# Baskerville effect

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The alleged self-fulfilling prophecy that there is an increase in rate of mortality through heart attacks on days considered unlucky because of the psychological stress this causes on superstitious people.

## Etymology
Named after the Baskerville family from Arthur Conan Doyle's crime novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/baskerville-effect