Chick Chat

Chick Chat: Friday the 13th June Edition

Embrace the spirit of triskaidekaphobia: Friday the 13th is here!

As luck would have it, superstition holds that bad luck may befall us due to any number of events, calendar-based or otherwise. We’re sharing our views on this most inauspicious of days, along with the ways we may (or may not) try to avoid bad luck. 

Chime in with your Friday the 13th thoughts and feelings. We’re feeling lucky that we’ll get some good insights!

Lisa Q. Mathews

I’ll be honest: I’ve generally had good things happen on Friday the 13th. (Hope I didn’t just jinx myself!) But know what I’m not a fan of? Any of the Friday the 13th movies, the first of which came out when I was in college. They terrify me, and I mean, c’mon: rowing around a dark, cursed lake is a big nope nope nope. I also hate it when people remind me it’s Friday the 13th. It’s right up there with being told it’s Good Friday after you forgot and you’ve just bitten into a giant, juicy burger.

 Ellen Byron

I have to say, I’m not generally a superstitious person, but I do get tense on a Friday the 13th. I always breathe a sigh of relief when the day has ended!

Marla Cooper

Friday the 13th gets a bad rap! I used to know these two guys who threw a happy hour every Friday the 13th. If it was Friday the 13th, their house was open! They made themed snacks (I remember a particularly festive cheese platter smeared with brie and jam that looked like horror-movie blood spatter) and we all networked with other advertising folks. TBH, I’m surprised it was one of my ad friends who came up with this and not one of my mystery friends! I feel like this is a tradition I should restart… too bad all my fellow Chicks and mystery friends don’t live in the same place!

Cynthia Kuhn

Well, gosh, writing about Friday the 13th goes against my usual method of dealing with it, which is to pretend that it’s a day like every other day. However, I am the kind of person who knocks on wood and throws salt over my shoulder as needed… and it’s not like I want to be but that’s just what has been handed down through my ancestors to me, I suppose, since it’s in my bones. There is no not knocking on wood or throwing salt over my shoulder when the occasion arises, in other words. Even though probably nothing will happen if I don’t, right?  *knocks on wood*

Vickie Fee

I’m not particularly superstitious. Nor am I brave. You won’t see me walking under a ladder or booking a flight on Friday, the 13th —unless I have no choice. Generally, I play it safe — and pray a lot. I kind of do believe in the Bermuda Triangle, so I will avoid flying through it. Other areas in the Caribbean are fair game.

Leslie Karst

Not superstitious, here. But I do like rituals, so you may well see me knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, and most definitely not cross arms when toasting others with a glass (Italians are particularly superstitious about this, I’m told). As for Friday the thirteenth, I often don’t even realize it’s happening. But today I will–thanks, Chicks–so let’s hope I’m right, and it indeed ends up being merely another day just like the rest….

Jennifer Chow

I’m generally not that superstitious, but recently, I fell down a research rabbit hole. Did you know that The Tower of London keeps ravens on site by law? As long as there are six resident ravens, the kingdom will never fall. (Note: They keep seven around, just in case.) I, too, have an affinity for certain animals. Whenever I see them, I take it as good luck and feel a sense of peace.

Patricia Sargeant

I used to get tense every Friday the 13th. I’d get grumpy and surly. I couldn’t wait until the day was over. If there were multiple Friday the 13ths in one year, I’d feel like I needed to be sedated. But when I started adulting, I was grumpy and surly every day so Friday the 13th was no longer anything special to me.

However, I’m fascinated by the various origin stories of the Friday the 13th superstition. My favorite is the belief the Friday the 13th curse originated with the mass arrest of the Knights of the Templar by King Philip IV of France’s army on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307.

Readers: Do you get a little frisson when you notice it’s Friday the 13th? Do you consider yourself superstitious?

31 thoughts on “Chick Chat: Friday the 13th June Edition”

  1. Friday the 13th does not bother me at all.

    VICKIE mentioned the Bermuda Triangle. I remember hearing about planes or boats vanishing there in the 1970s & 1980s but not recently. Am I wrong?

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  2. My wife was born on a Friday the 13th so this is one of her favorite days on the calendar and we observe it with a smile. 13 is her favorite number, too.
    I’m not overly superstitious these days as most of my superstitions were sports-related when I was young enough to play ball.

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    1. I believe it was also a Friday the 13th when she was allowed to tell her mortal friends she was a witch for the day. That was one of my favorite episodes.

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  8. Not especially superstitious, although I will go with the ritual of some things. And I have a love/hate relationship with some slasher movies, so I would watch a Friday the 13th movie or two on these days, whatever I could find on cable. Haven’t done that in a while. But I’ll often make a joke about going for a camping trip at Camp Crystal Lake tonight.

    I’ll be right back…. 🙂

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    1. We had a Crystal Lake in CT where I grew up. No camp, but there is a Camp Crystal recreation area in another town there. They filmed Friday the 13th at a camp in NJ, I think, if you want to the “real” thing, ha.

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  9. As someone named Jason, I think we can all agree that Friday the 13th is my day. That being said, it’s usually a great day for me.

    Honestly, I usually get reminders from my goddaughter who has probably never seen the movies, but finds the idea of a monster that shares my naked hysterical.

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