If you’re superstitious you already know that Aug. 13 is Friday the 13th – but lucky for you, it is the only Friday the 13th of the year. (There won’t be another one until May 2022.)
The morbid fear of Friday the 13th is a real thing known as either friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia.
Many people believe Friday the 13th got a bad rap because King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of the Knights Templar at dawn on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307 — or because of the 1980 slasher flick Friday the 13th. This year's Friday the 13th is more troubling because it falls in a "JASON" month (July, August, September, October, November).
But, unless you’re a member of a 14th century Catholic military order or a young Kevin Bacon at a remote summer camp, you probably have nothing to worry about today. There is no statistical evidence that the day is more unlucky than any other.
In the words of the great philosopher Stevland Hardaway Morris (aka Stevie Wonder): “When you believe in things that you don't understand / Then you suffer / Superstition ain't the way.”
Thinking about putting together a Friday the 13th playlist? As luck would have it, we’ve come up with 13 suggestions:
Atomic Rooster - “Friday The Thirteenth”
Misfits - “Friday the 13th”
Rebecca Black - “Friday”
The Cure - “The 13th”
Stevie Wonder - “Superstition”
Elvis Presley - “Suspicious Minds”
Jeff Beck - “I Ain’t Superstitious”
Janet Jackson - “Black Cat”
Britney Spears - “Lucky”
Rockwell - “Somebody’s Watching Me”
Johnny Cash - “Thirteen”
Rihanna - “Disturbia”
Rod Stewart - “Some Guys Have All The Luck”