Witches and black cats in the Old Town in Scarborough - superstitions

The following are quotes from old fishermen taken during our intergenerational interviews. Young children met the retired fishermen and seamen and learnt first hand how they lived and how they thought. In this case the old fishermen talked of the superstitions which characterised the fishing communities.

"Its how we were brought up, me dad, me grandad its just passed down. There's different things you can't mention. I went down pier one day early morning to go out to sea and the weather wont too good there was about 15 of us all stood on the pier, and one of the young fellows said well if we aren't going to sea, I'm going to my fathers to feed me rat. Well that was it.." Fred Normandale

"A black cat if he saw a black cat he would turn round, a woman with a squint. An over hand knot in a rope, a witches knot. My uncle was very superstitious and one of his relations, a crew he was in he lent in dark to pull up the ropes and me uncle tom fell upon this witches knot on the end. That was it he went home". Bill Pashby

"He lit a great big bit of paper and walked right down gunnels I asked what you doing , he said I'm getting rid of the witches, until he burnt witches off that boat would never be any good". Fred Normandale

"Don't say the word long tail (rat) because they wont like it. Do not say it when talking to a fisherman it used to be ripe down there on bottom end of em . There's an old saying bout these long tails when a trawler come in from sea and he's landed all his fishing down and these long tales abandon ship, come ashore. When that ship goes to sea it will sink. Its happened many a time. Its called leaving the sinking ship." Ross Tyson



OTHER ARTICLES
• The fishing community in Flamborough head - superstition and bad luck
• Life in the Old Town of Scarborough and harbour - the fishing families
• Children of the fishing families in Scarborough
• The Allen and Truman Scarborough fishing families
• The national RNLI and the Scarborough lifeboat of 1861.
• Watching for ships by the harbour walls in Scarborough
• Scarboroughs Old Town and its connection to the sea
• Community spirit in the Old Town in Filey
• Sea shanties and the filey Fishermen's choir
• Strange customs amongst the Scarborough shipbuilders
• The Beam trawl and the Otter trawl
• The port of Scarborough in the late 15th Century
• The history of the Scarborough fishing industry
• The loss of the Scarborough trawler Heritage in 1993
• The Harwood and Bullamore fishing family history in Scarborough
• Tunny fishing in Scarborough in the 1930's
• Harwood Brierleys description of Scarborough harbour at the opening of the 20th century
• A sea shanty about a storm on the Scarborough coast
• The early years of the Scarborough Lifeboat

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