Friday the 13th: Unraveling the Myth of the Unluckiest Day
- Karen Scheepers
- Jun 12
- 8 min read
Friday the 13th has earned a reputation as a day of dread, even earning the title of “the most feared date in history” by some experts en.wikipedia.org. From horror movie villains to everyday folks changing their plans, this date carries an eerie aura. But how did an ordinary day on the calendar become synonymous with bad luck? In this lighthearted dive, we explore the history behind the Friday the 13th superstition, how different cultures view the number 13, some modern pop-culture fun, and other classic bad-luck omens that give us the heebie-jeebies.
The Unlucky Origins of Friday the 13th
A Norse Myth and a Biblical Tale: One origin story traces back to Norse mythology. In a famous tale, 12 gods were enjoying a dinner party in Valhalla when Loki, the trickster god, crashed the gathering as the 13th guest. Chaos ensued and the beloved god Balder was killed during the scuffle, casting a dark shadow over the number 13 livescience.com. This idea of “13 at the table” being unlucky later spread to Christian lore: at the Last Supper, Jesus dined with his 12 apostles, and it was the 13th guest, Judas, the betrayer, who set tragedy in motion. Ever since, thirteen at a table or in a group has been viewed by many as a bad omen, essentially “courting death” history.com.
Why Friday? The day Friday itself has some gloomy traditions in Western culture. For Christians, Good Friday was the day of Jesus’s crucifixion, not exactly a cheerful anniversary. Some legends even claim other biblical disasters happened on Fridays (from Eve handing Adam that fateful apple to Cain committing the first murder) history.com. Whether or not those claims hold water, Fridays developed a bit of a “bad luck” reputation in folklore (sailors, for example, long considered it unlucky to begin voyages on a Friday). When you pair an inauspicious day like Friday with an unlucky number like 13, you get a double-whammy of superstition!
The Knights Templar Connection: One popular (though murky) theory for the Friday–13th superstition’s origin involves the Knights Templar. On Friday, October 13, 1307, the French king ordered a mass arrest of the Knights Templar, a wealthy medieval military order. Many Templars were imprisoned or executed, and the date gained infamy history.com. Some storytellers later linked this event to the notion that Friday the 13th = disaster, but historians note that this connection didn’t actually become part of superstition lore until much later. In fact, there’s no record of Friday the 13th being singled out as especially unlucky before the 1800s en.wikipedia.org, it seems the fear really caught on in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
Unlucky (and Lucky) 13 Around the World
Superstition is a global phenomenon, but not everyone shares the Friday the 13th jitters. Different cultures attach bad luck to different numbers and days:
Tuesday the 13th? In many Spanish-speaking countries, as well as in Greece, the unlucky day isn’t Friday but Tuesday the 13th (Martes 13 in Spanish) en.wikipedia.org. Tuesday is tied to Mars (the god of war), and indeed in Greek history some awful events, like the fall of Constantinople, happened on a Tuesday, cementing its ill omen. A common proverb even warns, “On Tuesdays, don’t get married or embark on a journey.”
Friday the 17th in Italy: In Italy, the number 13 is usually considered lucky, it’s 17 that gives people the creeps! en.wikipedia.org Why 17? When written as the Roman numeral XVII, it can be rearranged to spell “VIXI,” which in Latin means “I have lived” , implying one’s life is over. Thus, venerdì 17 (Friday the 17th) is viewed as a bad luck day in Italian culture. Ironically, Friday the 13th is not a big deal there, and some Italians even embrace 13 as a good-luck number.
Other Cultures: In many East Asian countries, the number 13 isn’t feared much at all, instead it’s the number 4 that’s avoided (because the word for “four” sounds like the word for “death” in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean). Many tall buildings in China skip the 4th floor the way Western hotels skip the 13th en.wikipedia.org. And funnily enough, in some traditions 13 can be lucky: for example, a baker’s dozen (13) was considered a generous bonus loaf, and in Wiccan practice a full coven is ideally 13 members strong. All this goes to show that “unlucky 13” is far from a universal truth, it really depends on which folklore you follow.
Modern Myth-Making and Pop Culture
Friday the 13th may have spooky roots, but today it’s also a pop culture star. The superstition exploded into the modern mainstream in the 1900s, evolving from whispers to world-famous meme. Here are a few ways this unlucky day has left its mark on modern culture:
Scary Stories and Silver Screen: An early milestone was the 1907 novel Friday, the Thirteenth, in which author Thomas Lawson crafted a tale of a stockbroker who uses the date’s ominous reputation to spark chaos on Wall Street history.com. But the superstition truly slashed its way into pop culture with the 1980 horror film Friday the 13th, introducing us to the hockey-masked villain Jason Voorhees. The low-budget slasher became a blockbuster hit and spawned numerous sequels, turning Friday the 13th into a household name synonymous with spooky fun. Now, every time the calendar aligns, you can expect movie marathons and tongue-in-cheek references to Camp Crystal Lake.
Social Media and Memes: In the age of the internet, Friday the 13th has become a trending topic for jokes and memes. You’ll see people tweeting things like “I’m not superstitious, but I’m staying in bed today , just in case!” or sharing GIFs of black cats and Jason’s mask. It’s practically a mini-holiday for horror fans and meme-lovers alike. Far from cowering in fear, many folks now lean into the day’s mystique to have a little fun. (There’s even a tradition of $13 tattoo specials at some tattoo parlors on Friday the 13th, catering to those who want a lucky ink on an unlucky day.)
Fear and Business Myths: Of course, some people do take the fear seriously. There’s actually a clinical name for extreme fear of Friday the 13th: paraskevidekatriaphobia (try saying that three times fast!). In fact, there are two equally tongue-twisting terms for this phobia history.com. It’s been estimated that 17–21 million Americans are affected by Friday-the-13th anxiety, with some so paralyzed by fear they avoid travel, work, or even getting out of bed. Urban legend claims this costs businesses up to nearly a billion dollars in lost activity each Friday the 13th en.wikipedia.org, though airlines have noted no significant dip in passengers on these Fridays. So, while the “Friday 13 effect” may be exaggerated, it’s true that this age-old superstition still gives plenty of people pause.
Other Bad-Luck Superstitions and Their Origins
A black cat calmly stares from the corner of a cozy room, depending on where you are in the world, you might either grin or cringe at this sight. Humans have a long history of assigning luck (good or bad) to random things. We’ve already seen how one spooky date on the calendar can cause a stir, but it’s far from the only superstition in town. Here are a few other common bad-luck omens and the surprisingly rich origins behind them.
Black Cats: In much of Europe and America, a black cat crossing your path is thought to herald bad luck. This age-old notion dates back to medieval times when black cats became linked to witchcraft and the devil. In 1233 AD, Pope Gregory IX issued a papal decree (Vox in Rama) that denounced black cats as incarnations of Satan, spurring witch hunts across Europe history.com. Folklore evolved such that people believed a black cat might be a witch’s familiar or even a witch in disguise. If one crossed your path, it could be on a dark mission, possibly the devil himself paying you a visit. No wonder folks were wary! (Ironically, in other parts of the world black cats are seen as good luck, the ancient Egyptians revered them, and even in Britain a black cat can be considered a lucky charm for brides or sailors.)
Broken Mirrors: “Seven years’ bad luck” follows if you break a mirror, or so the superstition says. This belief was born with the ancient Romans, who were among the first to use glass mirrors. The Romans believed that people’s health and fortunes renewed every seven years, so if you shattered a mirror (and with it, presumably, your reflection/essence), you were in for seven tough years until luck rebuilt itself livescience.com. Another explanation is the idea that a mirror doesn’t just reflect your face, it reflects your soul. To break a mirror was to harm the soul, leaving it in pieces and unable to protect you from misfortune people.howstuffworks.com. Either way, our ancestors clearly took mirrors seriously! (On the bright side, superstition offers escape clauses: e.g. carefully burying the broken pieces or throwing salt over your shoulder to nullify the curse.)
Walking Under Ladders: Most of us walk around an open ladder instinctively, partly for safety, but partly thanks to this classic superstition. It originates about 5,000 years ago in ancient Egypt: a ladder leaning against a wall forms a triangular shape, and to the Egyptians the triangle was sacred (representing the trio of gods, much like the pyramid shape) livescience.com. Walking through that triangle was seen as violating its sanctity and courting bad luck. Centuries later, Christians added their own twist: a ladder had rested against the Cross during Jesus’s crucifixion, so the ladder came to symbolize betrayal and death, passing beneath it was like inviting wickedness or fate’s fury upon yourself. In old England, people even forced condemned prisoners to walk under a ladder on their way to the gallows, driving home the omen. Today, we mostly avoid walking under ladders to prevent a bucket of paint (or a clumsy painter) from falling on our heads, but hey, a little extra superstition doesn’t hurt!
Spilled Salt: Ever notice someone toss a pinch of salt over their shoulder after knocking over the salt shaker? This quirky response comes from a very old belief that spilling salt is bad luck. Salt has been prized by humans for millennia (the word “salary” even derives from the Latin for salt, reflecting its value). So in ancient times, wasting salt was frowned upon and people thought it might invite evil spirits or misfortune. Records show that around 3,500 B.C., the Sumerians would counteract bad luck from spilled salt by tossing a pinch over their left shoulder livescience.com. Why the left shoulder? That’s where those sneaky evil spirits are said to lurk, a pinch of salt in the eye drives them away (and “blinds the devil”). This practice spread through the Egyptians, Romans, and beyond, persisting into the superstition we still casually perform at dinner tables today.
Superstitions and Smiles
Superstitions like Friday the 13th and its quirky cousins (beware that cat! mind the mirror shards!) have endured not because they’re based in fact, spoiler: they aren’t, but because they add a dash of mystery and fun to our lives. There’s something oddly comforting about sharing the same little irrational fears and rituals as our ancestors. Whether we genuinely shiver at the thought of an unlucky day or just play along for laughs, these myths bind us through culture and time.
In the end, Friday the 13th is what we make of it. It can be a day of paranoia, sure… or an excuse to throw a costume party and binge-watch horror flicks. So the next time the 13th falls on a Friday, you might double-check your ladder footing and handle that mirror with care, or you might just chuckle, “Ha, it’s Friday the 13th!” and carry on as usual. After all, as any rational black cat would tell you, it’s all in good fun and a little luck never hurt anyone. Stay lucky, and watch out for those ladder triangles!
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