I’m from Grimsby, for my sins. People from Grimsby, and especially Grimsby Town Football Club supporters, have been called ‘codheads’ for decades; a charming nickname, I’m sure you’ll agree. Once a vibrant fishing town, Grimsby’s association with trawler fishing and seafood runs deep. Despite all these associations, cod isn’t the most common fish you’ll find in a Grimsby or Cleethorpes chippie.

Cod’s posh, flaky, expensive, or frozen and packaged at the many factories that once dotted the Grimsby landscape. What came as standard was haddock. Haddock and chips.

While I didn’t grow up associating seafood with death omens, or positive lucky ones for that matter, many communities did. Haddock in particular turns out to have been quite the superstitious fish. Wait, superfishous. Yep, let’s go with that.

Traditionally speaking, some Scottish communities believed that the haddock was lucky, and associated it with the blessings of Christ. Fisherman often associated the black marks beside the gills of haddock with the impression of Christ’s fingertips. These marks on either side signified the pinching motion made by Christ as he picked up the fish with his thumb and forefinger, before feeding the five thousand.

OR, depending on your religious fisherman:

The black marks on either side of the fish’s gills represent the impressions made by the fingers of St Peter. These marks were left as he took the tribute money out of a fish.

Superstition didn’t end with a smattering of Jesus, but through to the cooking process. You should never, ever burn your Haddock. A traditional Scottish verse went as follows:

‘Roast me and boil me,

But dinnah burn by behns.

Or then I’ll be a stranger

Aboot yi’r hearth-stanes.’

However, for those of you that are fans of the Outlander book and TV series, the character Frank tells Claire that haddock bones should never be buried, only ever burned. Which flies in the face of the delightful anti-burning rhyme…

The bones of the hopefully un-burnt fish were also said to have protective and restorative properties. The fin-bone of a haddock was often regarded as a viable treatment for cramp. Thankfully, the fin had to be simply held as a talisman, rather that consumed. But be aware, if you drop the bone and it hits the floor, all of its powers will disappear. 

The jawbone of a haddock was similarly useful in the field of unhinged preventative medicine. According to Irish superstition, carrying a jawbone upon your person would help ease any toothache.

While I haven’t touched a haddock in well over a decade, I might nip into the chippy the next time a dentist’s appointment comes around.

***

Liked this post? Then why not join the Patreon clubhouse? From as little as £1 a month, you’ll get access to tonnes of exclusive content and a huge archive of articles, videos and podcasts! 

Pop on over, support my work, have a chat and let me show you my skulls…www.patreon.com/burialsandbeyond

Liked this and want to buy me a coffee? 

To tip me £3 and help me out with hosting, click the link below! 

https://ko-fi.com/burialsandbeyond

***