People in rural England were ill educated and so quite superstitious  although some of the superstitions were borne out of facts whilst others followed an incident that was linked to another which in reality had no connection. Some of the superstitions are listed below. If you kill a robin it brings bad luck It is unlucky for a rabbit to cross your path If a wound was made by a fork or other tool then that tool was greased and hung up until the wound was healed A horse shoe nailed above stables or cow sheds keeps wild horses away If the owner of beehives dies then a relative must knock on the hives and tell the bees about the death within 24 hours or they will all fly away   Medical Remedies If you have a wart on your hand. Break a twig off a willow tree, let it hand by the peel and rub the wart on the peel. Keep the twig and as the twig and peel withers the wart would shrivel and go away. To cure whooping cough. Collect as many large spiders as the patient has years and put them in a muslin bag. Place the bag in the patients mouth for a few moments and then hang the bag at the end of the bed overnight. Warts can be cures by allowing a slug to crawls over them and then burying the slug in a bed of hot manure or impaling on a thorn. As the slug dries up so the wart will do likewise. Cramp can be avoided by carrying a sheep's knuckle bone in the pocket. Nightmares can be avoided by attaching a sheep's knuckle bone to a length of string and hanging it from the bedpost overnight. Four moles feet in the pockets will relieve rheumatic pain whilst hung at the waist they will relieve neuralgia. To cure Scrurfula run a toad upon the diseased gland. The toad should then be kept up the chimney. To cure nose bleeds a maiden must tie some knots in a skein of silk and without any warning throw it over the shoulder of the patient. Toothache can be cured by sleeping with your left stocking on or by carrying a hazelnut with two kernels in your pocket. Epilectic fits were cured by wearing a silver ring bought with money begged from a maiden or by casting into a fire cuttings from the person nails and hair.