For the quixotic, there is no single day of the year more terrifying than Friday the 13th. As the popular superstition goes, bad luck is sure to befall a person on this day. Sometimes, in more extreme cases, it even ends in the death of that person or a loved one. According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, up to 21 million people in the United States today suffer from a morbid and irrational fear of Friday the 13th. What's more, each year contains at least one Friday the 13th, and for paraskevidekatriaphobics (people intensely afraid of Friday the 13th), 2009 was an especially dreadful year, sporting three: one in February, March, and November.
The Friday the 13th superstition is thought to have originated from the Knights Templar, a military order established in 1118 to defend the Christian city of Jerusalem. After the First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem from the Muslims, protection of Jerusalem and the outlying Kingdom of Outremer was left to the knights. When the city was recaptured by Saladin's Muslim forces in 1187 and all subsequent attempts by Christian Crusades to retake the city failed, the Knights Templar found themselves out of work. However, they had become extremely wealthy and powerful from their military conquests, and they never disbanded their organization or changed the clandestine ways their meetings were held. Their power and secrecy attracted the attention and distrust of King Philip IV of France. On Friday, October 13, 1307, the king sent out an order to arrest all the Knights Templar in France, accusing them of blasphemy and witchcraft. Many were burned alive, including the group's Grand Master, Jacques de Molay.
"On Friday the 13th of October 1307, the Templar Knights who were in France at the time found the soldiers of the king knocking on their doors," said Alan Butler, co-author of The Warriors and the Bankers, a book about the Templars. "Jacque de Molay confessed pretty much right away, but he was almost certainly tortured."
It may be surprising to most people that the Friday the 13th superstition is a relatively new one, originating in the early 20th century. Before its relatively recent rise in popularity, the original 13 superstition, now all but forgotten, was that if 13 people sit together at a table, one will die within a year. This version has been documented as far back as late 17th century Europe in the memoirs of John Wilmot, the earl of Rochester. Many variations on this superstition abound, including that if the 13 sit together, the first to rise from the table will die, the group can avert death by joining hands and rising as one, and if someone sneezes, the oldest or youngest will die within a year.
The reason the 13 at a table superstition gradually lost popularity is that unlike most superstitions, it is testable. If someone does not die during the year, the superstition can quickly be proven false. The 13 at a table superstition is generally thought to have originated from the Last Supper, where Jesus and his 12 disciples sat down for one last Passover meal, and Judas, one of the 13, betrayed Jesus to his death.
"At the time, everyone knew the origin of the superstition, and it was the 12 plus one of Christ and the disciples at the Last Supper," said Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, author of 13: The Story of the World's Most Notorious Superstition. "It's only in the centuries since that there's been confusion and alternative theories that have come up."
Before even this superstition however, ancient cultures considered the number 13 by itself to be unlucky. Evidence has been found that 13 was unlucky for Native Americans, Mayans, Ancient Egyptians, and even Neanderthals. Today, we carry on this tradition by omitting the 13th floor from most skyscrapers and the 13th row from many airplanes. Friday has also long been considered an unlucky day, with Jesus' crucifixion and death taking place on Good Friday. In the past, many public executions were only carried out on Fridays, making the day seem drearier and more dreadful. Separately, both 13 and Friday seem to constitute extreme unluckiness, so it was only a matter of time until they were put together to form the most powerful superstition of our age.
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