Folklore #255
Folklore & calendar
European, Indian, Arab and Caribbean traditions all warn against sleeping in direct moonlight, with consequences ranging from madness to a crooked mouth.
The English word for the result is moonstruck. The independence of the warning across so many cultures is the interesting part, and the most likely shared cause is mundane: in hot climates people sleep outside, outside is where mosquitoes and night chills are, and the Moon is what everybody could see.
Tradition: Widespread; recorded in Europe, South Asia, the Arab world and the Caribbean · checked Sep 2026