Don’t take a photo with three people, the one in the middle will die first. If a gecko chirps while you’re talking, it means it agrees with you. If you enter a forest or an old building, ask permission from the unseen inhabitants first.
If you grew up in Southeast Asia, these phrases probably sound familiar. You may not fully believe them, but when it comes time to take a photo with three people, there is still that faint, unexplainable discomfort.
Before we even ask why people in Asia still believe in superstitions, here is something worth noting. More than 80 percent of skyscrapers around the world do not have a 13th floor.
Airlines like Air France and Lufthansa do not have a row 13. In fact, Lufthansa also removes row 17, because in countries like Italy and Brazil, the number 17 is considered unlucky. And this is not happening in rural villages or remote areas. This is the global aviation industry.
So who, really, believes in superstition?
Our Brains Are Wired This Way
Psychologist Stuart Vyse explains that superstitions persist not because humans are foolish, but because the human brain is naturally designed to look for patterns and cause-and-effect relationships, as cited by Medical News Today.
When two events happen close together, say you wear a red shirt and your day goes unusually well, your brain tends to link them, even if there is no logical connection.
Jane Risen, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago, adds another layer to this. According to her, people can recognize that a belief is irrational, yet still act as if it were true.
You know that taking a photo with three people will not actually bring misfortune. So why does it still feel uncomfortable? Risen calls this acquiescence, when we detect that something is illogical but choose not to correct it.
The reason is simple. Superstition offers a sense of control. In the face of life’s uncertainties, small rituals such as asking permission before entering a forest, avoiding certain numbers, or carrying a charm create the feeling that we have some influence over things that are actually beyond our control. And that feeling is comforting.
A study titled Keep your fingers crossed! How superstition improves performance even found that superstition can enhance performance. In experiments involving golf and dexterity games, participants who performed small rituals such as crossing their fingers or saying “good luck” achieved better results.
Not because of magic, but because their confidence increased.
Well... It's Not Just Asia
This is where the plot twist lies. Superstition is not an Asian phenomenon, it is a human one.
A quarter of adults in the United States admit that they are superstitious. Seventy percent of American college students use lucky charms for exams.
Michael Jordan wore his favorite University of North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform in every game. Björn Borg always wore the same clothing brand when competing at Wimbledon. Rafael Nadal follows a strict set of rituals before matches, from how he places his water bottles to taking cold showers.
A study titled Superstition and Economic Threat: Germany, 1918–1940 found that between 1918 and 1940, levels of superstition in Germany were directly correlated with economic pressure. The more uncertain life became, the stronger people held on to supernatural beliefs.
So it is not that Asia is more superstitious. What differs is how it is expressed.
In Asia, these beliefs tend to be communal and visible, talked about, passed down, and even collectively embraced. In the West, they are more subtle, but still present, in building designs, in airplane seating arrangements, and in the rituals of world-class athletes.
A Legacy That Endures for a Reason
Superstitions in Southeast Asia, from beliefs in khodam in Indonesia, to spirit houses in Thailand, to fears of the aswang in the Philippines, are not merely remnants of ancient beliefs that modernity failed to erase.
They endure because they serve real psychological needs: reducing anxiety, strengthening social bonds, and creating a sense that life, despite its uncertainties, can still be somewhat controlled.
And it turns out, that need is universal.
