Firday the 13th. Supersitious or Reality

Paraskavedekatriaphobia, also known as fear of Friday the 13th is very common throughout the world. Is this phobia based in fact, or is it just a silly superstition?

The number 13 is significant whether you consider it to be unlucky or not. Many believe it to be unfortunate because...

• There were 13 present at the Last Supper.
• Loki crashed a party of 12 at Valhalla, which ended in Baldur’s death.
• Oinomaos killed 13 of Hippodamia’s suitors before Pelops finally, in his own shady way, defeated the jealous king.
• In ancient Rome, Hecate’s witches gathered in groups of 12, the Goddess herself being the 13th in the coven.
• Line 13 was even omitted from the Code of Hammurabi.
• Christ was allegedly crucified on Friday the 13th.
• On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and sixty of his senior knights.
• In British custom, hangings were held on Fridays, and there were 13 steps on the gallows leading to the noose.

A recent whimsical little serial killer study showed that the following murderers all have names that total thirteen letters:

• Theodore Bundy
• Jeffrey Dahmer
• Albert De Salvo
• John Wayne Gacy

With a little stretch of the imagination, you can also fit ‘Jack the Ripper’ and ‘Charles Manson’ into that equation.

The following are things that modern Paraskavedekatriaphobes point to in order to justifying their fears.

• Modern schoolchildren stop their memorization of the multiplication tables at 12.
• There were 13 Plutonium slugs in the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki.
• Apollo 13 wasn’t exactly the most successful space mission.

So, what do you think? Is the number thirteen evil or is Paraskavedekatriaphobia complete hoakum?

Courtesy of Dr Fong Research