THE HORROR PROVERB BOOK

By: Casandra Vicario

Wolves, skulls, the dead, tongues, devils, and other such elements are part of Mexican sayings — some better known than others — but the truth is, all of them are meant to keep us from doing something wrong, from going down the wrong path, or to give us a bit of advice... Let's get to know a few of them! And tell us: what other sayings do you know?

A closed mouth catches no flies.

He who dies for what he desires, even death tastes sweet to him.

Man proposes, God disposes, the devil arrives, and messes it all up.

He who runs with wolves learns to howl.

He wasn't dead, he was just out partying.

The devil knows more from being old than from being the devil.

Every turkey gets his Christmas.

The dead go to the grave, and the living go on enjoying life.

The graveyards are full of gluttons and big eaters.

I could eat a whole plate of empty talk.

A bad weed never dies.

Even the skulls bare their teeth at me.

How I love the color black, even though the dead man frightens me.

The dead and the houseguest both start to stink after three days.

Once the dog is dead, the rabies is over.

Death isn't so bad, when it takes whoever it wants…

A little poison won't kill you.

Marriage and the burial shroud both come down from heaven.

Not so much that it burns the saint, nor so much that it dazzles him.

Fear doesn't travel by donkey.

The fish dies by its own mouth.

Where the dead man moans, that's where the gold is.

It's not death that kills, but bad luck.

Some of the dead make no sound, and yet their sorrows are the greatest.

Better they say… "Here he ran," than "here he died."

To those God doesn't give children, the devil gives nephews.

Where the devil laid his hand, the mark stays for a long while.

Since the house is already burning, let's at least warm ourselves by it…

There's no doubt that in Mexico, we love everything related to death and the supernatural; these sayings are just a small sample of that. What matters is to prevent their death — to keep them from being lost. Let's spread the word about them and put them to use whenever circumstances allow.

Image by José Guadalupe Posada