The term and superstition rose to great prominence in 1980 with the release of the slasher horror film Friday the 13th, starring the undead, machete-wielding, hockey goalie mask-wearing murderer Jason Voorhees (first played by Ari Lehman). In the early 1900s, Thomas Lawson’s novel Friday, the Thirteenth, told a story about a broker using his superstitious beliefs to win big in the stock market. Other theories point more generally to superstitions surrounding the number 13 as an unlucky number and Friday as an unlucky day of the week. According to Stevens, Jesus’s Last Supper is said to have had 13 participants, including Jesus, and occurred on the evening before his crucifixion on a Friday, leading to dark associations between Friday and the number 13.

has argued that fear of this day may date back to the Middle Ages, when it may have been inspired by Christian beliefs about the death of Jesus Christ. The exact origins of Friday the 13th, as a term and superstition, are unclear.Īnthropology professor Phillips Stevens Jr. When the 13th day of any month falls on a Friday, generally referred to as Friday the 13th, it is popularly believed that it will bring bad luck, terrible occurrences, and even fatal accidents.