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Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the destruction of wicked people when it comes. Proverbs 3:25
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No it is not the nightmare on Elm Street but it is Friday the thirteenth again. It has risen again just like Jason Voorhees in the latest remake of the horror film by the same name.
Although long and difficult to pronounce Paraskevidekatriaphobia, whether you can spell it or not still means the same thing, "The fear of Friday the thirteenth." There is something about Friday the thirteenth. Call it childhood superstitions, or an irrational fear, but none-the-less there are those who for one reason or another tread lightly around the thirteenth day of the month when it happens to fall on a Friday. This year we have been blessed with not one but three such occurrences of this fear inducing day. The first was February and then again this month and hold on to your black cats because November will bring the trifecta.
Some people are so paralyzed with fear of Friday the thirteenth they simply won’t get out of bed. Others will steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. "It’s been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina. Dossey’s organization estimates the phobia afflicts 17-21 million people in the United States alone.
This fear of “13” is strong in today’s world. According to Dossey, more than 80 percent of high-rises lack a thirteenth floor. Many airports skip the thirteenth gate. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
As for Friday, it is well known among Christians as the day Jesus was crucified. Some biblical scholars believe Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on Friday. Perhaps most significant, is a belief that Abel was slain by Cain on Friday the thirteenth. And then of course was the fateful thirteenth guest for dinner when Jesus was betrayed during the Last Supper. Jesus even went on to call Judas the son of perdition. Rightly or wrongly the number 13 when combined with Friday is viewed as unlucky to many people.
Triskaidekaphobia can afflict anyone, even Presidents and Emperors, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the thirteenth day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.
Mark Twain once was the thirteenth guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest to avoid the dreaded ’Last Supper’ scenario.
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To the visitors of Camp Crystal Lake, Friday the thirteenth meant they were surely going to have an encounter with Jason Voorhees, the fictional machete wielding serial killer now in its 12th resurrection.
Whatever the reason for the fear, whether it’s a crazed fictional serial killer in a movie or some superstition learned as a child, for those who suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia Friday the thirteenth is one day to be avoided.
