423. Luck, Bad

1. albatross killing it brings bad luck. [Br. Lit.: “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in Norton, 597–610]
2. black cat because of its demonic associations. [Animal Folklore: Jobes, 297]
3. black ox sacrificed to Pluto; symbolic of calamity. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 790]
4. Candide the hero and his relatives and friends stoically undergo an endless series of misfortunes. [Fr. Lit.: Candide ]
5. dead man’s hand two aces, two eights; hand Wild Bill Hickok held when murdered. [Am. Slang: Leach, 299]
6. eclipse regarded as portent of misfortune. [World Folklore: Leach, 337]
7. Fawley, Jude lost everything his heart desired. [Br. Lit.: Jude the Obscure ]
8. Flying Dutchman ominous spectral ship; seen in storms off Cape of Good Hope. [Marine Folklore: LLEI, I : 285]
9. Friday the 13th regarded as unlucky day. [Western Folklore: Misc.]
10. Hope diamond largest blue diamond known; believed to bring bad luck. [Western Culture: EB, V: 126]
11. Jonah trying to escape God, brought tempest to sea. [O.T.: Jonah 1:4–12]
12. ladder walking under one can bring only misfortune. [Western Folklore: Leach, 598]
13. mirror the breaking of one brings seven years of bad luck. [Western Folklore: Cirlot, 211]
14. Mutt compulsive gambler who always loses. [Comics: Berger, 48]
15. opal unlucky stone; represents the Evil Eye. [Gem Symbolism: Kunz, 148, 320]
16. Plornish disaster was his specialty. [Br. Lit.: Little Dorrit ]
17. Ring of the Nibelungs brought a curse on all who owned it. [Ger. Lit.: Benét, 860]
18. Seian Horse ownership fatal. [Rom. Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 978]
19. shirt of Nessus Centaur’s bloodied shirt; given to Heracles as gift by unsuspecting wife, it caused his death. [Gk. Myth.: Benét, 708]
20. spilt salt courts evil. [Rom. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 958; Ital. Art: “Last Supper”]
21. step on a crack and break your mother’s back; advice to avoid walking on cracks in pavement. [Am. Folklore: Misc.]
22. thirteen number attending Last Supper, including Judas; considered unlucky number. [Christian Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1075; Western Folklore: Misc.]