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Friday the 13th
Is a Lucky Day for Some
(By Stacy Jones, October 15, 2006) |
Do
you usually look forward to Fridays? And the number 13 doesn’t
typically bother you? But when you put the two together, do you
suffer a morbid fear of the combination? Then you have Paraskevidekatriaphobics,
which is known as an intense, irrational fear of Friday the 13th.
While these questions sound like
something Lucy would ask Charlie Brown in a Peanuts comic strip,
some of the general populace actually experiences this little-known
phobia. And pop culture moguls love to use this fascinating dread
to market their media, including an entire series of campy horror
films featuring mass murderer Jason and the unlucky Friday the
13th.
Thirteen has for a long time suffered
a bad reputation. One has to look hard to find a building that
has a 13th floor or a city with a 13th Street. Thirteen witches
comprise a coven. And, further, consider the fate of some of
the most famous convicted murders in history, including the likes
of Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, and Jeffrey Dahmer. What
do they all have in common? Thirteen letters in their names.
Folklore also dictates that you don’t have 13 people sit
down for a dinner party. Why? They will all allegedly die within
the year.
And then there’s Friday, that
sixth day of the week. Six is another number that doesn’t
have good vibes either. Add two more sixes to keep it company,
and well, you’ve automatically got an apocalyptic Biblical
numerical reference. There’s another reason Friday isn’t
looked upon so favorably: for Christians, this was the day Christ
was crucified. Folklore also dictates that any new venture should
be avoided if at all possible on Fridays, including births, deaths,
weddings, or the starting of a new job.
I wonder, though, how ancient peoples
prevented a child from being born on a Friday. Even with our
more modern medical technologies, it’s virtually impossible
to delay a mother from giving birth. I know my mother couldn’t
do so, and as a result, I was almost born in the car on the way
from McNairy County to a hospital in Memphis. All on a Friday.
Yes, I’m a Friday’s child,
cursed by eons of folklore. One old saying goes like this: “Whoever
be born on Friday or it's night, / He shall be accursed of men,
/ Silly and crafty and loathsome to all men, / And shall ever
be thinking evil in his heart, / And shall be a thief and a great
coward, / And shall not live longer than to middle age.”
Unfortunate for me, at least according to this little rhyme,
I was born on a Friday night. I sure hope I live longer than
middle age. If not, I’ve sadly got only ten or fifteen years
to go.
But folklore is so outmoded in
our contemporary times, right? No one should have any reason
to fear Friday the 13th, should they? The British Medical Journal
conducted a 1993 study that found that fewer people in the United
Kingdom chose to drive automobiles on Fridays that fell on the
13th. However, despite the lack of individuals on the roadways,
the average number of traffic incidents increased from other
days, the Journal found after polling hospitals about their traffic-accident-related
admissions.
Their conclusion? "Friday
13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a
result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as
52 percent. Staying at home is recommended."
And some people, including Americans
as well, do stay home on Friday the 13th, refusing to go to work
or complete other significant tasks. Some potential brides refuse
to set wedding dates on the sixth day of the week—if it
falls on a 13.
If you are indeed one of these
people, you are not alone. In fact, researchers have discovered
that as many as 21 million people may suffer from fear of Friday
the 13th. But should we take credence in this most unusual phobia,
simply because of one supposedly “scientific” study
in a medical journal?
I can remember one particular Friday
the 13th when I was child, and we were having a typical quiet
day at elementary school. Then we heard the news that an automobile
accident had claimed the lives of some local youth who attended
high school in the county. Because I was of such an impressionable
age at that time, I remember thinking that maybe there was some
truth to an ill-fated Friday the 13th. I was scared the rest
of that day that something bad would happen to me or to one of
my friends or family.
However, it did not. And many a
Friday the 13th have come and gone since that day, this past
Friday among them. In fact, it was difficult to believe any ill
could come to anyone this past Friday when I woke and got out
of bed. The sun shone brightly, and a crisp chill filled the
air, signaling the arrival of a gorgeous autumn season. All seemed
right with the world.
But I have always loved Fridays,
which signal a respite from the regular tasks of the week. And,
even better, at this time Friday is also one of my days off.
I don’t have to go in to work and I can sleep in. When I
do get up, if I want to work at home, I can grade my students'
papers or work on my writing in my pajamas if I so choose. I
suppose that automatically makes it a lucky day for me, no matter
what.
(Stacy Jones, a Southerner,
is a Master of Fine Arts student in fiction writing at The University
of Memphis. She is a native of Guys, Tenn., and her columns,
which appear on Sundays, are archived at Southern-Drawl.com.) |
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