The day of the haunted is here. No, it is not Halloween, but the famous Friday, the thirteenth and people online have a lot to say about it.
Are you the sort of person that will never walk under a ladder or put your umbrella up inside? If so, the chances are that you’ll also avoid sitting in seat number 13, or the triple sixes feel like the devil’s lair calling out to you.
Then today is just not the day for you, because this superstitious day is being celebrated on the internet by thousands of people, reminding everyone of every myth that exists out there.
Both Friday and the number 13 have been gratuitously regarded as unlucky in certain cultures throughout history. The fear of Friday 13th also has a term to describe it: paraskevidekatriaphobia, which is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13.
This fear is such that some hotels have no room number 13, and many tall buildings do not name the 13th floor as such and just jump straight from 12 to 14.
The superstition has also made its way into pop culture references with movies like Friday the 13th. In 1907, American businessman and author Thomas William Lawson released his novel Friday, the Thirteenth. Being a stockbroker himself, Lawson’s novel detailed the story of a New York City stockbroker who played on superstitions about the date to create chaos on Wall Street.