Friday the 13th, a date that has been long deemed unlucky, took place in 2019 during a full moon for the first time in 13 years. While the exact origin of Friday the 13th’s bad luck is unknown, there are many speculations.

One theory about the number 13 is that it’s unlucky because there were 13 people at the table during the last supper. The bad luck surrounding 13 is also thought to date back to Norse mythology when Loki crashed a dinner of 12 people (making him the 13th guest) and shot Balder, the god of joy and happiness.

Friday was thought to be the day of three major biblical events: the day Jesus was crucified, the day Cain killed Abel, and the day Eve gave Adam the apple.

Another alleged origin dates back to Friday the 13th, 1307, when it’s thought that hundreds of the French Knights of Templar, an order put together to protect Europeans traveling to the Holy Land, were arrested and tortured into falsely confessing to crimes. Years later, they were burned alive.

There have been numerous other tragic events that took place on Friday the 13th. 

For example, in 1972, on Friday the 13th, a plane crashed in the Andes. The survivors of the crash had to resort to cannibalism to survive. 

Another event took place Friday the 13th, 2010, at 13:13 when a thirteen year old boy was struck by lightning in the UK.

Natural disasters and anomalies have also taken place on Friday the 13th. Some of these include the Black Friday Bushfires in Australia, an unusually timed blizzard in New York, and the Bhola Cyclone in India and Bangladesh.

Only 5 of 18 surveyed students from the Upper School for Girls said they believed in the superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th.