The Thriving Artist: Friday The 13th: The History

Friday, May 13, 2022

Friday The 13th: The History

As today is Friday the 13th, the day fraught with the feeling of fear, bad luck, and horror, I thought I would take a bit of time to showcase the history behind the date and how it came to have such undertones. To begin with, the phobia of the number 13 has the distinction of being labeled, "triskaidekaphobia" while the fear of the date, Friday the 13th, is called, "friggatriskaidekaphobia". That being said, it is important to note that many suffer from a very real fear of the number and date which should be taken into consideration. As I am one who struggles with an anxiety disorder and phobias, I feel the need to express my empathy towards those who suffer with such and offer a trigger warning for the below information to follow. However, in my recovery, I have found discovering the root cause of the phobia, in this case the history behind, may help to alleviate the anxiety induced.

The fear surrounding the number 13 has a long history wherein the anxiety about it has been passed down through the ages. One origin comes from Christian history regarding the last supper, as many believed at that time having 13 seated at a table was bad luck possibly leading to death, and it is known that Good Friday, the crucifixation of Jesus, occurred the next day. Perhaps, Jesus, the anarcharist that he was, residing on earth to shake up the imposed social norms, chose to have 13 at the table. Jesus, the OG founder of the 13th Club.

Yes, in fact, there really was a Thirteenth Club, reported to be founded by Captain William Fowler (Sorry Not Sorry, Jesus) in the late 19th century. The club itself was founded to remove the stigma surrounding the number 13 and specifically the rule against having 13 seated at a table. The club would gather on the 13th day of the month in room 13 of the Knickerbocker Cottage where they would dine on a thirteen course mean. However, before the meal commenced, all would walk underneath a ladder with a banner above with the words, “Morituri te Salutamus,” Latin for “Those of us who are about to die salute you.”

The most significant reasoning for the phobia around Friday the 13th occured on October 13, 1307, with the arrest, torture, and massecre of the Order of the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar were a devout Christian order from Jerusalem created between A.D. 1118-1119 with the express purpose of protecting European pilgrims traveling to the Holy land, with many other duties were given, such as becoming the defenders of the Holy Land crusader states, brave warriors, and, some might believe, the keepers of the secret family and offspring of Jesus himself. (Some believe that, some do not, take that as it were.)

Thus, through all of this, the Knights Templar were able to accrue much wealth and property, some may believe that was the artifacts proving the existence of Jesus' family and offspring and that was the reason for the persecution of the Order. Many began turning against them, fighting back, in their quest to retain the wealth for themselves, and finally, on October 13, 1307, based on a decree set forth by King Philip IV of France, the Knights Templar, including the grand master, Jacques de Molay, were rounded up, arrested, and tortured under false charges. They were forced confess to the false charges of heresy, homosexuality, financial corruption, devil worship, spitting upon the cross, and much more. Even despite these confessions, many Templars were executed by being burned at the stake and de Molay was killed in 1314.

Because of this history and superstition surrounding the date and number 13, there are recent occurrences that occurred on Friday the 13th, such as the German bombing of Buckingham Palace in September 1940 to the Bangladesh cyclone that killed over 300,000 in November 1970 to the murder of Tupac Shakur in September 1996.

Therein lies the saga of how Friday the 13th became to be the fear inducing date that is known for today. So, doing by reading through this, I hope that this may alleviate any fears, superstitions, and phobias that one may suffer with surrounding this date and this number.