Walking under a ladder is unlucky

Scene: A street in Manchester. It’s a sunny Saturday morning. Two friends, Sophie and James, are out shopping. A painter has left a tall ladder propped against a wall, partially blocking the pavement.

Sophie: (grabbing James’s arm) Oi! Don’t even think about it. We’re not walking under that ladder.

James: (laughing) What? It’s just a ladder, Soph. Easier to duck under than to step into the road.

Sophie: No chance. Walking under a ladder is asking for trouble. Bad luck, plain and simple.

James: Or—and hear me out—it’s just a bit of wood and metal leaning against a wall. No magical powers, no curses. The worst that’ll happen is paint dripping on your head.

Sophie: Exactly! Paint on my head, or the ladder falling, or some horrible accident. Why risk it? People have said for centuries it’s bad luck.

James: Yeah, but that’s not superstition, that’s just common sense. Ladders can be wobbly. If you walk under one, you might get clobbered. The “bad luck” bit is just an old story people stuck on top of it.

Sophie: Still, too many coincidences for me. Last year, remember when I was rushing to work? Walked under one outside that café and then my train got cancelled, my boss shouted at me, and I spilled tea down my new blouse.

James: (grinning) You ever think maybe the train got cancelled because of engineering works, not the ladder? And the tea… well, that was you being clumsy, not a cosmic punishment.

Sophie: Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who had to sit in a meeting smelling like Earl Grey.

James: True, but I’ve walked under ladders loads of times. Nothing bad ever happened. Once I even did it on purpose, just to prove the point.

Sophie: And?

James: And… I got to work fine, made a cracking presentation, and ended up with free biscuits in the staff room. If anything, it was good luck.

Sophie: (rolling her eyes) You’re tempting fate, you are.

James: Or maybe I just don’t let an old superstition run my life. Look, if walking under ladders was genuinely unlucky, insurance companies would charge extra for it. “Oh sorry, your premium’s gone up because you passed under three ladders last month.”

Sophie: (laughs despite herself) Imagine that. “Risk of supernatural interference.”

James: Exactly! It’s just one of those old tales. Some people say it started in medieval times—triangle shapes symbolised the Holy Trinity, so walking through one was like breaking it. That’s where the ‘bad luck’ came from. Nothing mystical, just tradition.

Sophie: Hm. I suppose when you put it like that… but still, why tempt it? If walking around takes two seconds longer, I’d rather not chance it.

James: Fair enough. You stick to your way, I’ll stick to mine. But if we’re late because you’ve zigzagged around every ladder in Manchester, I’m blaming you, not bad luck.

Sophie: Deal. And if you ever do get splattered with paint, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

James: (smiling) Fine. But if I find a fiver on the ground afterwards, I’m calling it ladder luck.

(Both laugh and continue walking, Sophie carefully stepping around the ladder while James ducks under it with a cheeky grin.)