2015 has three Friday the 13ths in it (February, March and November). For any of you that suffer from triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) or paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th), you’re probably experiencing a little bit of anxiety right about now. It is estimated that between 17 and 21 million people in the world fear the date. When I was a kid, I used to think I was afraid of Friday the 13th, but I think I was just feeling that way because I thought it was cool (I clearly had a very warped idea of what made me “cool”). I’ve never known what made people think terrible things would happen on Friday the 13th, so I thought it might be fun to look into exactly why this day is considered so unlucky. In celebration of the day itself and the amazing film series it spawned, Bloody-Disgusting has decided to find out just why Friday the 13th is considered such a bad day.
First of all, there is no record of Friday the 13th specifically being regarded as unlucky before the 19th century. No one is exactly sure where the superstition came from. The earliest known documentation of the day being unlucky is in Henry Sutherland Edwards’ 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini. To really figure out why Friday the 13th has such a bad reputation, we will need to look at the number 13 and the day of Friday separately.
The Number 13
In Christianity, 13 is considered to be a bad number because it was believed that Judas (the betrayer of Jesus) was the 13th guest at The Last Supper.
Some academics believe that the superstition can be traced back to a Norse myth in which twelve gods shared a dinner together at Valhalla, only to be interrupted when a 13th guest, Loki, arrived. He tricked the god of winter, Höðr , into shooting his brother (and god of summer) Baldr with a mistletoe-tipped spear, which was the only thing that could kill him.
The number 12 has been considered a “complete” number for many years. Why is this? Because there are twelve months in a year, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve Zodiac signs, twelve labors of Hecules, twelve sons of Odin, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Hindu shrines and twelve successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam. To add a 13th member to any of these things would disrupt their perfection. Clearly, religion plays a big factor in the negative beliefs surrounding the number 13. But while twelve may be considered a sacred number, Ancient Mayans considered the number 13 a sacred number.
Not helping matters is that many New York skyscrapers are missing a 13th floor, some streets skip 13th street, and there usually isn’t a 13th gate in airports.
The Day of Friday
The day of Friday itself has always been a bit of a bad day in history. For example, people would not marry or leave on a trip on Fridays in the Middle Ages. In Christianity, Friday is believed to be the day that Adam gave Eve the apple in the Garden of Eden (even though Friday didn’t exist as a day, yet). The Temple of Solomon was supposedly destroyed on a Friday.
Also, Jesus was believed to have been crucified on a Friday, though all Roman crucifixions were said to be performed on a Friday. Interestingly enough, Christians refer to Jesus’ crucifixion day as Good Friday, so it seems to contradict Friday the 13th’s negative connotation.
Friday the 13th
So where did this superstition surrounding Friday the 13th come from? Honestly, the only answer is that over the years, people took two superstitions and combined them into one. That, and the fact that one of the most iconic slashers in horror film history attacks on this date.
Given the fact that films and popular culture are incredibly influential in today’s culture, it’s understandable to see how Friday the 13th became so iconic and feared. Another thing to keep in mind is that this seems to be mostly an American superstition. Tuesday the 13th is considered unlucky in Greece and Spanish-speaking countries, whereas Friday the 17th is the worst day for Italians.
The notion that Friday the 13th is unlucky is a modern belief. There are some instances since the year 1000 in which bad things happened on a Friday the 13th, but those are most likely coincidences. In 1881, William Fowler did form “The Thirteen Club” where he would gather groups of 13 people for dinner to disprove various superstitions. The first one of these dinners occurred on Friday January 13th of that year.
Many psychologists have pointed out that it’s just an example of confirmation bias. People always remember negative events that happen on Friday the 13th (as opposed to every other day in the year) and seem to forget when an uneventful Friday the 13th occurs.
So what do you think? Do you buy in to the superstition? Or are you a skeptic who claims it’s all just a bunch of mumbo jumbo? Let me know in the comments below!
