No matter how superstitious you may be, you know about Friday 13th. The infamously unlucky day has been the subject of films, songs, novels and passed-down horror stories for generations. But… why? Why is Friday 13th bad luck, anyway?
Why is Friday 13th unlucky?
As it turns out, the superstitious myth about Friday the 13th all stems back to Christianity. Yes, it’s literally Biblical. It’s as simple as this: Jesus was killed on a Friday because he was betrayed by Judas — aka, the 13th guest at the Last Supper.
Is there any truth to the Friday the 13th superstition?
While many people may casually notice when Friday the 13th rolls around, others genuinely believe that the day will bring them bad luck. Could there… actually be some truth to the myth?
Scientifically speaking, no, there is no proof that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. However, some studies have indicated that there might just be a correlation between the day and bad luck. For instance, a 1993 study of road accidents in the UK found that even though far fewer people chose to drive on Friday the 13th, there were actually more transport accidents. Spooky. Others later noted that this study may have been just a tad flawed as it only looked at one town. Further more, another 2011 study from Germany found that there was no notable link between Friday the 13th and an increase in accidents.
Some have hypothesised that Friday the 13th may not be “unlucky” and that we actually behave different because of our superstitions.
What is friggatriskaidekaphobia?
Did you know that there is an actual word for the fear of Friday the 13th? Yes, it’s a thing. If you find yourself dreading Friday the 13th and fixating on all of the horrible things that might happen when it rolls around, you might have friggatriskaidekaphobia.
A history of Friday the 13th
Do bad things really happen on Friday the 13th? Well, kind of. A quick perusal through the history books indicates that sometimes, they do.
On Friday, October 13, 1307, French officers arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar, a 12th century military group created for the defence of the Holy Land. Many of them were later executed. On Friday September 13th, 1940, Buckingham Palace was bombed by German planes. On Friday March 13th, 1964, Kitty Genovese, a New York woman, was raped and killed. On Friday November 13th, 1970, a cyclone in Bangladesh killed over 300,000 people. Friday October 13th, 1972 marked the disappearance of a plane in the Andes in a disaster that was immortalised in last year’s Society of the Snow. In 1996, Tupac Shakur died on a Friday the 13th. And finally, in 2012, a cruise ship crashed near Italy killing 30 people, also on a Friday the 13th.
Of course, look at any other day and number combination and you’re bound to find plenty of disasters and tragedies throughout history.
