Mirror Superstitions and Ancient Beliefs That Still Haunt Us Today: Science or the Supernatural?

Mirrors are reflections and they reflect something truthfully (the real, the unaltered). Yet there are some scary, superstitious beliefs about mirrors that you may have noticed in movies, stories, and sometimes in music too. These superstitions came in two primary ways.

In the beginning, mirrors were regarded as portals to other worlds and of most things supernatural or paranormal. Most thought the strength of one's reflection was magical, beyond human comprehension. While for others, mirrors were gateways to parallel dimensions. So let’s dive into the mystical world of mirrors, their beliefs, and their scientific reasoning. 

Summoning a Ghost of Lady Through Mirrors

There’s been a folklore ritual for decades, claiming to summon a ghost. Bloody Mary is a part of a dangerous game of Truth or Dare. Where Truth or Dare is a fun entertaining game for kids and even adults, adding a scary Bloody Marry touch makes it daring. 

Holding a candle in a dimly lit room and chanting “Bloody Mary” three times into a mirror will make you stand face-to-face with a reflection of a woman dripping in blood. She could scream at you or try to reach through the mirror, wrapping her hands around your throat. The worst is that she might escape from the mirror and keep coming after you!

Dead People Are Trapped in Mirrors

According to legends, people see the faces of their dead loved ones in old antique mirrors, making them believe that their souls are trapped in the mirrors. Ancient belief is that when someone passes away their soul is released from the body and roams around until they encounter a mirror before they are buried. Especially if this happens within the first three days of their death, their souls get trapped in the mirror. Such mirrors should be tarnished or turned into an image of the deceased. To prevent these souls escaping into the living world you need to keep mirrors covered if someone passes.

Mirrors That Escape Breaking

Have you ever experienced dropping a mirror by accident but somehow it remains intact? You are lucky then. There’s the belief that if a mirror doesnt break on dropping, it will bring you good luck. However, you should not keep playing with it as the results could be quite the opposite.

Mirrors That Can Steal Your Soul

So this legend says that if you sleep with a mirror facing your bed then the spirits in it will suck your soul through the mirror as while sleeping you are unprotected and unaware. That’s why if you are superstitious then avoid placing a giant mirror by the bed. If it is fixed in the wall or a closet door then cover it with a cloth at night.

There’s another belief that a mirror hanging in the bedroom can cause nightmares. When we sleep our soul leaves our body and when it sees its reflection in the mirror it gets scared. Also, it may get confused and try to enter the body in the mirror rather than its actual body. 

Hanging a Mirror to Scare Away Spirits

In China, they hang brass mirrors above idols to distract evil spirits and prevent them from entering their place of worship. Spirits see their reflection in the mirror or any other highly reflective object and run away. Even in Cambridge in 1800 there was a man’s shoe buckle hanging on the wall to ward off evil. Also today people hang mirrors on their front doors to protect their homes from negative energy.

We are Not Seeing Our Reflection 

There’s folklore in China according to which the reflections of ourselves in mirrors are not us. They believe that there’s a species that learns our ways and when we see in the mirror it mimics us. As a result of this mimicry our image forms. However, when this specie come out of the mirror we no longer see our reflection.

Break a Mirror and Get Ready for a Disaster

After accidentally breaking a mirror you may drop your favorite food, fail an exam, or have a parking ticket. To break this bad luck curse bury the broken pieces of mirror under moonlight or throw salt over your shoulder. 

There’s no scientific reasoning for breaking a mirror causing bad luck. Although broken glass could cause injuries, it's simply a rumor that a broken mirror could bring a disaster or seven years of bad luck. 

It's because psychologically we find solace in superstitions. Our brain is constantly looking for patterns and even if they happen to be coincidences, we create a superstition to believe in. 

This idea simply evolved in the ancient Greeks that the reflection in pools of water reveals a person’s soul. Roman the creator of mirrors then begins to believe that damaging a mirror will disrespect their gods, bringing misfortune. 

Since Romans believed that it takes 7 years for a body to renew itself thats why, after breaking a mirror it takes seven years for the curse to wear off.

The Truth

Mirrors are the central aspect of human history by being a major component in art, medicine, psychology, optics, philosophy, technology, and even the modern-day style. The word mirror is derived from the French ‘mirour’ and from the Latin ‘mirari’ which means to admire. They were first made during the third century in the Roman Empire. While metal mirrors were used by Egyptians during 2900BC. These were polished bronze shaped into flat and round discs with the handles of wood or metal. 

According to Joanna Mash, a PhD in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in England, ‘You have a well-established expectation of looking into the mirror and seeing your face’. It's a human instinct to stay connected with the sense of their selves and when things don't match our expectations, we’re somehow terrified. 

Our brains are quick to misinterpret our reflection in mirrors, scaring us of something that we don't understand. Moreover, there could be mental disorders associated with a person such as MPD (multiple personality disorder). In this condition, people's identities split into different personas to cope with extreme trauma. Giovanni Caputo a psychologist from the University of Urbino experimented on MPD patients. He placed eight mirrors around the patient and the subject noted that his reflection, especially his face looked different in the low light. To him, the reflections of his face seemed to change, merely because of his mental condition. 

Owing to his research conducting this and many other experiments, he published his first description in 2010. It was about the strange-face illusion in which when people stare in the mirror under low lighting they often see their faces twisted, their facial features distorted, while some see deceased ones, and others see monsters. 

However, these petrifying visions are not due to anything supernatural, instead, it is the process of our eyes taking information and interpreting it with our brains. These messages get confused because we are focusing on our reflections with dim light. 

Another researcher named Mash stated that she conducted strange face illusion experiments. She saw that her facial features were distorted and even her face was almost changed to the point that she thought it was somebody else. According to her findings when people stare at their reflection while focusing on one spot they tend to see more. 

FAQs

Is it true that mirrors can trap a soul?

According to superstitions, mirrors can trap a dying person’s soul. If a person dies facing a mirror and his body is not buried within the three days of his death then his soul gets trapped into that mirror. That's why they say 'Cover the mirrors when there's a death'.

How many years of bad luck come with broken mirrors?

There’s a belief that broken mirrors bring seven years of bad luck.

What are the Chinese myths about mirrors?

According to Chinese myths, mirrors are the portals for spirits to travel in this world.

What does the Quran say about mirror superstitions?

According to the Quran, there are no such beliefs of having any good or bad luck, spiritual connections, or opening of portals in mirrors. These are just false superstitions that are not justified in Islam.