Dark reason you should never thank somebody when they bless you after sneezing

Someone in the office lets out a big sloppy sneeze - what do you do?

Chuck them a tissue, avert your eyes from the snotty mess, and probably say 'bless you', right?

And you'd be right to do so. After all, for centuries, this has been considered the politest and most courteous response to a noisy nasal attack.

Apparently, however, if the guilty sneezer thanks you in return for your kind words, there could actually be some dark magic afoot - according to a pretty chilling old wives' tale.

It might feel awkward to not say thank you, but in this case there's potentially a pretty good reason. (Getty Stock Image)

Why do we say 'bless you'?

The reason that many of us issue this response when someone nearby sneezes - or why we expect to be blessed when we let one out ourselves - actually dates all the way back to the year 590 A.D.

This was the year that the city of Rome was hit with an epidemic which was believed to have wiped out more than 100 million Europeans.

According to National Geographic, the pope at the time - Pope Gregory I - ordered all of his constituents to pray ceaselessly for divine intervention.

And apparently, part of his command was that anyone who sneezed - one of the most obvious symptoms of the lethal illness - was to be immediately blessed with the words, 'God bless you', in the hope that they might survive.

Saying 'bless you' after a sneeze dates back to Ancient Rome. (Getty Stock Image)

During these more superstitious times, it was believed that a sneeze was a means of inadvertently separating the soul from the body.

Therefore, in order to prevent the devil - or, in the case of the plague, the 'Grim Reaper' - from entering the body when exposed and making the victim further ill, 'God bless you' was said as a protectant, releasing the patient from the devils' clutches.

Why shouldn't we thank someone for blessing us?

As we say, however, the worst thing you can say - as the sneezer - when someone says 'bless you', is 'thank you'.

This includes 'thanks', 'tah', 'cheers' and all words with the same meaning.

And whilst it might seem rude to ignore someone's thoughtful blessings, it can apparently save your life not to say it.

'But why?', I hear you ask.

Sneezing just got even more complicated. (Getty Stock Image)

Well, according to this dubious 'olden-day' tradition, if you express gratitude for someone's blessing, this reverses the purpose of it, and leaves you open to further possession by dark forces.

Whether or not you choose to believe this superstition is entirely up to you, but I reckon it's always better to be safe than sorry!