grants Luck
Finding a four-leaf clover, sometimes called a four-leaf shamrock in Newfoundland records, was associated with luck and the fulfilment of wishes. The belief reflects Irish and British strands within Atlantic Canadian settler folklore.
An Itching Right Hand Predicts Money or Company
In one Newfoundland tradition, an itching right hand meant that a friend was coming or money would soon be received. Such body-sign beliefs converted unexplained everyday sensations into predictions about social or financial events.
A Falling Stocking Means Someone Is Thinking of You
An archival Newfoundland belief interpreted a stocking unexpectedly slipping down as a sign that another person was thinking about the wearer. The omen belongs to a wider family of folk interpretations attached to accidental movements of clothing.
Ringing Ears Foretell News
Newfoundland collections distinguish between the ears: ringing in the right ear was linked with good news, while ringing in the left suggested unwelcome news. The association is folkloric and does not explain medical causes of tinnitus.
Accidentally Wearing Clothing Inside Out
Putting on a garment inside out by mistake appears among the good-luck signs recorded in historic Newfoundland. The accidental nature of the act mattered: the archival list describes an unintended mistake rather than deliberately reversing clothing for luck.
Finding a Coin, Pin, or White Button
Historic Newfoundland lists group finding a coin, a pin, or a white button among favourable signs. These small objects could turn an ordinary walk into an occasion for interpreting chance discovery as good fortune.
A Rooster Crowing on the Doorstep
A rooster crowing at the doorstep was included among Newfoundland good-luck omens. Its meaning was not presented as a reliable prediction; it was one of many household signs remembered through oral tradition and later recorded by collectors.
A Bee Flying Into the Room
A bee entering a room was treated as a favourable occurrence in one historic Newfoundland collection. Similar insect omens exist elsewhere, but this version is directly documented within the province’s own recorded folklore.
Crossed Knives Bring Bad Luck
Crossing two knives on a table appears in Newfoundland lists of unlucky actions. The arrangement carried symbolic meaning beyond the practical use of the utensils and was something some households preferred to correct.
A Knife Should Not Be Left Blade-Up
Another Newfoundland table omen treated a knife resting with its blade turned upward as unlucky. Regardless of folklore, leaving a sharp edge exposed is also an avoidable physical hazard, giving the older rule an obvious practical side.
Looking Over Someone’s Shoulder Into a Mirror
Historic Newfoundland folklore counted looking into a mirror over another person’s shoulder among unlucky actions. The precise feared outcome was not always specified, which is common in short household taboos passed on as simple rules.
Entering by One Door and Leaving by Another
One Newfoundland list warns against entering a house through one door and immediately departing through another. The route was treated as unlucky, showing how thresholds and directional movement acquired symbolic meaning in household folklore.
A Bad Monday Means a Bad Week
If events went badly on Monday, one recorded Newfoundland belief interpreted the start as a warning for the entire week. The saying turns an early setback into a pattern, even though later events are not determined by Monday’s outcome.
Do Not Start New Work on Friday
An early collection of Newfoundland traditions notes reluctance to begin an important new undertaking on Friday. This was part of inherited British Isles folklore and should be understood as a historical regional belief rather than a Canadian work practice.
Green Clothing Can Be Unlucky
Older Newfoundland writing records a prejudice against green clothing, particularly green wedding dress, in lore connecting the colour with fairies. This is historical folklore and should not be confused with a modern social rule or a belief shared across Canada.
A Watched Kettle Takes Longer to Boil
Newfoundland folklore includes the familiar idea that watching a kettle delays its boiling. Attention cannot alter the boiling point in this way; waiting simply feels longer when a person continually checks the pot.
Do Not Gather Birch Broom Branches in May
A recorded Newfoundland taboo treated gathering birch branches for brooms during May as unlucky. The archive preserves the rule without establishing a single origin, making it an example of a seasonal prohibition that survived through repetition.
Full-Moon Timing for Pork
One older Newfoundland saying advised slaughtering pigs at the full moon so the pork would not spoil. Moon phase does not replace proper temperature control, sanitation, storage, or modern food-safety methods; the rule belongs to historical agricultural folklore.
Sea, Fishing, Boats, and Journey Beliefs
Whistling on the Water Is Unlucky
Newfoundland sailors and fishers traditionally warned against casual whistling in a boat. Some versions linked it with dangerous wind, making the taboo particularly suited to communities where sudden weather changes could threaten a voyage.
Whistling to Call Up a Wind
Contradicting the general whistling taboo, another Newfoundland account describes a becalmed skipper deliberately “whistling for a wind.” The coexistence of both beliefs shows why maritime folklore cannot always be reduced to one consistent rule.
Turn a Boat With the Sun
When leaving a wharf or anchorage, Newfoundland boat lore favoured turning the craft in the same direction as the sun’s apparent course. Moving the opposite way could be treated as an unlucky beginning to the trip.
Coil Rope With the Sun
Fishing lines and ropes were traditionally coiled in the accepted direction; coiling “against the sun” was described as extremely unlucky in Newfoundland sources. Practical consistency in handling rope may have helped such directional rules persist.
Do Not Pass Gear Through a Ladder
One Newfoundland maritime rule rejected passing an object through a ladder. If someone did so accidentally, the item could be passed back and then taken around the ladder instead, effectively undoing the prohibited movement.
Spitting on Bait for Luck
Historical Newfoundland fishing lore includes spitting on bait as a luck practice before fishing. Such behaviour had symbolic rather than demonstrated influence on the catch and is best read as an occupational ritual linked with uncertain outcomes.
Witch Hazel in a New Boat
An older Newfoundland record describes incorporating witch hazel into a newly built boat as a protective or lucky measure. The plant’s presence belonged to folk practice surrounding launch preparation rather than to the vessel’s engineering.
An Old Sail on a New Boat Is Lucky
Historic Newfoundland boatbuilding lore advised using an old sail when a new craft was launched. The reused sail was treated as favourable, linking a vessel’s first trip with equipment that had already survived life at sea.
Being Called Back After Starting a Journey
To begin a journey and then be called back was listed as a bad omen in Newfoundland folklore. The interruption itself carried the meaning, much as false starts and reversed movements have acquired unlucky associations in several European traditions.
A Black Cat Can Make Fishers Turn Back
Some Newfoundland fishing and hunting lore treated a black cat crossing the path as reason to abandon the outing. The belief reflects one local form of the familiar black-cat omen and does not justify mistreating the animal.
A Following Black Cat Can Mean Good Luck
A historical Trinity Bay account gives the opposite interpretation: being followed persistently by a black cat was considered a sign of unusually good fortune. The example shows how the same animal could carry opposite meanings within Newfoundland itself.
The Red-Haired Woman and White Horse Pair
One Newfoundland collection records good luck in encountering a red-haired woman and a white horse as a pair of signs. After seeing one, a person might anticipate seeing the other, turning two unrelated encounters into a matched omen.
Girls in Boats as an Old Bad-Luck Belief
A Memorial University case study records a Newfoundland woman recalling an old superstition that girls brought bad luck aboard boats. The account shows that folk beliefs could reinforce exclusion; it is presented as a past barrier, not a valid rule of boating or fishing.
Making the Sign of the Cross Toward Storm Waves
Some Newfoundland seafarers historically made the sign of the cross toward approaching waves during severe weather. This is better described as a devotional protective custom mixed with maritime folk practice rather than treating Christian prayer itself as a superstition.
A Blessed Candle Carried at Sea
Historic Newfoundland sources describe some captains carrying a blessed candle aboard as a form of protection. The object belonged to a religious-folk tradition and should be distinguished from ordinary Catholic devotional practice, which has meanings beyond luck or omen interpretation.
Animals, Visitors, Death Tokens, and Natural Signs
One Black Crow Is Unlucky
A lone black crow flying overhead appears among bad-luck signs in historic Newfoundland records. Another local rhyme associated one crow with sorrow, reflecting the broader British and Irish counting traditions carried into Atlantic Canada.
Two Black Crows Bring Better Fortune
Two black crows overhead were listed as a favourable omen, unlike a solitary crow. Newfoundland rhyme tradition similarly contrasted one crow with sorrow and two with mirth, making the number of birds more important than the species alone.
A Cat Washing Its Face Predicts a Visitor
In Newfoundland household lore, a cat washing its face could signal the arrival of a stranger. The animal’s normal grooming behaviour was interpreted socially, giving families an omen for unexpected company.
Stove Sparks Foretell Company
Sparks flying from a wood stove onto the floor were also interpreted as a sign that a stranger would visit. The belief comes from an era when solid-fuel stoves were central features of many Newfoundland homes.
A Dropped Knife or Fork Predicts a Visitor
A knife or fork falling unexpectedly could be read as notice that company was coming in Newfoundland folklore. The omen turns a routine kitchen accident into the same visitor motif attached to cats and stove sparks.
A Moaning Dog as a Warning of Loss
A dog crying or moaning near a home was historically interpreted in Newfoundland as a warning connected with death or loss. This is a cultural omen rather than a prediction, and unusual animal behaviour can have many ordinary explanations.
A Dog Burying Something Near the House
Historic Newfoundland omen lists also connect a dog burying an object near a home with approaching loss. The meaning arose from interpretation of commonplace canine behaviour and has no demonstrated predictive value.
A Bird Entering the Room
A wild bird unexpectedly flying into a room could be interpreted as a death token in older Newfoundland folklore. The bird should simply be allowed to leave safely; the event itself does not predict illness or loss.
A Stopped Clock Suddenly Strikes
One unusual Newfoundland death token concerned a clock that had been stopped for a long period and unexpectedly began striking. Mechanical movement became an ominous sign because the event appeared unexplained to observers.
A Falling Window Blind
A window blind dropping without an obvious cause was interpreted in older Newfoundland accounts as a warning of death. Loose fittings, worn cords, and ordinary mechanical failure provide mundane explanations for the event.
A Picture Suddenly Falling From the Wall
Another household death token involved a wall picture unexpectedly falling. The archived belief illustrates how sudden noises and unexplained movement inside a home could become associated with anxiety about absent or ill relatives.
Dreaming of a Wedding Foretells a Funeral
Historic Newfoundland lore reverses the apparent meaning of a happy dream: dreaming about a wedding could be taken as an omen of a funeral. Dreams do not predict future deaths; the belief reflects symbolic interpretation rather than evidence.
The Banshee’s Cry Among Irish-Descended Families
One Newfoundland source records the banshee’s night cry as a warning associated with death among certain people of Irish descent. The motif reflects Irish folkloric transmission and should not be generalized to all Irish Canadians or Newfoundlanders.
A Sudden Shiver Means Someone Walked Over Your Grave
A sudden cold spasm or unexplained shiver was described in Newfoundland folklore with the saying that someone was walking over the person’s future grave. The expression survives more widely as a dramatic folk explanation for an ordinary bodily sensation.
Soot Stars Point Toward a Wedding or Funeral
Newfoundland hearth lore gave direction to soot formations sometimes called stars: movement one way could indicate a wedding and the other a funeral. The fireplace thus became another household surface on which chance patterns were interpreted as messages.
Moon, Weather, and Seasonal Forecasting
Seeing the New Moon Over the Left Shoulder
Historic Newfoundland sources identify seeing the new crescent over the left shoulder as lucky. This particular direction is worth noting because moon customs vary widely, even between communities sharing related European folklore.
Playful Cats “Gale Up” the Weather
A Newfoundland weather saying held that unusually playful cats could “gale up the weather,” meaning rougher conditions were coming. Animal activity may change with environmental conditions, but a cat’s play does not provide a dependable storm forecast.
Falling Soot Predicts Rain
Falling soot was listed among Newfoundland signs of coming rain. Changes in humidity, temperature, airflow, and chimney conditions can affect soot, but the traditional sign is not a substitute for meteorological forecasting.
Active Spiders Signal Rain
Another Newfoundland weather belief interpreted conspicuously active spiders as a rain sign. Some animals respond to changing environmental conditions, yet the traditional observation does not mean spiders can reliably predict future weather.
Sailors Dreaming of Horses Foretell Storms
A Newfoundland collection records a sailors’ belief that dreaming of horses warned of approaching storms. The connection belongs to dream lore rather than weather science and illustrates how uncertainty at sea could extend into interpretations of sleep.
Shubenacadie Sam’s Shadow Predicts Spring
Nova Scotia’s Groundhog Day tradition says that if Shubenacadie Sam sees a shadow on February 2, winter will continue for six more weeks; no shadow means an early spring. The provincial government presents it explicitly as folklore and community tradition.
Love, Marriage, Friendship, and Childhood
St. John’s Day Egg Divination
On June 24, unmarried women in a recorded Newfoundland tradition broke an egg into a glass and examined the changing shapes while it rested in sunlight. The forms were interpreted for clues about whether, when, or whom they might marry.
An Egg Reveals a Future Husband’s Initials
A second St. John’s Day version involved placing a broken egg outside and noting the first man’s name associated with the spot. His initials were then interpreted as those of a future husband, making chance encounter part of marriage divination.
Dropping the Wedding Ring Is Unlucky
Dropping the ring during a marriage ceremony appears on a historic Newfoundland list of bad-luck signs. The belief assigns a threatening meaning to an ordinary accident occurring at an emotionally important moment.
A Gifted Knife Can Cut a Friendship
Newfoundland folklore records the idea that giving a pocketknife or another pointed object could symbolically “cut” the friendship between giver and receiver. Later versions of the broader custom sometimes neutralize the omen through a token payment.
Lovers Should Not Exchange Prayer Books
An older Newfoundland account warns that exchanging a prayer book between lovers would cause them to part. This is a folk association attached to gift exchange, not a teaching about prayer books or religious devotion themselves.
Stepping Over a Child Stops Growth
It was considered taboo in Newfoundland folklore to step over a child because doing so was said to stop the child’s growth. Human growth is not affected by another person stepping across the body; the claim belongs wholly to folk belief.
A Baby Smiling in Sleep Is Lucky
A baby smiling while asleep appears among good-luck signs in a historic Newfoundland collection. Rather than forecasting events, the belief gave a favourable interpretation to a common and affectionate observation made by families caring for infants.
Protection, Fairies, Sleep, and Folk Healing
The Old Hag and Calling a Sleeper’s Name Backward
Newfoundland’s “Old Hag” tradition describes a frightening nighttime experience in which a sleeper feels oppressed or unable to respond. One fishing-community remedy was to call the person’s name backward until they awakened. Modern medicine recognizes closely related experiences as sleep paralysis.
The Seventh Son of a Seventh Son as a Healer
Newfoundland folklore attributed unusual healing ability to a seventh son born to a seventh son. Archived versions even applied the claim to serious illnesses. Such inherited healing powers are a folk belief and should never replace medical assessment or treatment.
The St. Brigid’s Eve Protective String
In parts of Newfoundland’s Southern Shore, an older belief placed string outdoors on St. Brigid’s Eve. A piece later worn around the leg or foot was regarded as protection against falls. This combines saint devotion with a locally recorded talismanic custom.
Fairies Can Lead Travellers Astray
Newfoundland fairy lore sometimes explained people becoming lost in woods or unfamiliar country as being “fairy-led.” Some accounts mention carrying food such as hard biscuit as a safeguard. These stories belong to regional supernatural folklore, not wilderness-safety advice.
Jack-o’-Lantern Lights Lure People Off Course
Older Newfoundland folklore associated mysterious lights over marshy ground with Jack-o’-Lantern figures capable of misleading travellers. Natural lights, reflections, poor visibility, and difficult terrain can produce confusing experiences without requiring a supernatural cause.
Sow Cabbage Seed on Good Friday
A Newfoundland seasonal tradition connected Good Friday with sowing cabbage seed. Such calendar rules often mixed agricultural timing, inherited religious calendars, and family custom; the date itself does not guarantee germination or crop success.
Modern Canadian Luck Traditions
The Lucky Loonie
A modern Canadian sports tradition traces the “Lucky Loonie” to the 2002 Winter Games, when a one-dollar coin was embedded beneath centre ice. The Royal Canadian Mint records later loonies being placed beneath curling sheets, in baseball fields, and near other competition surfaces as good-luck charms.
Regional Variations Across Canada
The concentration of Newfoundland and Labrador material in surviving publications should not be mistaken for proof that the province is somehow more superstitious than the rest of Canada. Memorial University’s archival collections preserve unusually detailed records of fishing communities, household omens, weather lore, fairy traditions, occupational rituals, and settler folklore. Many of the examples were explicitly recorded as local rather than universal even within Newfoundland.
Contradictions occur inside the province itself. A black cat crossing a fisher’s path could be treated as unlucky, yet a black cat persistently following someone in a Trinity Bay account was interpreted as exceptional good fortune. Whistling on the water could be forbidden because it supposedly disturbed the wind, while a becalmed skipper might whistle deliberately to summon one. Such differences are normal features of oral folklore.
French-speaking Atlantic Canada has its own archival record. The Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson at the Université de Moncton preserves collections from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia containing superstitions, weather beliefs, customary practices, remedies, legends, and other forms of Acadian folklore. These materials should not simply be merged with English Newfoundland traditions because their transmission histories and local settings differ.
Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam offers another type of Canadian tradition: a public seasonal ritual tied to Groundhog Day rather than a private household omen. The Lucky Loonie is newer still, showing that luck customs can emerge around modern sport as readily as around fishing boats, hearths, or agricultural calendars.
Historical Roots and Cultural Transmission
Much of the Newfoundland material entered Canada through generations of English, Irish, Scottish, and French settlement and then changed within local conditions. Maritime danger gave special weight to beliefs about wind, boat direction, rope handling, animals encountered before departure, and the luck surrounding a vessel’s launch. Household traditions developed around objects that people handled every day: knives, mirrors, salt, stoves, clothing, doors, clocks, and pictures.
Oral transmission allowed a short rule to survive without requiring a written explanation. A child might learn not to step over another child, a fisher might be told never to whistle in a boat, or a builder might place a coin beneath a corner post because older relatives had done the same. When collectors later wrote down such customs, they often found that neighbouring communities gave the same sign different meanings.
Religious calendars also intersected with folk practice. St. Brigid’s Eve, Good Friday, and St. John’s Day could provide dates for protective objects, planting rules, or marriage divination. These hybrid customs should not be taken to mean that the underlying Christian observance itself is a superstition. The folk prediction or talismanic interpretation is the relevant element.
Institutional collections in Atlantic Canada also show why the term Canadian superstition needs care. Canada contains many distinct cultural traditions, and an archival belief recorded in one fishing village cannot automatically be transferred to another province, linguistic community, immigrant tradition, or Indigenous nation.
Observation, Memory, and Coincidence
Many omen traditions depend on noticing an event and remembering occasions when something later seemed to match it. Psychological research has found that people can perceive meaningful relationships between unrelated events, especially when they feel less control over outcomes. Dangerous occupations, uncertain weather, illness, courtship, childbirth, and travel all create circumstances in which a small ritual or omen may provide a sense of order.
Selective memory can strengthen a belief. A person may vividly remember the occasion when a dog moaned before bad news, while dozens of nights when dogs made sounds and nothing unusual followed receive little attention. The same process can apply to dropped objects, dreams, ringing ears, animal encounters, or weather signs.
Some traditions may also preserve observations of the environment without providing supernatural prediction. Humidity and air movement can affect soot; animals may alter behaviour as conditions change; experienced sailors can read clouds, winds, waves, and visibility. These natural relationships are different from claiming that a spider, cat, dream, or moon ritual reliably foretells future weather.
The Newfoundland “Old Hag” provides a useful example of folklore surrounding a real human experience. Sleep paralysis can leave a person temporarily unable to move or speak while feeling awake, sometimes with a sensation that another presence is nearby or pressing down. Cultural stories can influence how that frightening experience is interpreted.
Health and Safety Notes
Historical folk-healing claims should be treated as cultural records rather than medical instructions. A seventh son does not have medically established healing powers, and protective strings, omens, prayers used as folk remedies, or other traditional actions should not delay professional care when someone is ill or injured.
Likewise, food, boating, and weather practices require ordinary safety measures regardless of folklore. Moon phase does not determine whether meat will remain safe, and omens cannot replace marine forecasts, proper navigation, suitable equipment, or emergency procedures. Wild birds, cats, dogs, and other animals mentioned in omen traditions should never be harmed because of a supposed prediction.
Countries With Related Folk Beliefs
Many Canadian examples belong to traditions that crossed the Atlantic with settlers or developed alongside neighbouring North American customs. The relationships are historical or thematic rather than evidence that every community uses an identical belief.
| Shared Motif | Canadian Form | Comparable Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Maritime wind taboos | Newfoundland fishers recorded both avoiding whistles at sea and deliberately whistling for wind. | Related seafaring traditions occur in Ireland, Scotland, and other parts of the British Isles from which many Atlantic settlers came. |
| Horseshoe luck | Horseshoes were kept around Newfoundland homes, fishing structures, and boats or picked up as lucky finds. | Horseshoe protection and luck traditions are also familiar in Ireland and the United Kingdom. |
| Midsummer marriage divination | St. John’s Day egg rituals in Newfoundland were used to imagine a future marriage or spouse. | Marriage divination around midsummer and seasonal feast days has related forms in Irish and British folk tradition. |
| Groundhog weather prediction | Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam is interpreted through the shadow-and-six-weeks-of-winter tradition. | The United States has closely related Groundhog Day customs, themselves linked historically with European seasonal weather lore. |
| Lucky objects in sport | The Lucky Loonie became a Canadian competition charm after the 2002 Winter Games. | Athletes in the United States, United Kingdom, and many other countries also use personal or team luck objects, though not the Canadian loonie tradition. |
📚 Roots of Belief
- Historic Newfoundland and Labrador — Preserves extensive Newfoundland material on household omens, good and bad luck, death tokens, weather signs, fairy lore, boat customs, and folk medicine. (Hosted by Memorial University’s Digital Archives Initiative, an institutional Newfoundland and Labrador heritage collection.)
- Some Superstitions and Traditions of Newfoundland — Records Friday taboos, horseshoes, black-cat traditions, the St. Brigid’s Eve string, whistling for wind, falling blinds, knife gifts, prayer-book beliefs, green clothing, and related historical material. (Preserved by Memorial University’s Digital Archives Initiative.)
- Devine’s Folklore of Newfoundland — Documents rope direction, ladder customs, the red-haired woman and white-horse pairing, mirrors, salt, touching wood, crow counting, threshold rules, full-moon pork lore, birch brooms, coins beneath houses, the Old Hag, seventh-son healing, and St. John’s Day divination. (An archival Newfoundland folklore work preserved by Memorial University.)
- Memorial University Fishing for Success Case Study — Records a contemporary recollection of the old Newfoundland superstition that girls were bad luck in boats and describes how the belief could restrict participation in fishing. (Published by Memorial University.)
- État général des collections de folklore du Centre d’études acadiennes — Catalogues Acadian folklore collections from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia containing superstitions, weather beliefs, remedies, legends, customary practices, and fishing-related material. (Issued through the Université de Moncton’s Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson.)
- Government of Nova Scotia — All Eyes on Shubenacadie Sam for Annual Prediction — Describes the provincial Groundhog Day tradition and the folklore that a visible shadow means six more weeks of winter while no shadow signals an early spring. (An official Government of Nova Scotia publication.)
- Royal Canadian Mint — Lucky Loonie — Traces the Lucky Loonie tradition to the 2002 Winter Games and records its later use beneath curling sheets, in baseball diamonds, and around other sporting competitions. (The Royal Canadian Mint is the federal Crown corporation responsible for Canada’s circulation coinage.)
- NHS — Sleep Paralysis — Explains the inability to move or speak during sleep paralysis and the possible sensations of another presence or pressure, providing medical context for experiences interpreted through Newfoundland Old Hag folklore. (The NHS is the United Kingdom’s public health service.)
- PubMed — Lacking Control Increases Illusory Pattern Perception — Reports experimental research connecting reduced feelings of control with a greater tendency to perceive meaningful patterns in unrelated events and develop superstitious interpretations. (PubMed is maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.)