Fear of Friday the 13th

Where does the superstition stem from? 

They are so common that psychological terms are associated with fear of the number 13 and fear of Friday the 13th. The fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. 

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day, experts speculate why everyone is so scared of it. 

The fear of 13 can be traced back to Norse mythology. Loki, the god of mischief, crashed a dinner party in Valhalla. The number of gods in attendance originally was 12, but with Loki there, attendance went up to 13. During this dinner party, Loki tricked one of the gods into shooting and killing his brother. Thus creating the fear of 13, especially the fear of 13 dinner guests at a party. 

This fear then spread throughout Europe and became well-established along the Mediterranean by the start of the Christian era. Christians were scared of the number because the 13th guest to arrive at the Last Supper was Judas, the traitor. Judas being the 13th guest led to Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday. 

But, even before that, the Bible was full of frightful Fridays. Friday is said to be the day that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge; it’s also the day Cain murdered his brother, Abel; the day the Temple of Solomon was toppled; and the day Noah’s ark set sail in the Great Flood.

It’s a Bad Day for Some 

While we are unsure where the true superstition stemmed from, people are still terrified. In fact, the founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute Donald Dassey has said that so many people are afraid to work or travel on the date it costs the world economy as much as $900 million. Between 17 and 21 million Americans are scared of Friday the 13th. 

Here are just some events that have happened on Friday the 13th. 

On Friday, October 13, 1307, more than 600 warriors in the Knights Templar were arrested on orders from King Philip. 

On Friday, October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 carrying an amateur rugby team crashed in the Andes Mountains. Of the 45 people aboard the plane, only 16 survived the ordeal. The wreckage was not located for more than two months and this incident is very well known because survivors had to resort to cannibalism. 

On that same Friday the 13th, a passenger plane crashed in a forest near Moscow. All 164 passengers and 10 crew members died in the crash. 

Although he was shot days before, Tupac Shakur died from his injuries on Friday, September 13, 1996. 

On Friday, August 13, 2010, a 13-year-old boy in Suffolk, England, was struck by lightning. The lightning reportedly hit at 1:13 p.m., or 13:13 in military time. The boy survived unharmed. 

On Friday, January 13, 2012, the cruise ship Costa Concordia partially sank off the Italian coast. 32 people died during this event. 

On Friday, March 13, 2020, a national emergency was declared and this is considered the first official day of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course the day the world shut down was Friday the 13th. 

Inspiring Creation 

Some of the first references to Friday the 13th come from early French writing and plays. A character in the 1834 play Les Finesses de Gribouille says "I was born on a Friday, December 13th, 1813 from which come all of my misfortunes." 

Marquis de Salvo wrote about Friday the 13th in the French literary magazine Revue de Paris. He wrote about a father who killed his daughter on Friday the 13th, and said “It is always Fridays and the number thirteen that bring back luck.”

In 1868, British journalist H.S. Edwards referenced the superstition in his biography of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. He wrote that Rossini thought Fridays were unlucky and 13 was an unlucky number. Rossini died on Friday the 13th. 

The 1907 novel Friday, the Thirteenth by T.W. Lawson certainly contributed to popularizing this superstition in the United States. The book tells the story of a New York City stockbroker who plays on superstitions about the date to create chaos on Wall Street and make a killing on the market. 

The most well-known reference to Friday the 13th is the Friday the 13th franchise. The first Friday the 13th film came out in 1980. The franchise includes 12 slasher films, a television series, novels, comic books, video games, and merchandise. If you’re not aware of the plot of the franchise, it mainly focuses on the hockey mask-wearing killer named Jason Voorhees who was thought to have drowned as a boy at Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of the camp staff. Decades later, the lake is rumored to be cursed and lots of mass murder happens. 

Fear for 13 Impacting Infrastructure 

In many places where 13 is believed to be unlucky, buildings do not have a 13th floor. Elevators skip the 13th floor and go right to the 14th. Just like the superstition, many people don’t know where this originates from. It could be because the owner of the building was scared of the number 13 or because the owner thought tenants or customers would be scared of the number 13 and not want to spend money on the 13th floor. 

Whatever the reasoning, the fear of the 13th floor has impacted infrastructure. The first skyscraper was constructed in Chicago in 1885 as the regional headquarters for an insurance company and it didn’t have a 13th floor. 

The Otis Elevator Company reported that 80 to 90% of the elevators installed in skyscrapers and large hotels don’t have a 13th-floor button. There is a 13th floor obviously it comes after the 12th floor, but more often than not it will just be labeled 14. The lack of a labeled 13th floor is especially common in elevators in residential buildings. People are not interested in living on a haunted, unlucky floor. 

Vancouver city planners have banned the practice of skipping the 13th floor because it could lead to mistakes by first responders, you know…by going to the wrong floor. 

Trying to Turn The Tables 

Captain William Fowler sought to remove the stigma surrounding the number 13 because it was his lucky number. He was in 13 secret and social organizations and the 13th member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. 

When he was younger, he attended Manhattan’s Public School No. 13 and graduated at 13. When he was employed as a builder, he built 13 structures in New York. On April 13, 1861, he went to Washington as the head of 100 Union volunteers and fought in 13 battles during the Civil War. 

He resigned on August 13, 1863, and exactly one month later on September 13th, 1863 he bought a popular watering hole in Six Avenue at 28th Street called the Knickerbocker Cottage. He sold the cottage on Friday, April 13, 1883. 

It took Captain Fowler over a year to gather twelve men brave enough to participate in his Thirteen Supper Club. All 13 members met at 8:13 p.m. on Friday, January 13, 1882, in room 13 of his Knickerbocker Cottage. 

To reach their meal guests passed beneath a ladder and under a banner that read “Morituri te Salutamus,” or “Those of us who are about to die salute you.” 

13 candles were lit and 13 courses of big platters of lobster salad molded into a coffin shape were served. Salt cellars lay toppled about the table, but tossing a pinch of spilled salt over the shoulder was strictly forbidden.

This may seem like some silly little supper club, but the Thirteen Club received endorsements from powerful men including presidents. Past presidents including Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, and Theodore Roosevelt were all members at some point. 

Captain Fowler isn’t the only one who saw the good side of number 13. There is plenty of evidence that both Friday and the number 13 have been regarded as a harbinger of good fortune. 

Friday is derived from Old English and means “day of Frigg.” Freya, also known as Frigg or Frigga, is a powerful sky goddess in Norse mythology and is associated with love, fertility, marriage, and motherhood. She protected homes and families, maintained social order, and predicted the future. 

Because of Freya’s reputation, Friday was considered a lucky day for marriage. 

Meanwhile, the number 13 was considered a lucky number for its link to the number of lunar and menstrual cycles that occur in a calendar year. Fertility was prized in pagan times, and artwork would often draw connections to menstruation, fertility, and the phases of the moon which all have to do with the number 13. 

However, as Christianity gained momentum in the Middle Ages, paganism was stomped out by the new patriarchal faith. Christian leaders didn’t want people worshipping multiple gods and goddesses. Any goddess who specifically invoked love, fertility, or magic was deemed unholy. 

So, Freya must be the worst of the worst. That must be why all those horrible things happened on Fridays.