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Today
is Friday the 13th, a day fraught with evil portents.
To
those stricken with an obsessive mental disorder called triskaidekaaphobia
(fear of the number 13), listed as a rare neurosis in most medical
journals, today brings on a day-long sense of doom. Most sufferers,
however, don't even get out of bed.
Some
believe the superstition began when 13 people attended Christ's
Last Supper, including the betrayer Judas Iscariot.
Jesus
was crucified on a Friday, the usual day of execution in ancient
Rome. Put it all together and the superstitious
association between Friday the 13th and calamity is centuries
old.
Folklorists
agree that the fear of the number 13 is probably the most widespread
superstition in western culture. Some scholars have even traced
its origins to before Christianity, as pagan Norsemen were believed
to have dreaded 13 as well.
"There
seems to be so many explanations as to why the number 13 is so
spooky," said Rob McConnell, host of the syndicated paranormal
radio show X-Zone broadcast from Brock University's CFBU 103.7.
"When the number 13 is said together, as three-ten, another word
seems to form. That word is threaten."
Friday
the 13th is now regarded as part of popular culture, culminating
in the widely popular slasher films featuring Jason, the serial
killer who wears a hockey mask and apparently doesn't die easily.
But
there may be scientific evidence supporting the need to be weary
today. A 1993 study called Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?
published in the British Medical Journal found there were significantly
more traffic accidents on the day.
According
to the study: "The risk of hospital admission as a result of a
transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 per cent.
Staying at home is recommended."
But
McConnell doesn't want people to get freaked out, only to be cautious
of its evil potency. "Many people feel threatened by the number
13. So much so that most buildings lack a 13th floor and airplanes
do not have a 13th row of seats on their planes. Which makes you
wonder why there is a dark cloud over the day."
According
to medieval texts, anyone who bears 13 letters in his name is
supposed to possess the Devil's mark such as infamous killers
Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy
and Albert De Salvo.
"Every
Friday the 13th seems to spawn all types of articles to tell you
ad nauseam that... it's a day many people fear," McConnell said.
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