TAMPA (WFLA) – From walking under ladders to spilling salt, there are several eerie superstitions.
Over the years, Friday the 13th has become a superstition in itself. But why is the day thought to bring bad luck?
Well, it dates back some 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians because the number didn’t divide easily.
In Christian mythology, thirteen guests attended the Last Supper, the day before Jesus’s crucifixion on a Friday. History.com says this is the root of a Christian superstition that having 13 guests at a table is a bad omen.
Going against the superstitious, the Thirteen Club was created.
A few of our very own presidents met on Friday the 13th with the specific goal of confronting fears surrounding the day.
The club hosted a symbolic dinner, which they reached by walking under a ladder.
There were 13 candles, 13 courses for dinner and spilled salt to show the world how little the group feared the day.
The club existed until the 1920s and members included former U.S. Presidents Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Many hotels avoid the 13th floor due to many people’s morbid fear of the number 13. Even some planes don’t have a row 13.
Although there are a variety of reasons people believe in the doomsday, there isn’t any scientific evidence proving the day is inherently unlucky.
But this ominous day is here to stay. Every year has between one and three Friday the 13ths.
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