1.

A dead cat taken to the cemetery at midnight can cure warts (chapter 6)

Huck tells Tom that he has it on good authority from Mother Hopkins, the local witch, that
get ready for this burying a dead cat in a graveyard near the grave of a recently buried bad dude
at midnight is the best cure of all.
It just so happens that this bad dude, Hoss Williams, was buried the past Saturday, and Huck
happens to be in possession of a dead cat, so the two boys decide to head out to the graveyard
that night and test out the cure.
2. If a stray dog howls in your direction you'll soon die (chapter 10)

The boys want to tell the authorities what happened, but they know that Injun Joe will come
after them if they do.
They decide to keep their traps shut.
In order to make sure that they're not tempted to tell, they write up a contract and seal the deal
in bloodyes, blood.
Soon after they hear a stray dog howl which apparently means one of them is going to die;
the two promise to change their ways if they survive, until they notice that the dog's got its back
to them. Apparently that means they're in the clear.
Just then they hear another sound somebody's snoring.
They find Muff Potter sleeping in the cornerand the stray dog is facing right toward him.
That's a bad sign for Muff.
3. If you lose a marble, say a chant, throw the marble, and it'll land near the lost marble (chapter 8)
He tries to use one of his various "incantations" to find some marbles he hid a while back, and is
saddened and shaken to his core when it fails despite the fact that the same trick had failed many
times before.



How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The odd superstitions touched upon were all prevalent among children and slaves in the West at
the period of this story -- that is to say, thirty or forty years ago. (P.2)
There must be some common element to the superstitions discussed in the book that appeals to
both groups; at one point Tom and Huck discuss a particular belief that has been passed on by a
slave.
Quote #2
"Say -- what is dead cats good for, Huck?"

"Good for? Cure warts with."

"No! Is that so? I know something that's better."

"I bet you don't. What is it?"

"Why, spunk-water."

"Spunk-water! I wouldn't give a darn for spunk-water." (6.57-61)
Superstitions function as a kind of street smarts, a way for kids, in this case Tom and Huck, to
demonstrate their knowledge.
Quote #3
Old beams began to crack mysteriously. The stairs creaked faintly. Evidently spirits were
abroad. A measured, muffled snore issued from Aunt Polly's chamber. And now the tiresome
chirping of a cricket that no human ingenuity could locate, began. Next the ghastly ticking of a
deathwatch in the wall at the bed's head made Tom shudder -- it meant that somebody's days
were numbered. (4.1)
Tom's beliefs, in this case in something called a "deathwatch," seem to come from some
combination of overactive imagination and a desire to make sense of the unknown.
Quote #4
The truth was, that a superstition of his had failed, here, which he and all his comrades had
always looked upon as infallible. If you buried a marble with certain necessary incantations, and
left it alone a fortnight, and then opened the place with the incantation he had just used, you
would find that all the marbles you had ever lost had gathered themselves together there,
meantime, no matter how widely they had been separated. But now, this thing had actually and
unquestionably failed. Tom's whole structure of faith was shaken to its foundations. (8.7)
Here, we see that Tom really does treat his superstitions seriously; they are, as far as he knows,
laws that guide daily life.
Quote #5
"Say, Hucky -- do you reckon Hoss Williams hears us talking?"

"O' course he does. Least his sperrit does."

Tom, after a pause:

"I wish I'd said Mister Williams. But I never meant any harm. Everybody calls him Hoss."

"A body can't be too partic'lar how they talk 'bout these-yer dead people, Tom." (9.10-14)
Even when their fears are normal or understandable the whole ghost in the graveyard thing is
pretty standard Tom and Huck take things to a new level; they are very serious about the
supernatural.
Quote #6
Then a faint moan came sighing through the branches of the forest and the boys felt a fleeting
breath upon their cheeks, and shuddered with the fancy that the Spirit of the Night had gone by.
There was a pause. Now a weird flash turned night into day and showed every little grass-blade,
separate and distinct, that grew about their feet. And it showed three white, startled faces, too.
(16.57)
Here, again, Tom, Huck, and Joe, explain away a surprising natural phenomenon by turning it
into a matter of spirits and spooks.
Quote #7
"I don't want any marks. They always bury it [treasure] under a ha'nted house or on an island, or
under a dead tree that's got one limb sticking out. Well, we've tried Jackson's Island a little, and
we can try it again some time; and there's the old ha'nted house up the Still-House branch, and
there's lots of deadlimb trees -- dead loads of 'em." (25.17)
In St. Petersburg, no superstition or spooky locale is left unaccounted for; the strange thing is,
Tom's logic does work. He watches Injun Joe take treasure from the "haunted" house.
Quote #8
"We can't ever tell the right time, and besides this kind of thing's too awful, here this time of
night with witches and ghosts a-fluttering around so." (25.91)
Considering that Tom and Huck are so young, and that their knowledge of the world is so
limited, their belief in strange, otherworldly things is understandable also, in this case, ghosts
and witches provide Huck with a perfect reason to stop digging a hole late at night, an
unenviable task if there ever was one.
Quote #9
"My! I never once thought of it, Huck!"

"Well, I didn't neither, but all at once it popped onto me that it was Friday."

"Blame it, a body can't be too careful, Huck. We might 'a' got into an awful scrape, tackling
such a thing on a Friday."

"Might! Better say we would! There's some lucky days, maybe, but Friday ain't." (26.4-7)
Here again, superstition gives Huck and Tom the opportunity to delay what is, no doubt, a scary
endeavor they go off and pretend to be Robin Hood instead.
Quote #10
"It [Injun Joe's ghost] would hang round the money. I know the ways of ghosts, and so do you."

Tom began to fear that Huck was right. Misgivings gathered in his mind. But presently an idea
occurred to him

"Lookyhere, Huck, what fools we're making of ourselves! Injun Joe's ghost ain't a going to
come around where there's a cross!"

The point was well taken. It had its effect. (33.58-61)
In order to bolster Huck's confidence, Tom trumps one with another. Though they do believe in
the craziest things, their system has some order to it.
Superstitions Of Tom Sawyer
One great superstition found in Tom Sawyer is the ability to remove warts by going to a grave yard at
midnight, go to the grave of a person who recently died, and wait at their grave until the devil comes
up. Once appeared, you throw a dad cat at the devil saying "warts be gone" and other words that are
part of cahnt. The devil then vanishes and the warts are gone.