Friday the 13th- a long, haunting history of mystery

Friday the 13th is great - it's the perfect excuse to blame my misfortunes on something other than myself. Car accident or bad test grade? Blame it on Friday the 13th. Wet your pants, blame it on the "Devil's Dozen." However, if you're going to blame such incidents on superstition, then it's important to know how Friday the 13th originated.

There is actually a word for the fear of Friday the 13th - paraskevidekatriaphobia (try and use that term casually at a frat party!). It arises from a fear of the number 13 and of Fridays. Although there are others, the most prominent theory of origin is rooted in Christian theology.

In Leonardo da Vinci's renaissance masterpiece "The Last Supper," there are 13 guests. Historians believe Jesus to have been the 13th guest at the feast, just before his Crucifixion. If one were to start counting around the table with Judas, the betrayer, then Jesus would be the 13th guest. If the count began at Jesus, then Judas was number 13.

Some people believe there was a 13th tribe of Israel, although the Bible proclaims only 12. Members of this tribe, viewed as "witches," sought to destroy followers of God.

In Wiccan and Pagan covens, 13 members cast the circle and there are 13 lunar months in the pagan calendar. Since the number 13 was sacred to most Pagan traditions, it's not surprising that the number was considered evil in early Christianity.

Reportedly many unlucky events have happened on Fridays. For instance, Biblical events like the Crucifixion, Abel's murder and the Great Flood all are rumored to have occurred on Friday's. Until recently, Friday was the sixth day of the week. The Biblical association of the number six rests in the mark of the beast that is 666.

Another source of the superstition rests in Norse culture. In ancient Norse mythology, their hero Balder was killed at a banquet by the god Loki. Before he died, the party total was brought to 13, hence the malevolent aura which surrounds the number.

The legend is associated with capital punishment. In the British tradition, 13 steps led up to the noose and Friday was the conventional day for public hangings.

Another eerie story surrounds the day Friday. Sailors were especially superstitious of the day and often refused to ship out on Fridays. Legend says that in the 1800s a British ship called HMS Friday was commissioned to prove the superstition a fallacy.

The crew was selected on a Friday, the captain was named James Friday and the ship set sail on a Friday. The ship disappeared forever. As fishermen say, "A Friday's sail, always fail."

In more recent history, new superstitions about the number 13 have evolved. Notable serial killers have 13 letter names. Jack the Ripper - 13 letters, John Wayne Gacy - 13 letters. Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Theodore (Ted) Bundy each have 13 letters.

Many American buildings have floors that skip from 12 to 14. State lotteries of France and Italy never sell tickets with the number 13 on them. American school multiplication tables stop at 12 times 12, even though there is no reason to do so, except for the ancient superstition.

Is all this just a superstition, or is there some truth to the mystery?

A 1993 British Medical Journal found that even though fewer people chose to drive on Friday the 13th than on other Fridays, the number of hospital admissions was significantly higher on Friday the 13th.

If you don't subscribe to the ancient Friday the 13th superstition, then you'll probably take little notice of the day that comes around once a year.

However, if you do believe in magic, then be careful! Don't walk under a ladder, move into a new home, take a trip or flip your mattress. To be on the safe side you may even want to find a four-leaf clover or a rabbit's foot. via