Are you superstitious? I literally just realized it was Friday the 13th when I came into work this morning. I guess I wouldn’t classify myself as overly superstitious, but when I realized the day and date today, I started to contemplate the little ways superstitions sneak into my daily life. On a whole, though, the thought of Friday the 13th does not really bother me; I am certainly not one of those people who chooses to hide in my bed the whole day! In case you were wondering, fear of Friday the 13th is known as paraskavedekatriaphobia.

The phobia even affects the travel industry, as many people are too afraid to fly or travel on this day!

Just the other day I was walking down the street where our office is located. At the end of the block, a man was standing on a ladder, painting the trim on one of the buildings. The ladder straddled the entire sidewalk, leaving  me with two options: walk under the ladder or walk around the ladder by stepping into the street. I hesitated, as I know it’s bad luck to walk under a ladder. In my head I made a quick decision and stepped into the street. Was that really safer? Who knows, but I felt better!

During the baseball postseason, I was driving to my friend’s house. We were meeting and going to the game together at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies were playing the Dodgers in game three of the NLCS. As I was approaching her street, a black cat darted across the street in front of my car, crossing my path. I spent the rest of the ride to the stadium worrying it was sign of bad things to come. I needn’t have worried — the Phillies crushed the Dodgers 11-0 that night.

One habit that sneaks into my daily life on a regular basis is knocking on wood. Every time something seems too good to be true, or I don’t want to jinx something, I knock on wood. Heck, if there is no wood around, I’ll knock on just about anything!

I was curious to see why this day is cursed, and a quick Google search of Friday the 13th answered my questions. Did you know the day can be traced back to October 1307? On that day, French Prince Philip IV rounded up a bunch of monks and tortured them. According to the article I found, here are a bunch of other bad luck omens from Friday the 13ths past and just associated with the number 13 in general:

– Natural disasters, including earthquakes, a flood and tornados

– Famous deaths, including Tupac Shakur, Al Capone and Hubert Humphrey

– Several serial killers have 13 letters in their name, including Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Jack the Ripper

So, are you superstitious?

– Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive