11 local myths and superstitions every Singaporean should know

The phrase "touch wood" is commonly heard when someone says something negative and immediately starts tapping the table or anything wooden. What does it all mean? The practice stems from the pagan belief that malevolent spirits inhabited wood. By knocking on the wood, you're preventing the spirits from hearing you and thus avoiding any hypothetical spoken misfortune to come true.

If you somehow manage to find yourself in the most rural part of Singapore where not a single public toilet is in sight and you need to answer the call of nature, hold up. Before taking that sneaky wee, make sure you apologise out loud because you might just be peeing on the 'home' of a spirit.

Legend has it that if you stare and point directly at the moon, especially a full one, the back of ears will get cut while you sleep at night – but this myth is clearly busted with many naughty kids still having their ears intact. This superstition is likely to have originated from Taiwan, where this action is deemed disrespectful towards the Moon Goddess Chang'e and brings about bad luck.

During a heated gambling session, it's best to lay your hands off the players in the game, even if it is for reassuring pat. It's Chinese superstition that touching the shoulders of the gambler will wash away of their luck. Best keep your hands to yourself the next time you're at Marina Bay Sands' casino.

...you have to finish all the food on your plate. Apparently, any bits of food left behind from your meal translates to blemishes on your partner's face. But we obviously know this is a ploy parents use to prevent food wastage.

This one gets a little spooky. According to feng shui, your soul leaves your body when you are in a slumber. Looking at the mirror inevitably will put you in rude shock as the reflection will show you your soul – which probably looks nothing like what you imagined – which in turn might lead to your soul never wanting to return to your body. Talk about being a free spirit.

Digit-related superstitions are aplenty around the world,  – some examples being 13 (as in Friday the 13th) and the number of the Beast (666) both being synonymous with bad luck. This is why many hotels use various methods of labelling their rooms to avoid such numbers. In Singapore, however, the number four also has a negative association to it, as it sounds a lot like "die" in Mandarin. As such, many hesitate at the idea of staying on the fourth floor or picking a HDB unit with the number four in it.

Want to see your favourite empowered female banshee chilling at your laundry area? That's easy, just hang out your freshly-washed clothes at late at night. Apparently Pontianaks hunt their prey by sniffing out the smell of fresh laundry, so, sucks to be a diligent household chore enthusiast. 

Apparently, this 1) shortens your life, 2) leaves your DNA lying around for spirits to 'steal', so they are able to take your form and trick your loved ones, and 3) gives your ill-wishers the opportunity to use your nails for black magic.

The real reason probably came from way back in the day when light at night was scarce, and cutting your nails in the dark could lead to injury. Pretty legit.

Now here's a good one if you're trying to tell someone that their feet are stinkin' up your home.  It is believed that if you don't wash your feet (and in some versions, your face as well), wandering spirits might just follow you home. So make sure you douse off all that bad energy.

According to local superstition, whistling at night draws the attention of wandering spirits who will inevitably follow you home. Truth is, we highly suspect that it's something that adults made up to shut their noisy kids up before bedtime.