Friday the 13th



Friday the 13th is often considered by those who believe in superstition to be a day of bad luck. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. It is a form of triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number thirteen.

Charmed
Once every thirteen hundred years on Friday the 13th, the Demon of Fear known as Barbas appears on earth for twenty four hours. His appearance is attributed to the universal convergence of negative energies as derived from astrological charts. He derives his life force by feeding off the fears of witches. If he can kill 13 unmarried female witches before the stroke of midnight on the 13th he will be able to break free from his eternal bonds and walk the earth for eternity.

Orgins
The origins of the Friday 13th superstition has been linked to the fact there were 13 people at the last supper of Jesus Christ, who was traditionally crucified on Good Friday, but it probably originated only in medieval times. It has also been linked to that fact that a lunisolar calendar must have 13 months in some years, while the solar Gregorian calendar and lunar Islamic calendar always have 12 months in a year. Another suggestion is that the belief originated in a Norse myth about twelve gods having a feast in Valhalla. The mischievous Loki gatecrashed the party as an uninvited 13th guest and arranged for Hod, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Baldur, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Baldur was killed and the Earth was plunged into darkness and mourning as a result.

Some also say that the arrest of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and 60 of his senior knights on Friday, October 13, 1307 by King Philip IV of France is at the origin of this superstition. That day thousands of Templars were arrested and subsequently tortured. They then 'confessed' and were executed. From that day on, Friday the 13th was considered by followers of the Templars as an evil and unlucky day.

Strangely, there is evidence to suggest that Friday the 13th is actually unlucky for some. Psychologists have found that some people are especially likely to have accidents or fall ill on Friday 13th. This has been attributed to such people feeling a heightened state of anxiety on that day. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina estimates that in the United States alone, $800 or $900 million is lost in business each Friday 13th because people will not travel or go to work.