It’s Friday the 13. In October Nonetheless. Is Wyoming Spooked?

Today is Friday the 13. In the scariest month of the year. So far, it feels like any other day, just a bit chillier.

Still, I wanted to know what the story is behind why this notorious day became so famous in pop culture.

The History Channel suggests that the number 13 is unlucky.

"According to biblical tradition, 13 guests attended the Last Supper, held on Maundy Thursday, including Jesus and his 12 apostles (one of whom, Judas, betrayed him). The next day, of course, was Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion."

Apparently by the late-19th century a New Yorker named Captain William Fowler decided to push against the stigma around the odd number by founding an exclusive society called the Thirteen Club.

"The group dined regularly on the 13th day of the month in room 13 of the Knickerbocker Cottage, a popular watering hole Fowler owned from 1863 to 1883. Before sitting down for a 13-course dinner, members would pass beneath a ladder and a banner reading 'Morituri te Salutamus,' Latin for 'Those of us who are about to die salute you.'" Yeesh. 

Cut to 1907 when writer Thomas William Lawson published the novel Friday, the Thirteenth, reinforcing the unluckiness of the fated day with a tale of a poor stockbroker who somehow sends  Wall Street into oblivion.

Then, of course, there's the Eighties movie Friday the 13th, with hockey mask-wearing psycho killer Jason.

Not everyone -- I'd guess most of us -- expects bad luck today, but NPR claims as many as one in 15 people do...and to the extent that they're calling in sick, postponing trips, and delaying major purchases. They wrote that Henry Ford declind to do business on Friday on the 13.

What about you?

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