Welcome to the Generally Spooky Podcast! Each week Eilidh tells her husband Kieran a mysterious story from Scottish history.
In this week's episode, Eilidh tells Kieran about the Flannan Isle Lighthouse and the mysterious disappearance that occurred there in 1900. If you want to support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review. We'd really appreciate it!
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Show Notes
Images
Source: National Museums Scotland
Source: Sunday Post
Source: Jackie Cosh
Source: Hushed Up History
10 Fisherman’s Superstitions
10. Non-sailing days
It was bad luck to sail on Thursdays (God of Storms, Thor’s day) or Fridays (the day Jesus was executed), the first Monday in April (the day Cain killed Abel), the second Monday in August (the day Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed), and 31 December (the day on which Judas Iscariot hanged himself).
9. Watch your mouth
Some words and sayings brought about bad luck on board, including "drowned", "goodbye” and "good luck". Things to do with the land were believed to be bad luck if mentioned, such as the church, pigs, foxes, cats, and rabbits.
8. No whistling
Whistling or singing into the wind was forbidden as it would "whistle up a storm"
7. No farewell
It was bad luck for seafaring men’s wives to call out to them or wave goodbye once they stepped out the door to leave for a voyage.
6. Stirring tea
Stirring tea with a knife or fork would invite bad luck
5. Turning a loaf of bread upside down
Turning a loaf of bread upside down once it had been cut brings bad luck too.
These two seem to be superstitions that existed on land as well as at sea!
4. Red-heads
Like flat-footed people, red-heads were believed to bring bad luck to a ship. If you met one before boarding, the only way to mitigate the bad luck was to speak to them before they could speak to you.
3. Salt
It was bad luck for one crewman to pass the salt pot to another directly. Presumably one could put it down and the other could pick it up.
2. Fishy
In order to encourage fish to be caught, Scottish fishermen would begin their fishing session by throwing one of the crew members overboard and then hauling him back on
1. Bananas
No bananas on board. They were believed to be so unlucky they would cause the ship to be lost. Whole cargoes of bananas were especially frightening for sailors.
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