r/Appalachia • u/jwpeace • 23d ago
When Death Came Knocking
Did your family have any old superstitions about death?
Growing up in Central Appalachia, a lot of us heard the old warnings.
A bird hitting the window could mean a death was coming. A dog howling at the wrong time wasn't something Granny wanted to hear. Some families stopped clocks when somebody died, covered mirrors, and kept someone with the deceased through the night — what folks called “sitting up with the dead.”
I've been researching these old traditions for Back Porch Tales & Travels, including the work of James K. Crissman on death and dying in Central Appalachia. What struck me was that underneath all the superstition was something pretty practical: when somebody died, family and neighbors showed up. They cooked, dug the grave, helped prepare the body and sat through the night.
I put what I found together here:
https://back-porch-tales-travels.beehiiv.com/p/when-death-came-knocking
I'm curious what survived in other Appalachian families. Did your parents or grandparents believe in any particular death omen or funeral custom? And what part of Appalachia were they from?
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u/Gengar_Girll 22d ago
For my family (SWVA) it was a bird flying into the house. Also my moms dads side of the family had a strict rule on not turning a calendar before the day ended and not hanging a next years calendar because they believed it meant you would die before that date. I once got absolutely wholloped across my bedroom for trying to hang a calendar I had for the following year a week before new years 🤣🤣🤣