Paraskevidekatriaphobia, a fear of Friday the 13th

by Amy Judd | March 13, 2009 at 09:56 am

629 views | 65 Recommendations | 13 comments

Today, Friday March 13th, is the second time this year that we have had a Friday the 13th.

Some fear this day more than others, and there is actually a few official names for it: Paraskevidekatriaphobia and Triskaidekaphobia

This is a recognized name for people who believe that this day holds a superstition that this day will bring good or bad luck, but mostly bad luck.

We still have one more Friday the 13th to come this year too, on November 13th. You can only have three in one year and we do in 2009.

"You can't have any [years] with none and you can't have any with four because of our funny calendar," said Underwood Dudley, a professor emeritus of mathematics at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and author of Numerology: Or, What Pythagoras Wrought.

It is actually a coincidence that the 13th day falls more often on Fridays than on any other day of the week.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia comes mostly out of the fact that there are so many associations with the number 13.

The fear is supposedly originally rooted in an ancient Norse myth about 12 gods hosting a dinner party in their heaven dining room when Loki, an uninvited disliked guest walks in. Loki causes mischief when he gets Hoder, the blind god to shoot Balder the Beautiful with an arrow tipped with mistletoe. When Balder died, the earth became dark and everyone mourned, hence it was an unlucky day.

Also in the Bible, Judas who betrayed Jesus was the 13th apostle to be invited to the Last Supper.

In Ancient Rome, people only gathered in groups of 12, never 13.

The number 12 is also so complete as there are 12 months in the year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 apostles of Jesus etc, that to come after such a complete number is unlucky in itself. Jesus was believed to have been crucified on Friday the 13th as well.

Some who suffer so greatly from Paraskevidekatriaphobia won't even do anything on Friday the 13th and it has been estimated that $800 to $900 million is lost in business on this day. Some people are just anxious while others suffer full blown panic attacks.

Some cultures do not even build the 13th floor in to their buildings. There is not usually a 13th gate at airports and hotels do not usually have a 13th room for guests to stay in.
Streets in Florence, Italy do not have number 13 houses; instead they are written as 12 1/2.

Do you have any fears about Friday the 13th?

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Jordan Yerman

at 09:59 on March 13th, 2009

Yeah, most buildings in NYC eschew the 13th floor, so elevators go 11-12-14-15. Of course, the 14th floor is really the 13th floor. This was covered in an old Twilight Zone story whose title escapes me.

Vinny

at 11:28 on March 13th, 2009

Doesn't scare me!

JeffHuang

at 11:41 on March 13th, 2009

Paraskevidekatriaphobia and Triskaidekaphobia are not easy words to pronounce.

Amy Judd

at 11:47 on March 13th, 2009

Well with that mask on Vinny, I imagine it wouldn't!

Barry ORegan

at 17:07 on March 13th, 2009

11 and 13 is also lucky in Russia, if you ever sent a dozen of anything to someone it means Death! or Bad Luck.

Amy Judd

at 10:08 on March 13th, 2009

I totally remember that episode, where something evil was living on the 13th floor that to everyone outside the building just looked like a border that no one was able to get to.

Amy Judd

at 11:47 on March 13th, 2009

Yeah, you're not kidding..

altrugon

at 13:07 on March 13th, 2009

I think this is stupid.

My father was born the 13th and I was born the 12th:

does this means that he is unlucky?
if he is unlucky how is possible I was born the 12th?
why is 12 better than 13?

They are just numbers and covering 13 with things like "14", "12 + 1", "12 1/2" doesn't solve anything, at the end is still the number 13. It is like if you try a hat on you because you think doing that you are going to be smarter.

Whenever I have the opportunity I always choose the number 13th, just because all this ridiculous superstition.

pgaliba

at 13:41 on March 13th, 2009

My son was born on the 13th of July, which was a Friday, and my wife stayed in room 13 in the hospital. Both of them is healthy, and we are living a happy life. I consider 13 a lucky number.