It seems that the number 13 is considered unlucky by many cultures around the world. And it’s considered even more unlucky if the date falls on a Friday!
There’s even a psychological term for the fear of the number 13, which was supposedly coined by none other than Sigmund Freud. But the etymology is actually of ancient Greek origin: Triskaidekaphobia. Those who suffer from it associate the number 13 with misfortune.
Triskaidekaphobia is the reason many New York City buildings don’t have a 13th floor. I had a photography studio for a while in a building in Manhattan that had no 13th floor. We always joked about what we would find if for some reason the elevator stopped between the 12th and 14th floors.
A few airlines and airports avoid the number 13 on aisles, flights, and gates. They do this sometimes out of logistics constraints, but mostly because of triskaidekaphobia according to the Wall Street Journal. I know of at least one person who wouldn’t sit in the 13th row in movie theaters. The same individual would even avoid watching television’s Channel 13 (PBS).
The belief is that the superstition originated with the Last Supper, when 13 individuals sat around the table for a Passover meal (12 apostles and Jesus) before Jesus was crucified.
Modern Greeks associate the date with the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Supposedly, on that date, Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) fell to the hordes of Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. The dwindling Byzantine Empire came to an end when the Ottomans breached Constantinople’s defensive wall after besieging the city for 55 days. That happened on Sunday, May 29, 1453 which isn’t the 13th or a Friday. But when the digits of the year 1453 are added together, they equal 13!
For “triskies,” as they are known, the number 13 is frightening. But when the date falls on a Friday, it becomes horrifying. Such a double-whammy also has its own name: Paraskevidekatriaphobia – thanks also to the Greeks for coining that definition.
Hollywood capitalized on it by creating the Friday the 13th cycle of horror movies in which the ominous date is associated with a serial killer.
Another number with a “peculiar” name that’s also associated with a phobia is 666. It stems from the conviction that the number refers to the biblical “Mark of the Beast.” The Book of Revelation (Revelation 13:17-18) in the King James version of the Bible states that the “number of the beast” is “six hundred threescore and six,” which is indeed 666. This reference appears to be the origin of the superstition.
The events depicted in Revelation are extremely terrifying. When they are considered as a literal description of what is to come, it’s easy to see how a very serious fear could develop.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the name of the phobia associated with the fear of “666.” That’s a mouthful!
The same friend who had triskaidekaphobia wouldn’t enter 666 Fifth Avenue, a Manhattan office building. That tower shed its superstitious address when Brookfield Asset Management bought the 99-year-old ground lease for it in 2018 and renamed it 660 Fifth Avenue.
This article was written on Friday, September 13, 2024. I finished writing at 13:00 hours (1:00 p.m.) I can report that nothing disastrous has happened yet!
Manos Angelakis was one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the former Managing Editor Emeritus, and former Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He passed away in 2025 as an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he wrote extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos was also certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. His articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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