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Do you find yourself avoiding any association with the number 13 because you associate it with bad luck or impending doom? If you do, you’re not alone.
You’d have something in common with countless people around the world, including famous horror and suspense author Stephen King, who have triskaidekaphobia, or the fear of the number 13. And if you fear Friday the 13th, then you may have something even more scary-sounding: friggatriskaidekaphobia, the technical term for fear of Friday the 13th.
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While a serious form of this phobia is rare, there’s such widespread uneasiness about the number that many hotels and buildings will skip the 13th floor. (Interestingly, a 2007 USA Today/Gallup poll found that 13 percent of Americans would prefer not to stay on the 13th floor of a hotel.) And some airlines, including Lufthansa, will jump from 12 to 14 when numbering rows on their planes. (Of course, there’s still a 13th floor or row, but some people presumably feel better that it’s not named as such.) It even comes up in healthcare where some superstitious patients want to avoid being admitted to a room or bed numbered 13. (A 2020 study, appearing in the Journal of Healthcare Quality Research, found no difference in adverse patient outcomes for those who were admitted to an unlucky “13” or lucky “7” bed or room.)
Why so scary
Folklore and the cultural pervasiveness of the superstition are what darken our feelings about the number 13, says Janet Whitney, a licensed therapist and author of Facing Your Fears: Following Your Dreams and Finding Success.
She points to its role in ancient tales of death: In Norse mythology, Loki, the god of mischief, was the 13th guest to arrive at dinner, and another god was killed that day. In the Bible, Jesus was betrayed by Judas, his 13th disciple.
And, of course, there are the TV series, video games, books and movies — most notoriously, the Friday the 13th slasher-film franchise — that perpetuate triskaidekaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia.
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