Many superstitious types were probably slightly on edge during the recent Friday the 13th – but where does this bad luck fear come from?
Well, first of all, did you know that a fear of Friday 13th is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia. What a great word!
There are different theories on where this superstition comes from. Some believe it originated from biblical stories in which Friday or the number 13 featured. Others say it is linked to Norse mythology.
Of course, for some people, a phobia of Friday the 13th is very serious and prevents them from flying, doing anything slightly dangerous or even leaving their house.
I don’t think of myself as superstitious – especially about Friday the 13 – but I am still not sure I would be as brave as the passengers who boarded the last Flight 666 to HEL on Friday 13th.
So why are so many of us caught up in this ‘unlucky’ 13 scenario – even though we don’t really believe it?
Jane Risen, a behavioural scientist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, explains in the National Geographic: “Even if I don’t actively believe, just that fact that Friday the 13th exists as a known cultural element means that I entertain it as a possibility.
“When otherwise unremarkable events occur on that date, we tend to notice. That adds a bit more fuel to this intuition, makes it feel a bit more true, even when you recognize that it’s not true.”
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/world/friday-13
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/what-is-friday-13th-superstition-facts-science/