It’s Friday the 13th, and for the superstitious among us, that’s probably a reason to stay home. This day has long been considered unlucky by many people. There’s even a specific phobia associated with this ominous date (the easily pronounced Paraskavedekatriaphobia).
Over the years, many disturbing events have occurred on Friday the 13th. Is this a coincidence or is something more sinister going on? Spoiler: It’s a coincidence, but interesting nonetheless.
Knights Templar
If you were a member of the Knights Templar in medieval France, you had every reason to be concerned about Friday the 13th. On this day in 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Templars, an influential and extremely wealthy religious military order at the time.
On Friday, October 13, 1307, over 600 Knights Templar were arrested in France.
Philip, also known as Philip the Handsome (for his good looks, certainly not for his character), wanted to destroy the order for financial reasons. The French crown had been in debt to the Templars for some time, having borrowed money to wage wars and cover other royal expenses. By making accusations of heresy and devil worship, Philip was able to justify the arrest of over 600 Templars, who were tortured and eventually executed.
The last jump of Sam Patch
On Friday, November 13, 1829, spectators gathered at Genesee Falls in upstate New York to watch America’s first daredevil, Sam Patch, perform another death-defying stunt. For over two years, Patch had amazed audiences with leaps from incredible heights without incident. In September 1827, he successfully jumped over Passaic Falls in Paterson, after which he jumped from other waterfalls until he amazed spectators at Niagara Falls in October 1829. His next feat, however, would be his last.
According to eyewitnesses, Patch’s flight into the air did not look right when he jumped from the upper falls of Genesee Falls. His jumping stance was incorrect and instead of entering the water, he hit it with an audible bang. His body did not return to the surface, causing the crowd to panic. His frozen remains were eventually found four months later at the mouth of the Genesee River.
Bushfires on Black Friday
After several years of drought, high temperatures and strong winds led to bushfires that spread across Victoria, Australia on Friday, January 13, 1939. The “Black Friday Bushfires,” as they are now known, were part of a devastating bushfire season that lasted throughout 1938 and into the New Year. Around 75 percent of the state was affected by the fires, which burned nearly 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of land. By the end of January, 71 people had lost their lives, around 1,300 buildings had been destroyed, and a total of 700 homes had been razed to the ground.
The plane crash in the Andes
The story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 is one of the most disturbing stories associated with Friday the 13th. In October 1972, the flight carrying 45 passengers, including a rugby team, crashed into a mountain ridge and crashed into the Andes Mountains. Despite efforts to find the survivors, the rescue effort had to be aborted after eight days due to the harsh environment and bad weather. With little food and few options, the survivors had to resort to cannibalism to stay alive.
A monument was erected in the Andes to commemorate all those who lost their lives in the disaster and to remember the struggle of the survivors.
After being stranded in the freezing cold for 72 days, 16 survivors were rescued after an exhausting ten-day trek by two members of the group who went in search of help.
Mini financial crash
On Friday, October 13, 1989, a mini-crash in the stock market occurred when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 7 percent. The crash led to a temporary financial panic, earning the date the name “Black Friday.”
Costa Concordia disaster
On Friday 13 January 2012, the seven-year-old cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed and became stuck in shallow waters in the Tyrrhenian Sea near Isola del Giglio. The disaster, which was considered entirely avoidable, is blamed on the irresponsible behaviour of Captain Francesco Schettino and his crew after the ship sailed too close to the coast at high speed at night.
In the end, more than 4,000 people had to be rescued from the capsized ship, and 32 people lost their lives.
Friday the 13th, why all the fuss?
The superstition surrounding Friday the 13th is an old one. Some believe it was sparked by the bloody fate of the Templars, but it is probably even older. In fact, the superstition is probably the result of different cultural beliefs rather than a specific historical event. For example, Christianity associated the number 13 with suspicion after Judas Iscariot, the 13th guest at the Last Supper, betrayed Christ.
In Norse mythology, the trickster Loki was the 13th guest at the banquet of the gods. He is believed to have been responsible for the chaos, as he arranged Balder’s death.
At the same time, the Bible itself is full of accounts of various other unfortunate events that occurred on Fridays (especially Good Friday, the day on which Christ was supposedly crucified), which were generally considered to be unlucky days.
These cultural factors have likely influenced how we think about Friday the 13th, but our brains probably did the rest: confirmation bias, the tendency to interpret information that is consistent with our preconceptions. In this context, our brains have evolved to be able to make connections between possible causes and their effects. This has helped us survive as a species, but sometimes it can go too far, making connections and giving meaning to random, unrelated events.
So if you live in a culture where Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day, you are likely to be more sensitive to unusual or negative events that occur on that day, even though terrible things happen on any other day, too.
