Superstition--what exactly is it?

[timeandeternity]

I always thought superstition just had to do with (on the most serious side) satan worship, fortune-telling, etc.; as well as vain practices like throwing salt over your shoulder, believing in bad-luck broken mirrors, and such.
I’m wondering if a certain type of phobia or paranoia might also be classified as superstition. This might sound ridiculous, but I’ve always been afraid of the dark, and I’ve never gotten over it. It doesn’t help that I do have an active imagination.
Tonight I was doing homework, and I started imagining how frightening it would be if something came from the doorway a little behind me and stood behind my chair. The thought scared me, so I turned around just to make sure. I also took a swipe behind the chair (what if the thing was invisible?), but I hesitated beforehand because I was afraid to feel the something that might be behind me. I decided to move to my bedroom; as I went to the end of the hall and started fumbling with the doorknob, I felt a terror that the thing might be following me.
The whole time I was thinking, “Isn’t this superstition?” I kept making sort of half-hearted efforts to stop being afraid, but I was still pretty scared.
Superstition or not?

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

… my dear friend …

… it is superstition i think , but we have imaginations and our mind can play tricks on us , along with this we have fallen minds and i personally think we are in various states or phases of dream continually - so to have your imagination wander or be a bit excessive every now and again is normal , no sin therefore , if these things happened very frequently or troubled you see your doctor for a check up and advice absolutely , do you know every single person hears voices that are not there at least some time /s in their life— imagination and probably effected by a fallen mind too , below is a defintion from the catholic dictionary , see it here therealpresence.org/dictionary/adict.htm

**SUPERSTITION. **The unseemly or irreverent worship of God, or giving to a creature the worship that belongs to God. Rendering unbecoming worship to God may stem either from false devotion or from a tendency toward magic. Giving divine worship to a creature is either idolatry, divination, or vain observance. The term “superstition” more commonly means unbecoming worship to God.
When superstition arises from false devotion, it is really superfluous worship of God, which may take on a variety of forms. Their common denominator is an excessive concern that unless certain external practices, such as multiplication of prayers, are performed God will be displeased.
When superstition stems from a tendency toward magic, it reflects a false mentality that may or may not be the root of false devotion. Behind the false mentality is the notion that certain ritual practices, such as chain prayers or veneration of unapproved objects, carry with them an efficacy that is contrary to sound reason or the teaching of the Church.

… god bless you …

… john …