Friday The 13th Superstitions: What You Need To Know

Why Friday The 13th Is Superstitious

It's Friday the 13th!

The superstition-laden phenomenon occurs at least once every year, but in 2010 and 2011, there was only one Friday the 13th. This year there are three, with one occurring in January, April and July.

Why so many this year? Is it some kind of 2012 curse? Not really; it's just how the calendar falls. There are two in 2013 (September and December), one in 2014 (June) then three again in 2015 (February, March, November). After that, there won't be another year with three until 2026.

Looking back though history, some unlucky events are believed to have occurred on Friday the 13th. French King Philip IV rounded up hundreds of monks and tortured them for heresy on Friday, October 13, 1307. More recently, on Friday, March 13, 1992, an earthquake in Turkey killed nearly 2,000 and left 50,000 homeless.

What's more, some people say Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday the 13th.

The number 13 has preoccupied people for centuries and psychiatrists even have a name -- triskaidekaphobia -- for the condition of intense fear of the number 13.

Take a look below at 13 examples of reactions to the belief that 13 is an unlucky number:

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