Pointing is bad luck
What is it?
Filipinos have long believed spirits roam everywhere in their lands. It's common belief that if you point at something, there is a strong chance that there is a spirit standing there, pissed at you and ready to curse you the second you put down your finger.
Why it's bullshit
The idea of spirits roaming around is based on the ancient Filipino religion of Spiritism, where, instead of gods, Filipinos worship "spirits" that inhabit their surroundings. To give respect to these supernatural beings, they offer all sorts of stuff other religions offer to their gods - food, sacrifices, etcetera. When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, they killed everyone who opposed to the Christian religion, saying, "We got the Bible, bitch, what do have to say about that", and forcing everyone to go to church every Sunday.
Probably, like every other religion conceived, Spiritism's founders found a whole field of weed, got high, then hallucinated about spirits laughing about their failure everywhere. Also, as every other religion goes, they went to towns and scared the hell out of people that damnation will come if they do not give donations for salvation.
The founder of all religions.
Break a rosary and face damnation
What is it?
For a devout Catholic, your rosary is like your balls. Like your balls, if your rosary is broken, you're pretty much fucked. Expect heavy doses of bad luck - car accidents, wild animal attacks, psychopaths coming in your house - all causing serious pain and death.
Why it's bullshit
Because all cases of death after breaking rosaries are purely coincidental and unsolved.
Some people say the person who broke his/her rosary will die in 13 days, but, quite frankly, there is no definite date. Those who died took years before taking the final dirt nap.
Another reason for this myth is because, in the olden days of Spaniards ruling the country, rosaries were gifts from friars, and everybody knows friars were the pimps of the time, they had money, women (no really, they do), horse carriages and big-ass monasteries. Indeed, rosaries were family jewels - passed along generation after generation - until the belief of people dying from passing on rosaries came into the air.
Pictured above: A friar, although they look older and more Spanish during the old times.
Sleeping with wet hair can cause blindness
What is it?
It is an old wives tale that, if you sleep with wet hair, you will turn blind once you wake up.
Why it's bullshit
Sigh. Slept with my hair wet again.
Like all other Filipino superstitions, this one came up during the days of Spanish colonization, back when washing your clothes isn't just showing up at your local Chinese laundromat and shoving your laundry down a washing machine or dry cleaner, it's showing up at your local Chinese laundrywoman and bitch her to wash your clothes for a hefty price. Bedcloths are also to be cleaned by hand, so it adds up to the bill.
Sure, it may seem like "the cover is only wet, you can just lay it in the sun and let it dry", however, take note that people's idea of shampoo during the good old days include ground insects, urine and salty water, so wet, 18th century hair on bedcloth is a very shitty idea (literally). Old wives probably made it up to scare their children from laying on bad immediately after a game of challenge pissing with friends.
Pictured above: Shampoo
The bride should not fit the wedding dress the day before the wedding day, lest bad luck will befall on her
What is it?
There is a long-living belief that, the bride is not allowed to fit the wedding gown before the day of the wedding. Failure to follow will result in death or just plain bad luck.
Why it's bullshit
You know when ready to wear clothing appeared on the scene? How it outfashioned seamstresses and dressmakers alike?
There are some parents who wants to get their children married as soon as possible, so they turn to ready to wear wedding atires - which were much much more expensive during that time, since mass producing various articles did not involve abused children working in a factory. Also, wearing ready-to-wear's is a big embarassment during the old days, so to avoid shaming their children, parents forbid the bride to fit the gown, lest she sees the price tag on it and her friends grab their Zarazamoras and tweet about their friend being so totally lame.
Pictured above: Zarazamora, the Blackberry of the 19th century
Sukob
What is it?
You may not marry in the same year a family relative has married or died. Doing so will cause bad luck and death among the family. Sukob is the name of this curse.
Why it's bullshit?
You remember the rosary part? Remember it's just coincidence? This is one is too.
The whole concept of "your family members" dying one by one just because one of you married the same year as another member has married or died is just some plot cut by one of Final Destination's screen writers. You think I'm talking shit? Take a look at this.
However, the league of Philippine filmmakers (Pinoyliwood sounds dumb) made a movie about this superstitious belief. And you know how much films can brainwash and affect the minds of Filipino people, especially with the obvious fact that they believe everything they see on the silver screen.
Ok guys, here's what we're going to do: We're going to make a film with extremely false beliefs as a story and fool everyone from their cash. You all ready?
Good job, movies. You official made us stupid and paranoid.
This is for you, Philippine films!
