6 Examples of Farm Folklore and Their Meanings

1. Blood-Tinged Eggs

Most of us have at one time or another cracked open an egg only to find a spot of blood on the yolk. While this is not unusual and certainly doesn’t affect the quality of the product, some find the sight a bit off-putting. On the farm that my uncle used to own and operate, depending on the amount of blood that was present, this naturally occurring phenomenon indicated that something evil had paid a visit.

He believed that the presence of blood in an egg or in fresh milk was the result of the animals involved having seen the devil. Apparently, the shock of finding themselves in the company of this most sinister of beings pollutes their systems, causing blood to be present in anything they produce. Fortunately for the farmer, the effects are only temporary. Within a few days, the traumatized livestock get over the encounter, and everything returns to normal.

2. Blood Yolks

Though the farmer at the center of the following true account didn’t go so far as to blame the devil for the bizarre events that befell his operation, the similarities between what he experienced and my uncle’s unconventional beliefs…