Friday the 13th Myths
Friday the 13th… It inspires fear in the superstitious. Long considered a harbinger of ill luck, Friday the 13th inspired a 19th-century secret society, novels, horror films and is the cause for friggatriskaidekaphobia.
But where did this fear come from? And why is 13 so unlucky?
Exactly how the date became associated with ill fortune is murky. Certainly by the time the slasher flicks of the ’80s came around it was already cemented in the cultural consciousness.
In many Western cultures, the number 12 is a sign of completeness. For example, we celebrate 12 days of Christmas, 12 months in the year, 12 zodiac signs, and 12 gods of Olympus just to name a few. It would stand to reason that its successor would bring ill-fortune.
The ancient Code of Hammurabi reportedly omitted a 13th law from its list of rules. While some believe this was a clerical error, others point to this as long-standing proof of negative association.
According to the Bible, 13 people attended the Last Supper – Jesus and his 12 apostles. The next day, Jesus was crucified. The seating arrangement is believed to give rise to the Christian supertation that having 13 guests at a table was to court death.
Biblical tradition also state that Jesus was crucified on a Friday as well as the day Eve gave Adman the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and when Cain committed the first murder.
In recent times, Friday the 13th has become a staple in pop-culture. In 1907, the novel, Friday, the Thirteenth was written by Thomas William Lawson. It told the story of a stockbroker who plays on superstition to create chaos in the stockmarket.
In the 1980s, the cult classic Friday the 13th featuring the hockey mask killer Jason was born. The movie spawned numerous sequels, novellas, videogames, and merchandise.
There is a lot of superstition surrounding the day, but is there any validity to the day’s unluckiness?
On Friday, October 13, 1307, hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested and imprisoned on charges of various illegal behaviors. It was found later King Philip IV of France wanted access to their financial resources. He had the knights executed.
In more recent times, the Buckingham Palace was bombed (September 13, 1940); the Murder with 40 Witnesses: Kitty Genovese occurred (March 13, 1964); a cyclone killed more than 300 thousand people in Bangladesh (November 13, 1970); the death of Tupac Shakur (September 13, 1996); and the crash of a cruise ship off the coast of Italy which killed 30 people (January 13, 2012).
While these events are all tragic, there is no evidence that events happen on these days more than any other.
Sources:
History.com Editors. (2017, October 10). Friday the 13th. History.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/friday-the-13th?fbclid=IwAR0_JR6alzijT8LUv8KykRmQlnU4mOONrAwLVC0Z1z0fSTSbVgT7zbmvErY
Pappas, S. (2017, October 13). Origins of Friday the 13th: How the day got so Spooky. LiveScience. Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://www.livescience.com/49806-origins-of-friday-the-13th.html?fbclid=IwAR2M0O5kb-_eWPXYMiLuZjrfoRnIFzlMJsnIWwkD1rxJGiuAqFIrA9DDA4s
Taneja, R. (2018, April 13). Why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky? A look at some common superstitions. NDTV.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-friday-the-13th-is-considered-unlucky-a-look-at-some-common-superstitions-1837163
