Why do people believe in superstitions?

Most superstitions stem from a combination of primitive belief systems and coincidence. If for instance, you broke a mirror one day and the rest of the day went just as bad, you really were suffering from bad luck. Or, as is more likely the case, it was just a coincidence. These sorts of things happen all the time. For example, Benito wore a certain shirt when he won the lotto. He will most likely assume that that shirt was his lucky shirt .

Another reason why we believe in superstitions is because of our ancient ancestors, who tried to explain mysterious circumstances with the knowledge that they had at that point of time. Before science explained why shadows exist, our ancient ancestors believed that the shadows were part of our souls and by stepping on one, it would mean that the soul of that person is harmed.

Believe it or not, stress is also another reason that makes people more superstitious. People tend to find reasons for their misfortunes and by being superstitious, they hide their mistakes by blaming bad luck.

Additional pics that might be useful: