Every calendar year hands us at least one Friday the 13th, sometimes three, and plenty of people quietly dread each one. Hotels skip floor 13, planes see lighter bookings, and horror fans celebrate. So where does all this date-based dread come from?
The most popular origin story points to early Christianity. Thirteen was the headcount at the Last Supper — Jesus plus his twelve apostles — and Judas, the betrayer, was the thirteenth to arrive. Jesus was crucified the following day, a Friday. Put those two together and you get a date with a serious image problem.
Not everyone shares the fear, though. In Spanish and Greek cultures it's Tuesday the 13th that raises eyebrows, while Italians are warier of Friday the 17th. The number 13 itself has long been considered awkward next to the tidy number 12 — twelve months, twelve hours on a clock face, twelve zodiac signs, twelve apostles, twelve gods of Olympus. Thirteen witches, meanwhile, is supposedly the minimum for a proper coven.
The phobias have names, and they're tongue-twisters: triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13, while fear of Friday the 13th goes by paraskevidekatriaphobia (or friggatriskaidekaphobia, depending who you ask). Even Stephen King reportedly counts among the afflicted. For those who want to laugh at their fears, there's an actual Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center near Philadelphia that throws parties built around superstition-breaking — walking under ladders, smashing mirrors, opening umbrellas indoors.
A few quirks worth knowing: a Friday the 13th can only happen in a month that starts on a Sunday. The first notable piece of Friday the 13th fiction was Thomas Lawson's 1907 novel about a Wall Street broker who picks the date to crash the stock market. Celebrity birthdays on the day include the Olsen twins, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Steve Buscemi; Tupac Shakur died on Friday, September 13, 1996, in Las Vegas. Looking ahead, NASA says asteroid 2004 MN4 will make a close — and safely harmless — flyby on Friday, April 13, 2029, visible to the naked eye.
For travellers, the date can actually be a reason to go somewhere. In Port Dover, Ontario, motorcyclists have gathered in the lakeside town every Friday the 13th since 1981, with rallies now drawing thousands of riders from across Canada. And in Las Vegas, the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel leans into the spookiness with zombie, gothic, vampire and Rocky Horror-themed ceremonies on the date. Add the Friday the 13th film franchise — twelve movies, a TV series, comics and that unmistakable Jason Voorhees mask — and the unlucky day has become a pop-culture brand in its own right.
Whether you avoid booking flights on the date or plan your road trip around it, one thing's clear: Friday the 13th is what you make of it.
