Why is Friday the 13th “unlucky”?

That’s right, tomorrow is Friday the 13th, a day associated with bad luck and superstition, and perhaps second only in the haunted states to Halloween.

Often fodder for horror movies (there are a whopping 12 slasher movies in the Friday the 13th franchise), the day is full of creepy happenings and superstitious behavior.

But it’s not just the stuff of Hollywood legend — hotels have often gone to great lengths to get rid of “room 13s,” while many tall buildings don’t have a 13th floor, and some planes don’t have row 13s.

But where does our superstition come from around this specific date, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia? And why are we so afraid of the number 13?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Where does the superstition of Friday the 13th come from?

The fear of Friday the 13th is so widespread that it is even cheaper to travel by plane on that date. But the superstition, which is especially prevalent in Western culture, has existed long before air travel was invented.

Thirteen is perhaps the most maligned number and has countless evil origins. The most infamous appearance of the number 13 comes from the Bible. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, is said to have been the 13th guest at the Last Supper. In Norse mythology, a dinner party of the gods was ruined by the 13th guest named Loki, who caused the world to plunge into darkness.

Friday doesn’t have a good reputation either. Good Friday was the day of the crucifixion of Jesus and in the UK Friday was once known as Hangman’s Day as it was usually when people sentenced to death were hanged.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century, he says “and on a Friday all this misfortune fell”.

So why Friday the 13th?

According to folklorists, the combination of Friday and the number 13 as a day of particularly bad luck seems to be a relatively recent tradition – perhaps only some 100 years old.

A possible origin of the superstition can be traced to the publication of Thomas W. Lawson’s novel Friday, The Thirteenth in 1907, in which a broker takes advantage of the superstition to spread panic on Wall Street.

One of the most popular myths that attempt to explain the origin of the Friday 13 superstition stems from events on Friday, October 13, 1307, when hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested and burned across France.

Many have associated the Knights Templar with the Holy Grail, and their brutal demise has often been featured in 20th century literature such as Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

The Eccentric Club, one of London’s oldest gentlemen’s clubs, has been hosting special Friday the 13th dinners since the 18th century, where 13 people can sit at a dining table surrounded by “unfortunate” objects.

Is there any evidence it’s bad luck?

In 1993, a study by the British Medical Journal claimed there was a “significant” increase in incidents on Friday the 13th, but the study’s author later confessed that it was “a bit of fun” as traditional in the Christmas edition.

However, there is anecdotal evidence that unfortunate things will happen on Friday the 13th. In 1976, New Yorker Daz Baxter was apparently so afraid of Friday the 13th that he decided his bed was the safest place to stay.

Mr. Baxter was killed that day when the floor of his apartment building collapsed.

Closer to home, in 2009, the £13.5 million SAW ride at Thorpe Park premiered on Friday the 13thonly to be shut down due to a computer programming error.

In 2010, lightning struck a 13-year-old boy from Suffolk on Friday the 13th at 1:13 pm.

How often does Friday the 13th occur?

At least once a year and a maximum of three times a year. There was only one Friday the 13th in 2022.

In 2023, the date will occur twice: in January and October.

Spooky things. But for most Britons, Friday the 13th will just be another day.

Or will it..?