Sayings

[Travelagent]

Why do people say 'Someone has just walked over my grave' when they feel a shiver through their body????

[andy hughes]

There is a superstition that when someone walks over the ground in which ytou will be buried, a shiver is psychically sent to you, so that you are 'aware' that it has happened. Another version is that a goose walks over the ground, hence 'goose pimples' - when your hair folicles contract and your skin resembles plucked goose skin (nice i know!) and this is the origin of the saying. I'm going to be cremated, so I'm a bit stuck really!

[PaulB]

I clicked on this question to post a link to andy hughes' previous, great answer only to find he's already been here :oP

[Jodyc]

It relates to reincarnation. The body you once had is buried somewhere and your soul still has a connection to it, so when your grave is disturbed, as in someone walking over it, your present body reacts. The link to the grave is PAST tense not future.

[Quizmonster]

This is just one of a variety of such beliefs. The following (modified) sentence appears in 'Macbeth' ..."By the tingling of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." (It's not 'tingling' in Shakespeare's version, but I'm sure AnswerBank won't allow me to use the actual word. If you need a clue, it's what you feel if you stick a needle into your finger.) The idea that, if you shiver, that means someone is walking over your eventual grave-site is a similar concept. Some believe an itchy palm means money is coming your way and there are many other such beliefs. All of these examples are superstitious hangovers from the days of witchcraft/angels etc, when people believed they were constantly being offered signs and warnings of distant or future events.