Radio Recap: The Origins of Superstitions

"I am... superstition. You don't believe, do you? HA HA HA HA!"

The Origins of Superstitions was a syndicated radio series produced in 1933 by Transco. It appears to have had a 39-episode run; each episode runs less than 15 minutes, with quite a bit of music. They syndicated their shows again in 1948 and 1952, which probably helps account for the series remaining intact.

Transco's other syndicated shows included the World Adventurer's Club, which sounds very much like this series. The cast included familiar voices from their other shows, such as Gale Gordon and Hanley Stafford.

The Origins of Superstitions usually opened with a voice intoning, "I am... superstition." It's terrifically cheesy. You might think from the introduction that you're being set up for a horror series but The Origins of Superstitions was pretty firmly against the superstitions it depicted. Usually the dramas involve someone suggesting that a particular act - such as opening one's umbrella indoors - will bring about bad luck. The person's well-informed friend knows the history of that superstition and launches into a story which demonstrates how it's a mere superstition.

Indeed, the vast majority of these superstitions are "doing this is bad luck." There are some other superstitions such as the belief that an itchy palm means someone's coming into good fortune, but it's mostly stories of bad luck. Many of these superstitions I've never heard of - maybe they're very region-specific or have been totally forgotten, but I've never heard of the idea that if you have to immediately turn back from a journey you've started, you need to wait before resuming your journey.

Like the World Adventurer's Club, The Origins of Superstitions has low production values but it's fairly good for early radio (there's also a bit of the same racism found in that other series, such as in the Rabbit's Foot episode). Overall, the superstitions are kind of interesting to learn about; for early 30s radio, it's fine.

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of the Origins of Superstitions through this link to their website.