Friday the 13th. Just the phrase alone is enough to send a shiver down some spines, conjuring images of black cats, broken mirrors, and, for horror fans, a masked figure lurking in the shadows. But on March 13, 2026, as the second Friday the 13th of the year rolled around, people across Mid-Missouri and far beyond found themselves once again debating: is this day truly unlucky, or just another quirk of the calendar?
According to KRCG, a local station in Mid-Missouri, the question was put directly to residents via a poll aired on Live at Sunrise. The results, teased for the end of the morning show, promised to capture the region’s pulse on a superstition that’s been around for centuries. And this wasn’t just any Friday the 13th—2026 is a banner year for the superstitious, with three such Fridays scattered across February, March, and November. The last time this trifecta occurred was in 2015, and the next won’t be until 2037, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
But why does this date inspire so much anxiety and fascination? The roots of the Friday the 13th superstition run deep, tangled in both religious lore and historical events. As The Independent explains, one of the most widely cited sources is the Last Supper. Here, Jesus and his 12 disciples dined together on Maundy Thursday. The 13th guest, Judas Iscariot, would go on to betray Jesus, who was crucified the following day—Good Friday. This pairing of the number 13 and a Friday cemented the date’s ominous reputation in Christian tradition.
But the story doesn’t stop there. The number 13 has long been considered unlucky, not just in Christianity but in other cultures as well. In Norse mythology, for example, Loki—the trickster god—was the 13th guest at a feast in Valhalla, where his arrival brought chaos and death. Twelve, by contrast, is seen as a number of completeness: 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 days of Christmas. Thirteen, then, becomes the odd one out, unsettling and incomplete.
The infamy of Friday the 13th deepened in the early 14th century with a dramatic historical twist. As detailed by The Independent, on Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the mass arrest of the Knights Templar. Under pressure from Pope Clement V, hundreds of the Catholic crusaders were seized, accused of heresy and corruption—charges that were likely fabricated to help the king erase his debts to the wealthy order. Many Templars were tortured, forced to confess, and ultimately burned at the stake. The order’s Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was among those executed in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. According to legend, de Molay cried out a curse: “God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death.” For many, this event sealed Friday the 13th’s reputation as a day of misfortune.
Yet, not every culture sees Friday the 13th as uniquely unlucky. The Scientific American notes that in Spanish-speaking countries and Greece, it’s actually Tuesday the 13th that’s feared, while in Italy, Friday the 17th holds the same notoriety. And let’s not forget the many other superstitions that pepper folklore around the world: black cats crossing your path, breaking mirrors, walking under ladders, spilling salt, or even uttering the name of Shakespeare’s “Scottish play” inside a theater—all said to bring bad luck.
History, too, is peppered with dark events that just so happened to occur on a Friday the 13th. Scientific American recounts several: the bombing of Buckingham Palace by Nazi forces on September 13, 1940; the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster off the Italian coast on January 13, 2012, which claimed 32 lives; and the death of rapper Tupac Shakur on September 13, 1996, six days after he was shot. Each incident adds to the date’s mystique, even if, mathematically speaking, they’re little more than coincidence.
So, what does the math actually say about Friday the 13th? As Scientific American explains, the 13th day of a month is more likely to fall on a Friday than any other day of the week. This statistical quirk is a result of the Gregorian calendar’s structure. In a typical 365-day year, each day of the week will be the 13th of the month at least once, but some days—Fridays in particular—see the 13th more often. In fact, in a 400-year cycle, the 13th falls on a Friday more times than on any other weekday. That’s a lot of potential for superstition!
This year’s calendar offers a rare pattern: February and March are the only consecutive months that can both have a Friday the 13th, thanks to February’s 28 days in most years. According to History.com (as cited by the Austin American-Statesman), there’s also another possible combination for three Friday the 13ths in a year, but it requires a leap year that starts on a Sunday—something that last happened in 1984 and won’t occur again until 2040.
Of course, not everyone is hunkering down and avoiding ladders or black cats. For some, Friday the 13th is a day of fun, even celebration. Tattoo parlors across the country run Friday the 13th specials, and horror movie fans might pop in a classic slasher flick featuring Jason Voorhees and his iconic hockey mask. Whether you’re carrying a lucky charm, knocking on wood, or just treating it as another ordinary Friday, the day’s reputation is as much about culture as it is about coincidence.
If you’re looking to avoid bad luck, old traditions suggest a few things: don’t break a mirror, don’t walk under a ladder, and toss a pinch of salt over your left shoulder if you spill it. Folklore also warns against stepping on cracks—"step on a crack, break your mother’s back," as the childhood rhyme goes. On the flip side, carrying a four-leaf clover, horseshoe, or rabbit’s foot is thought to bring good fortune. And if you’re really worried, just knock on wood—a practice rooted in ancient beliefs that spirits lived in trees and could protect you from misfortune.
For those with paraskevidekatriaphobia—the technical term for the fear of Friday the 13th—there’s no escaping the date. As mathematicians have shown, every year will have at least one Friday the 13th, and some, like 2026, will have three. The next time this particular pattern returns will be over a decade from now, so perhaps it’s worth taking a moment to reflect: is today really cursed, or is it just another fascinating intersection of history, culture, and math?
Whatever your answer, one thing’s for sure: Friday the 13th isn’t going anywhere. It’s a day that invites us to ponder the strange power of superstition, the quirks of our calendar, and maybe—just maybe—our own willingness to believe in a little bit of luck, good or bad.