History Main / SuperstitionEpisode

The Superstition Episode is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin centered around some sort of unlucky superstition or superstitions.]] Maybe it's [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Friday the Thirteenth]]. Maybe a character accidentally breaks a mirror and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone freaks out]] about the seven years of bad luck that they’re sure will follow. Maybe a [[AgentScully skeptical character]] pets a black cat or walks under a ladder to prove such silly superstitions aren't true. In any case, that character will be plagued by bad luck for the rest of the episode. The character may [[SkepticismFailure insist their extreme bad luck is merely a coincidence]], or they may be superstitious from the start. Either way, there may be another character who disagrees, and debates with them about the validity of superstitions.

The SuperstitionEpisode is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin centered around some sort of unlucky superstition or superstitions.]] Maybe it's [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Friday the Thirteenth]]. Maybe a character accidentally breaks a mirror and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone freaks out]] about the seven years of bad luck that they’re sure will follow. Maybe a [[AgentScully skeptical character]] pets a black cat or walks under a ladder to prove such silly superstitions aren't true. In any case, that character will be plagued by bad luck for the rest of the episode. The character may [[SkepticismFailure insist their extreme bad luck is merely a coincidence]], or they may be superstitious from the start. Either way, there may be another character who disagrees, and debates with them about the validity of superstitions.

If a character just happens to be unlucky for an episode, that's not this trope. Neither is NotMyLuckyDay, for when a character just misses extreme good fortune, though they may overlap. For it to be a SuperstitionEpisode, the bad luck has to be [[LampshadeHanging remarked upon]] and attributed to some sort of superstition. For characters who are chronically unlucky, see BornUnlucky. Supertrope to ChainLetter.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' episode "Tough Luck", the Chan family receives a cursed Irish emerald that gives the owner bad luck. The only way to nullify the curse is to return the emerald to its tomb in Ireland, or for someone to receive it willingly. [[spoiler:Having it stolen, however, leaves the curse with you.]]

* In an ''ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}}'' comic, Wa'at Alahf breaks a mirror over his head to free a guy from a curse. As a result, the guy is blessed with seven years of good luck and Wa'at is cursed with seven years of bad luck ([[SnapBack that only last for the remainder of the comic]]).

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': Gold Key issue #20's "Unlucky Luck" focused on Velma trying to cure Shaggy and Scooby of being superstitious. As part of a game, she gets the two to get rid of their luck talismans then has Fred and Daphne plant rewards among bad luck elements (walking under a ladder, black cat crossing their path) along the route they eventually take. Velma's plan backfires: Shaggy and Scooby retrieve their talismans, thinking if what they went through was bad luck, imagine the ''good'' luck they'll have now.

* "Tiki Torture" from ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' #2 (Creator/DCComics) deals with a tiki statue Kaz buys and brings home to the bus. Legend supposes that it brings bad luck, but Kaz handwaves it off. The girls are besieged with mishaps; they can't even destroy the thing without something unlucky happening.

* In the ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episode "All Wrapped Up In Death", Castle becomes convinced he's been cursed by a Mayan mummy from a museum exhibit after he opens its sarcophagus and looks upon its face. The precinct razzes him about it ([[spoiler:removing bolts from his chair so it collapses, then having the bomb squad rig the coffee maker to spew steam at him]]), but when the elevator stops working with Castle inside it, they tell him even they're not that cruel. He gets the curse lifted [[NoodleIncident somehow]] by the end of the episode ... then cuts himself with a bread knife.
--> '''Castle:''' What's the difference between "curse" and "clumsy"?

* A common theme in ''Series/GilligansIsland''. Examples: In "Waiting for Watubi", Gilligan unearthed a tiki idol and was convinced it would bring bad luck. In "Voodoo", The Skipper was convinced that a voodoo witch doctor had turned Gilligan into a chimp.
** In fact, the Skipper seems to be very superstitious in general, often requiring [[StraightMan the Professor]] to be the voice of reason.

* This happened on an episode of ''Series/{{Taxi}}''. Reverend Jim had a strange dream involving Alex doing some odd things which culminate in him dying, Alex laughs off his concerns, and Louie spends the rest of the episode pointing out how all of the events happening to him match what Jim dreamed of. The climax of the episode involved Alex TemptingFate by donning a weird costume (including a catcher's mask) and dancing around his apartment, when the doorbell rings. They open the door, revealing the dread spectre of a....Girl Scout selling cookies.

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* In the ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'' episode "Bowser Junior's Bad Luck", Junior breaks a mirror while he, Joseph, and Cody were playing dodgeball. This brings him a lot of bad luck as a result.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsResistance'': In [[Recap/StarWarsResistanceS2E10KazsCurse "Kaz's Curse"]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Kaz is cursed]] by an angry pirate after having insane BeginnersLuck at a game of chance. Kaz denies that curses are real and insists that everything is a coincidence, while his friend Neeku believes that every single even remotely bad thing that happens near Kaz is due to the curse. Eventually, talking to CoolOldLady Mika leads Kaz to realize he ''is'' afraid of the supposed curse, and she shows him how to get over it. Mika lampshades it at the end by remarking that pilots like Kaz tend to be a superstitious lot.
* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': In [[Recap/TangledTheSeriesS2E12Curses "Curses!"]], Rapunzel is cursed by Madame Canardist after finding her telescope, which Canardist says is hers but Rapunzel knows that's not true. Rapunzel at first denies curses are real, while Hook Foot believes that every bad thing that happens near Rapunzel is due to the curse. Eventually, Eugene leads Rapunzel to realize that bad things happened because she ''believed'' she was cursed, which allows Rapunzel to get over it.

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Series/The10thKingdom'', Tony breaks a whole roomful of magic mirrors, and immediately starts to suffer from bad luck - starting with losing his way, and ending with literally breaking his back. [[spoiler:This takes place after he breaks the MagicMirror they'd been chasing for the whole series, too.]] An interesting aspect to this is that when the seven years' bad luck is first brought up, it's in the context of having broken a ''magic'' mirror, rather than an ordinary one--suggesting that this rather than superstition is the reason the bad luck is magically enforced.
* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'': In a HalloweenEpisode Briso & Bowler have to deal with Bad Luck Betty, a superstitious deputy, while on a case. Where she goes bad luck follows, although she always says it's an accident - while also following various superstitions. For example, she managed to put the sheriff in a full body cast: she tossed salt over her shoulder just as he came in, which made him lose his footing and a grandfather clock fell on him.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', Rose gets a call from her sister in St. Olaf, telling her that there's a drought problem, and town natives are being asked to remain celibate for the duration. (An old local superstition says that refraining from sex will cause rain to return; more acceptable than [[VirginSacrifice the usual ideas about that, probably.]]) While Rose is one to adhere to tradition, she makes the mistake of taking Blanche's advice and not telling Miles about it, and their relationship starts to suffer as a result. (Fortunately, at the end, Rose gets a call from her sister again who tells her - clearly in the middle of sex - that it's raining, and Rose learns not to listen to Blanche.)

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In "Bad Day at Black Rock", Sam accidentally invokes (by touching) a cursed rabbit's foot. He has incredibly good luck for a while until he inevitably loses it (as father figure, Bobby puts it "Everyone loses it"), and then Sam's luck goes extremely bad. Not a straight example perhaps, because the rabbit's foot is a cursed object, so it isn't just superstition - though how it works is based on superstition - because touching the rabbit's foot really IS good and then bad luck.

* The ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'' episode "Mini-Maximum Trouble", the others discover Wasabi is extremely superstitious when he spills some salt. Fred takes it upon himself to prove there is no such thing as bad luck by doing assorted "unlucky" things like walking under a ladder. Immediately afterwards, everything starts going wrong for him. [[spoiler: It turns out his "bad luck" is being caused by Minimax, who has become a villain due to a short circuit.]]

* A sort of version occurs in ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar''. Rico gets a fortune saying he will meet a foul end. Skipper assures him that it's just a superstition. Julien, wanting Rico to believe the fortune, sets up a bunch of incidents to make Rico believe he's having bad luck. [[spoiler: it later turns out that meeting a foul end meant that a duck (waterfowl) would crash down on him, meeting its "end".]]

* In ''Series/TheTenthKingdom'', Tony breaks a whole roomful of magic mirrors, and immediately starts to suffer from bad luck - starting with losing his way, and ending with literally breaking his back. [[spoiler:This takes place after he breaks the MagicMirror they'd been chasing for the whole series, too.]] An interesting aspect to this is that when the seven years' bad luck is first brought up, it's in the context of having broken a ''magic'' mirror, rather than an ordinary one--suggesting that this rather than superstition is the reason the bad luck is magically enforced.

* ComicBook/ArchieComics:

* Whether WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck is actually unlucky or brings it all on himself varies DependingOnTheWriter; in one [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse comic]] Donald is superstitious and that causes him to bring harm on himself (such as a BlindShoulderToss after [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spilling_salt spilling salt]] brings in an angry customer). In the end, his nephews tell him that the Aesop is "being superstitious is bad luck".
* Triplicate Girl of ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' became Duo Damsel when one of her three selves was killed by Computo the Conqueror. While this was a nightmarish trauma for her that took her years to recover from (and too afraid to fight Computo again), she was never surprised; she had used her power three times that day, something that is considered bad luck on her planet. (Note that her third body was actually NotQuiteDead, and recovered with Braniac-5's help.)
* In ''Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #7'', Lois wears an Egyptian hat as part of a story debunking superstitions. It seemingly causes her to contract the ability to kill with a kiss. (It was really a trick on the part of one of Metropolis' criminals.)

* "Tiki Torture" from ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' #2 (DC) deals with a tiki statue Kaz buys and brings home to the bus. Legend supposes that it brings bad luck, but Kaz handwaves it off. The girls are besieged with mishaps; they can't even destroy the thing without something unlucky happening.

* In the ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'' episode "Bowser Junior's Bad Luck", Junior breaks a mirror while he, Joseph, and Cody were playing dodgeball. This brings him a lot of bad luck as a result

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* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' Brain gets so sick of a conversation on superstition brought on by inane Baseball rituals that he attempts to prove bad luck wrong by repeatedly ducking under a ladder, dancing on the pavement crack and breaking a mirror. [[HilarityEnsues Bad luck ensues.]] He tries to fix his bad luck by bringing a bag carrying good luck charms around with him all the time. [[spoiler:At the end of the episode, he finds he's been carrying around the wrong bag, but everyone considers the sports clothes inside instead to be other good luck charms.]]

* "Tiki Torture" from ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' #2 (DC) deals with a tiki statue Kaz buys and brings home to the bus. Legend supposes that it brings bad luck, but Kaz handwaves it off. The girls are eack besieged with mishaps; they can't even destroy the thing without something unlucky happening.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': Gold Key issue #20's "Unlucky Luck" focused on Velma trying to cure Shaggy and Scooby of being superstitious. As part of a game, she gets the two to get rid of their luck talismans then has Fred and Daphne plant rewards among bad luck elements (walking under a ladder, black cat crossing their path). Velma's plan backfires: Shaggy and Scooby retrieve their talismans, thinking if what they went through was bad luck, imagine the ''good'' luck they'll have now.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': Gold Key issue #20's "Unlucky Luck" focused on Velma trying to cure Shaggy and Scooby of being superstitious. As part of a game, she gets the two to get rid of their luck talismans then has Fred and Daphne plant rewards among bad luck elements (wakking under a ladder, black cat crossing their path). Velma's plan backfires: Shaggy and Scooby retrieve their talismans, thinking if what they went through was bad luck, imagine the ''good'' luck they'll have now.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supermans_unluckiest_day.jpg]]]]

* Triplicate Girl of ''ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' became Duo Damsel when one of her three selves was killed by Computo the Conqueror. While this was a nightmarish trauma for her that took her years to recover from (and too afraid to fight Computo again), she was never surprised; she had used her power three times that day, something that is considered bad luck on her planet. (Note that her third body was actually NotQuiteDead, and recovered with Braniac-5's help.)

** In "[[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS17E14PercysLuckyDay Percy's Lucky Day]]", Percy feels as though he has some bad luck when he accidentally mistakes a green hankerchief for a green flag, tears a sack of mail, and runs over some fallen pumpkins on the line (courtesy of a careless [[BrattyHalfPint Bill and Ben]]). Stephen gives Percy a horseshoe to represent as a lucky charm to help him regain his confidence, but when Percy realizes that he lost the charm, he has to find confidence in himself to help pull Bill and Ben back onto the rails.