Myth: "Ravens Are Bad Luck"

The Belief

[lore] In parts of European Christian tradition, ravens became associated with ill omen, death, and misfortune — partly because of their black plumage, partly because of their presence at death-related sites (battlefields, gallows, cemeteries), and partly because of their role in biblical narrative (Noah's raven that did not return; ravens as unclean birds in Leviticus 11:15).

[lore] This association was reinforced in literature: Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" (1845) cemented the bird's association with grief, loss, and foreboding in popular English-language culture. The poem's narrator interprets the raven as a messenger of doom — but Poe was writing fiction, and his narrator is explicitly in a state of distressed grief.¹

What the Evidence Says

Many traditions do not share this association

[lore] In Norse mythology, ravens were associated with Odin — god of wisdom and war — not with misfortune. Huginn and Muninn were valued messengers, and the raven banner was a battle standard intended to bring victory, not bad luck.²

[lore] In the oral traditions of several Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples — including the Haida and Tlingit — the Raven is a transformative creator figure and trickster who brought light to the world and shaped the landscape. This is not an omen tradition but a cosmological one, and the specific traditions are living and belong to those communities. We note it here only to illustrate that "ravens = bad luck" is not a universal human association, and we do not claim to represent those traditions beyond this factual observation.³

The ecological basis of the death association

[science] Ravens are carrion birds. They gather at carcasses, executions, and battlefields because that is where food is — not because they cause death. The association is a case of correlation misread as causation: ravens appear where death has occurred; therefore (in some cultural logics) they predict or cause death. The science is clear that ravens are following food, not forecasting fate.⁴

The Tower of London tradition

[lore] The belief that the Tower of London will fall if its ravens leave is frequently cited as evidence of ravens' ominous significance. However, the history of this tradition is more recent than commonly assumed: the first documentary evidence for kept ravens at the Tower dates to the late 19th century, and the "legend" in its current form appears to have been formalised in the 20th century. It is a tradition, not an ancient curse.⁵

Where the Belief Comes From

The "ravens are bad luck" belief in European tradition draws on several converging sources:

1. [science] Real raven behaviour: carrion-eating, loud calls at night, and gathering in numbers at death sites (all observable).
2. [lore] Biblical associations: unclean birds (Leviticus), Noah's unreturning raven, Elijah fed by ravens in the wilderness (a positive association, actually).
3. [lore] European folklore linking black animals to darkness, the devil, and misfortune — a colour-based association that is cultural, not factual.
4. [lore] Literary reinforcement through Poe and later popular culture.

The Verdict Restated

"Ravens are bad luck" is a belief held in some cultural contexts, with traceable historical origins in European tradition. It is not universal, not supported by any scientific evidence, and not shared by many major cultural traditions that feature ravens prominently. The raven's association with death is rooted in real biology (carrion-eating), which different cultures have interpreted in radically different ways.