I got asked this question several times and as today is Friday the 13th I thought I share today the origins of 13th to you.
Friday the 13th: What's the history behind the superstition?
Today is the first of three Fridays this year that will fall on the 13 day of the month, but where does our superstition surrounding Friday the 13, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia, originate from?
Friday 13 in history and fiction
Folklorist claim there is no written evidence for the superstition before the nineteenth century however; the date has long been connected to notorious events in history and religion.
According to Catholic belief the crucifixion of Jesus Christ took place on a Friday the 13, the day after the Last Supper – involving thirteen participants – on Thursday.
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci shows 13 around the table
Geoffrey Chaucer made reference to the apparent unluckiness of the day, recording in his Canterbury Tales that it was bad luck to start a journey or a project on a Friday.
One of the most popularised myths attempting to explain the origin of the Friday 13 superstition stems from events on Friday 13 October 1307, when hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested and burnt across France.
This myth caught the public’s attention after it was used by Dan Brown, among other historical fiction writers, and has been peddled endlessly by conspiracy theorists linking the Knights Templar to everything from Freemasonry to the Holy Grail.
Modern day incarnations
Ironically, the superstition of the event may be linked back to an American club that attempted to rehabilitate the unfortunate date.
The Thirteen Club first met on 13 September 1881 (a Wednesday) and determined to actively flout any and all established ‘superstitions’ they knew about.
With this in mind, the group of 13 would meet on the 13 of each month, sit 13 to a table, break mirrors, spill salt with abandon, and walk under ladders – all while carefully recording how many members died.
Over the years the group grew to roughly 400 members – including a number of US presidents – but the groups notoriety just added to the date’s significance in the public psyche.
Then, in 1907, eccentric stockbroker Thomas Lawson published a book called Friday the Thirteenth. It detailed an evil business’s attempts to crash the stock market on the unluckiest day of the year. The book was a sell-out and in 1916 made into a feature-length film.
Freddy from the famous Friday the Thirteen film
Finally, the myth acquired the first seal of Hollywood in 1980 when Paramount Pictures released Friday the 13. Friday’s would not be the same again, after Jason proceeded to slash his way across a summer camp and US box offices.
The statistics of Friday 13th
There have been various studies released over the years that either prove or disprove the Friday 13 myth.
In 1993 a British Medical Journal study claimed there was a “significant” increase in incidences on a Friday the 13, but the author of the study later confessed it was “a bit of fun” as traditional in the Christmas edition.
Meanwhile, Dutch researchers found you were actually less likely to be injured on Friday 13th. The study hypothesised that people were preventively more careful on the day as a result of the superstition.
Not Friday the 13th but Tuesday the 17th?
Turns out, paraskevidekatriaphobia is mostly an American and English fear.
Italians previously used to be far more concerned about Friday the 17th, although with the Americanisation of the country this has largely shifted to 13th for younger generations.
In Spanish-speaking countries it is Tuesdays, not Fridays, that hold superstitious omens. Their belief is also held by the Greeks, who consider Tuesdays as dominated by the influence of Ares (the God of War).