Cemetary
Edgar Allan Poe fan Cynthia Pelayo of Chicago lays roses near the author's original burial place Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 at Westminster Church and Cemetary in Baltimore. Steve Ruark/Associated Press
Cemetary
Edgar Allan Poe fan Cynthia Pelayo of Chicago lays roses near the author's original burial place Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 at Westminster Church and Cemetary in Baltimore. Steve Ruark/Associated Press

When Julie was a child, her mom taught her to hold on to a button whenever a funeral procession or hearse went by. Decades later, Julie reached out to Reset to learn the backstory of this tradition from her mother’s childhood. Our search for answers generated a conversation about the origin and utility of superstition.

GUESTS: Claire Hyman, Reset digital engagement producer

Stuart Vyse, psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition

Chris Raymond, freelance writer and editor at Funeral Help Center

Cemetary
Edgar Allan Poe fan Cynthia Pelayo of Chicago lays roses near the author's original burial place Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 at Westminster Church and Cemetary in Baltimore. Steve Ruark/Associated Press
Cemetary
Edgar Allan Poe fan Cynthia Pelayo of Chicago lays roses near the author's original burial place Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 at Westminster Church and Cemetary in Baltimore. Steve Ruark/Associated Press

When Julie was a child, her mom taught her to hold on to a button whenever a funeral procession or hearse went by. Decades later, Julie reached out to Reset to learn the backstory of this tradition from her mother’s childhood. Our search for answers generated a conversation about the origin and utility of superstition.

GUESTS: Claire Hyman, Reset digital engagement producer

Stuart Vyse, psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition

Chris Raymond, freelance writer and editor at Funeral Help Center