By Robert Kittle
You may have joked about it being Friday the 13th, or made the “ch-ch-ch” noise from the movies, but for millions of people fear of Friday the 13th is real enough to make them alter their behavior.
University of South Carolina sociologist Barry Markovsky says, “Fears of the number 13 go way back to Biblical times and even before, and a number of major religions actually have fears and superstitions about the number 13. But the connection to Friday the 13th is a little murky, and some speculate is has to do with a novel that was published in the early 1900s that had that title.”
Another theory is that since Jesus was crucified on a Friday and there were 13 people at the Last Supper, Friday the 13th has been considered unlucky ever since. But Markovsky says, “Other religions that happen to be in countries that have the same superstition also have different interpretations of it.”
In some other countries, there’s no fear of Friday the 13th but there are other dates that have similar superstitions associated with them.
“People believe in superstitions more generally because it gives them a sense of control over uncertainties in the world,” Markovsky says. “If you know that Friday the 13th is unlucky, or you believe it is, you can change your behavior to avoid bad situations.”
Wandy Fernandez of Columbia says, “I’m trying not to think that it’s the 13th, but I do worry about Friday the 13th. I always think that maybe there’s something to it.”
She’s far from alone. Markovsky says, “As a phobia this is a pretty big one. If it’s true what the polls say in that about 10 percent of people actually alter their behavior on the basis of this, that would make it pretty significant, as opposed to arachnophobia (fear of spiders), which maybe affects a percent or two percent in a serious way.”
By altering their behavior, he means people who stay in the house on Friday the 13th or change their travel plans so they won’t be flying on a Friday the 13th. If 10 percent of the population does that, that’s about 32 million people in the U.S. That means the fear has very real economic effects.
Markovsky says while the Costa Concordia cruise ship did run aground on a Friday the 13th in 2012, killing 32 people, there are no more major accidents on Friday the 13ths than any other day.
He says if you do have a fear of Friday the 13th, “I would say to do the research. If you are afraid to travel on Friday the 13th, go and look up the statistics, which are easy to find. There are no additional unaccounted for airline disasters on Friday the 13th. And educate yourself about the nature of superstitions and turn it into a learning moment instead of a fear.”
There are actually two technical names for fear of Friday the 13th: paraskevidekatriaphobia, and friggatriskaidekaphobia.
