Friday the 13th Phobia Paralyzes Millions Each Year
Friday the 13th strikes fear in the hearts of millions of people each year. So many people in fact, that it is estimated that $900 million is lost in revenue by businesses because of this day.
This fear, whether rational or not, can effect people so badly that they will deliberately stay at home, refuse to board an airplane, sell or buy stocks, and even go to work. As crazy as it may sound, in the United States alone, it is estimated 18 million people take this day seriously and have a feeling of absolute dread or worse.
Studies and patient documents have shown that friday the 13th can cause a wide variety of symptoms. Those who are mildly affected might feel light anxiety while others can have uncontrollable panic attacks.
So where did this fear come from?
From antiquity, the number 13 has been tagged as an unlucky number and Friday as an unlucky day. Then when those two are combined, it has created a day of the year where having both of these bad things combined creates a ’supernaturally’ bad omen.
Some studies suggest that the bad luck of the number 13 stems from Norse Mythology. The myth states that 12 of the Norse gods where having a banquet and a thirteenth god, the god of mischief, had come uninvited and tricked a fellow god into killing another god during a contest.
Numerologists believe 13 gets a bad wrap because it is the number right after the number 12. The number 12 is considered to be a ‘perfect’ number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 before a bakers dozen, and even the number 12 shows up in myth like the 12 trials of Hercules.
And even today this fear and association of bad luck with the number 13 continues. And this is not just in the United States. Places all over the world will follow this superstition. Many buildings such as hotels, won’t have a 13th floor or a room # 13. Even in places like Italy where 13 won’t show up on peoples addresses, in France dinner parties will either be 12 or 14 to avoid the chance of making it just 13.
While there is no historical or factual evidence to suggest that friday the thirteenth is bad or unlucky, just the suggestion and tradition of the day is enough to strike fear and loathing in peoples hearts.