13 is Out There

Posted on | August 13, 2010 | 2 Comments

Maybe you’ve heard, but the economy, it’s not so great these days and it’s about to get even worse. No, I’m not some sort of economic savant (numbers and me don’t get along so well); I’m just a trivia fiend, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say that today is one of those days that will end up costing the U.S. close to a billion dollars, due to absenteeism, travel cancellations, reduced retail therapy and even a few “sick” days.

It’s Friday the 13th and, for some people, that scares the bejesus out of them. If you got out of bed this morning, then you’re already doing better than those people who suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia or even plain old triskaidekaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th or simply the fear of 13.

Maybe it’s because I’m one of the lucky ones, but I never saw much sense in being afraid of 13. It’s just a number, after all. One more than 12, one less than 14. I survived my 13th year of life just fine and nothing bad has ever happened to me on a 13th day. (Of course, what do I know? I may not be afraid of 13, but I’m terrified of clowns, needles and Republicans.) There are, however, people who literally will not leave their homes on the 13th day of the month, especially if it happens to fall on a Friday. So I decided to do a little research and figure out just what it is about 13 that freaks people out.

The superstition of Friday the 13th didn’t really exist before the 19th century and it is mostly thought to be a combination of two other superstitions: fear of 13 and fear of Friday. Both the number 13 and Friday were considered unlucky things and, when combined, created a day that is doubly unlucky.

There isn’t a lot of evidence to illuminate why Fridays, of all the days of the week, are supposedly more unlucky than other days, but that hasn’t stopped people from being superstitious. Travelers are warned not to start their journey on a Friday nor should sailors begin a voyage on a Friday. Christian Scripture suggests that Jesus was crucified on a Friday (hence, “Good” Friday) and, perhaps merely by coincidence, a number of national disasters have occurred on Fridays (Black Friday, anyone?).

The fear of 13 is more completely documented and may actually make more sense. In numerology, the number 12 represents completeness or wholeness, as indicated by the prevalence of 12 in society: months in a year, signs of the Zodiac, hours on a clock, Apostles of Jesus, Gods of Olympus, and many more. As a result, 13 is considered irregular, an aberration and therefore something to fear.

And, like all good superstitions, there are myths to back it up. In Norse mythology, there is a story that says Odin, a god, invited 11 friends to a party when Loki, the god of evil and turmoil, showed up, bringing the number to 13. Given Loki’s nature, the party did not go well. Meanwhile, in Christianity, there were 13 people at the Last Supper and one of those 13 diners (Judas) betrayed another, which led to his death (Jesus). In fact, Christianity was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the fear of 13. For many pagans, 13 is actually a lucky number (since there are 13 lunar cycles in a year); when Christian leaders set out to eradicate paganism, they portrayed pagan customs, including the popularity of the number 13, as evil and unlucky.

Fear of 13 is so widespread that many people find reasons to be scared when there actually are none. If you’re especially superstitious and find yourself in Paris for dinner, you can hire a quartorzieme, or a professional 14th guest so your party won’t be uneven (presumably, you could also kick someone out, but that just seems mean). Ever wonder why a “baker’s dozen” includes 13 bagels? It’s a dozen, plus one extra to offer the devil so he won’t spoil the other 12.

Unfortunately, fear of Friday and fear of 13 is kind of hard to escape. For starters, Fridays come around every seven days and, in most of the world, are working days. As for 13, well, it is all around us: cards in a suit, original U.S. colonies (and number of stripes on the U.S. flag), players on a rugby team, the age of adolescence, etc.

No matter how hard you try, you can’t avoid 13. If you don’t believe me, open your wallet, find a dollar bill, and start counting: 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle, 13 arrows in one claw, 13 leaves on the olive branch in the other. Now that’s pretty creepy.

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

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