What Makes Friday the 13th So Scary?

Do you find yourself avoiding any association with the number 13 because you associate it with bad luck or impending doom? If you do, you’re not alone.

You’d have something in common with countless people around the world, including famous horror and suspense author Stephen King, who have triskaidekaphobia, or the fear of the number 13. And if you fear Friday the 13th, then you may have something even more scary-sounding: friggatriskaidekaphobia, the technical term for fear of Friday the 13th.

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While a serious form of this phobia is rare, there’s such widespread uneasiness about the number that many hotels and buildings will skip the 13th floor. (Interestingly, a 2007 USA Today/Gallup poll found that 13 percent of Americans would prefer not to stay on the 13th floor of a hotel.) And some airlines, including Lufthansa, will jump from 12 to 14 when numbering rows on their planes. (Of course, there’s still a 13th floor or row, but some people presumably feel better that it’s not named as such.)

Why so scary

Folklore and the cultural pervasiveness of the superstition are what darken our feelings about the number 13, says Janet Whitney, a licensed therapist and author of Facing Your Fears: Following Your Dreams and Finding Success.

She points to its role in ancient tales of death: In Norse mythology, Loki, the god of mischief, was the 13th guest to arrive at dinner, and another god was killed that day. In the Bible, Jesus was betrayed by Judas, his 13th disciple.

And, of course, there are the TV series, video games, books and movies — most notoriously, the Friday the 13th slasher-film franchise — that perpetuate triskaidekaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia.

Meanwhile, any terrible incidents involving the number, like Apollo 13’s aborted mission to the moon in 1970, proliferate these negative associations.

In 1984, King wrote an article for The New York Times sharing his fear of 13, which he admitted is “irrational,” while outlining tragedies from history that happened on Friday the 13th. He noted that he’s especially wary of years with three Fridays falling on the 13th, the most possible. King called them “triple-whammy years.” (The next year with three Friday the 13ths is 2026.)

As we approach another Friday the 13th, some people may feel anxious. If so, Whitney says it may help to try to disassociate the number and day from negativity and consider positive things that happened on the 13th day of the month in the past. In her case, for example, happy occasions, including family members’ weddings, have occurred on dates with the number 13.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has done just that. When it comes to the number 13, one could say the singer-songwriter is fearless.  

“I was born on the 13th,” she told MTV in 2009. “I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro. Basically, whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing.”

Editor’s note: This story, first published Aug. 11, 2021, has been updated.