You're welcome, joystar. My dad's pet superstition was 'no shoes on the table' (whether or not you were wearing them, lol), and that's one that carried over to me. Like hats on beds, I have no idea what the genesis of this one is, but I know I get uneasy whenever I see itwhich would make me a poor choice for working displays in a shoe store, I guess
50 Is The New Cutoff Age.

Thank you for an interesting post, amyghost. You brought back memories of my visits to my Grandmother, in the early 1960s. We'd always put our coats in the spare bedroomlaid out on the bed. The hats were always placed on a separate chair on the other side of the room.
Even my very practical and unsuperstitious Mother said that hats on beds were "bad luck".
I do hope he won't upset Henry

There's an old superstition that putting a hat on a bed is bad luck. I'm not sure what the origin of it is (google 'hat on bed bad luck' and you'll find some interesting theories), but the scene of Charles' tossing it onto his niece's bed makes it pretty obvious he's staking his claim on her. There's several other hints in that scene that suggest what his intentions towards Young Charlie are, such as looking at her graduation photo, and then breaking off one of the roses in her bouquet on the dresser: she's a flower ready to be plucked.
50 Is The New Cutoff Age.