Episode 262: Pregnancy Folklore & Superstitions Around The World

Let's Get Haunted

Comedy

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2026

⏱️ 116 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to Episode 262: Pregnancy Folklore & Superstitions Around The World! Across history, pregnancy was treated less like a medical condition and more like a supernatural vulnerability. The old beliefs of Appalachia insist that laboring women shouldn’t look outside at night, seek their reflection in a mirror, speak certain names, or even leave clothes hanging outside… because “things” could follow them home after birth. In parts of Eastern Europe, women were considered spiritually “open” after birth. Demons or witches could enter newly opened bodies. Iron and scissors were placed under beds for protection from the evil eye. Jewish postpartum beliefs included hanging amulets near laboring mothers to ward off Lilith from entering through windows at night to steal infants from mothers. Across Scandinavian and Celtic folklore, changelings were of major concern. The fae could steal newborns and replace them with sickly copies. Across the globe, pregnant women were thought to exist in a dangerous liminal state between worlds. Some cultures treated birth as a demonic vulnerability. Others treated it as a profound spiritual power. A woman in labor was believed to stand between worlds. Join us this week as Nat & Aly sample haunted pregnancy rituals and beliefs from around the world! TIME STAMPS 00:00:00 HOOK & INTRO 00:14:08 STORY BEGINS 00:18:41 FIRSTLEAF AD 00:20:35 MIRRORS OPEN PORTALS 00:29:00 BLISSY AD 00:31:00 PREGNANCY BODY HORROR 00:36:18 GOODR AD 00:37:51 UBUME & JAPANESE PREGNANCY RITUALS 00:58:11 TRADITIONAL NAVAJO BELIEFS 01:00:17 CHINESE GHOST MONTH 01:06:00 ICELANDIC ELVES 01:11:00 TOGOLESE PREGNANCY BELIEFS 01:22:10 INUIT TRADITIONS 01:24:28 POSTPARTUM CONFINEMENT 01:38:20 CLOSING THOUGHTS 01:49:00 SECRET PASSWORD AND DONOR SHOUTOUTS! THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED!! Find out more about this week’s advertisers below! Wake up with clearer skin, smoother hair, and cooler sleep—use code LGHPOD for an extra 30% off at https://blissy.com/LGHPOD. Go to https://tryfirstleaf.com/haunted to sign up and get 50% off your first box plus free shipping for a year. Head to https://goodr.com/HAUNTED to claim $10 off your first order. Other Important Stuff: Join the Patreon today! https://patreon.com/letsgethaunted LGH Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/letsgethaunted Buy Our Merch: https://www.letsgethaunted.com Check out the photo dump for this week’s episode: https://www.instagram.com/letsgethaunted Send us fan mail: PO BOX 1658 Camarillo, CA 93011 Send us your listener stories: www.letsethaunted.com *SPECIAL THANKS TO RYAN FOR HELP WITH EDITING~ SLAY* —— KEYWORDS : pregnancy folklore, pregnancy superstitions, childbirth folklore, birth myths, old wives tales pregnancy, fertility folklore, fertility rituals, pregnancy myths, haunted pregnancy, pregnancy traditions, childbirth superstitions, baby folklore, motherhood folklore, maternal folklore, folklore podcast, paranormal podcast, haunted history, ancient pregnancy beliefs, pregnancy omens, pregnancy rituals, fertility magic, folk magic, folk traditions, birth rituals, pregnancy taboos, baby superstitions, newborn folklore, fairy changelings, changeling babies, evil eye pregnancy, pregnancy and eclipses, pregnancy cravings folklore, gender prediction myths, labor superstitions, birth customs around the world, pregnancy beliefs around the world, strange pregnancy traditions, weird history, women's history, motherhood myths, supernatural pregnancy, spirits and pregnancy, folklore around childbirth, fertility goddess traditions, ancient birth practices, cultural pregnancy beliefs, haunted women, paranormal history, myths and legends, folklore stories, mysterious traditions, Let's Get Haunted, LGH podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:57.3	and more like a supernatural vulnerability.
1:00.9	The old beliefs of Appalachia insist that laboring women shouldn't look outside at night.
1:07.7	Seek their reflection in a mirror, speak certain names, or even leave clothes hanging outside,
1:15.2	because things could follow them home after birth. In parts of Eastern Europe, women were
1:22.0	considered spiritually open after birth. Demons or witches could enter their bodies. Iron and scissors were placed under
1:31.0	beds for protection from evil. Jewish postpartum beliefs included hanging amulets near laboring mothers
1:37.9	because Lilith was believed to enter through windows at night, praying on postpartum women
1:43.9	and stealing their infants.
1:46.5	Across Scandinavian and Celtic folklore, changelings were of major concern. The fay were
1:53.1	rumored to steal newborns and replace them with sickly copies. New mothers would suspect something
1:59.4	was off with their child, but it would be too late.
2:02.6	To prevent changelings, babies were baptized quickly to protect their souls.
2:08.6	From Iceland to Japan to ancient Mesopotamia, people believed pregnant women existed in a dangerous liminal state between worlds.
	...

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