In European and North American horseshoe superstition, a horseshoe hung above a doorway is traditionally believed to bring good luck.
The custom is linked to the horseshoe’s association with horses, useful working animals, and to iron, which many European traditions treated as a material capable of warding off harmful forces. Horseshoes were also relatively common objects in rural communities, making them practical charms.
People disagree about the correct direction: some traditions hang the horseshoe with its open end upward so luck is collected, while others turn it downward so luck pours onto people passing beneath it. This means the horseshoe’s orientation is not universal.
A horseshoe is also connected with Saint Dunstan legends in England, in which the saint reportedly nailed a horseshoe to the Devil’s hoof and removed it only after receiving a promise never to enter a home displaying one. The belief is folkloric rather than scientific.