FRIDAY 13th is well-known as the spookiest date there is, and always throws off the superstitious among us.
But what’s the origin of the day’s eerie reputation – and is there any truth to the idea that it’s especially unlucky.
Fabulous takes a look at the origins of the day's sinister reputation, and explores some of the most mysterious goings on from years past.
WHERE DOES THE MYTH COME FROM?
Thirteen is seen in many cultures as a particularly unlucky number.
Many believe that this is down to its Christian connotations: there were 13 guests that attended the Last Supper the day before Jesus’s crucifixion, and so the number became considered a bad omen.
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Even today, many people still consider it as tempting fate to have thirteen guests at the dinner table.
Friday is also known as the unluckiest of days – in Britain, it used to be known as Hangman’s Day because it was when people given the death penalty would be hanged.
The conjunction between the two seems to have come about more recently, and can possibly be linked to the publication of Thomas W Lawson’s novel F'riday the Thirteenth' in 1907, in which a broker choses the day to create a Wall Street panic.
Since then, its significance has ballooned in culture, with films, books and TV programmes playing on the spooky date.
There’s even a special word for a fear of Friday the 13th: Paraskevidekatriaphobia.
SPOOKY OCCURRENCES
According to Reader’s Digest, some truly spooky goings on have occurred on the date.
On Friday 13th 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into the Andes mountains.
Twelve people died on impact, with the survivors having to resort to cannibalism before they were eventually rescued.
On the very same date in Russia, 174 people were killed when an airliner crashed on landing near Moscow.
On Friday 13th October 2006, meanwhile, nearly half a million people lost power in New York when the suburbs were surrounded by 24 inches of snow.
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Two feet of snow in October is certainly a rather unlucky and unexpected incident, only increasing the mystery surrounding the date.
On Friday 13th August 2010, a 13-year-old boy in Suffolk, England was struck by lightning.
Even more kooky, the lightning reportedly hit at 1:13pm, or 13:13pm as it would usually be written – although the boy survived unharmed.
It’s also the date that the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank off the Italian coast, killing 32 people.
FRIDAY 13THS OF THE FUTURE
Whether the mystery is true or not, Friday 13th always is a rather unfortunate day.
According to one financial expert, the world economy apparently loses around $900m every time the date comes around, because people are afraid to work and travel.
And what’s more, there’s already forebodings about Friday 13ths to come.
Science boffins reckon that on Friday 13th April 2029, the Asteroid 99942 Apophis will come close to crashing into the Earth.
Here’s hoping that this one passes by rather less eventfully!
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