Friday the 13th - What 'Unfortunate Events' await you today?

By Autumn Phelps
Staff Writer

Bizarre bad luck superstitions
No wonder you had a terrible day -- you sang before breakfast.
Other omens of bad luck include:

A bat flying into the house
An owl hooting three times
Three butterflies together
Looking at the new moon over your left shoulder
A five-leaf clover
Breaking a glass while proposing a toast
Putting a shirt on inside out
Red and white flowers together
Hearing a rooster crow at night
Cutting your nails on a Friday
Putting a hat on a bed
Getting out of bed left foot first
Violets blooming out of season
A picture falling
Singing before breakfast
Giving away a wedding present
An itch inside your nose
Seeing an owl during the day
Crossed knives
If a dog suddenly barks for no apparent reason in a house that has a sick person in it
Wearing old clothes on Easter
Wearing an opal, unless you were born in October
Spilling pepper
Killing a sparrow
If a groom drops a ring during the ceremony, the marriage is doomed
Breaking a plate
Seeing the new moon for the first time through glass
Mending a garment while you are wearing it
Signing a lease or any contract in April, July or November
Fastening a button in the wrong button hole
Starting a cruise on a Friday
Passing anyone on a staircase
Putting on the left shoe before the right

Did you know if the phone rings twice while you scratch an itch on your left eyelid at the same time your dog barks and it happens to be a Tuesday with a full moon, that it means bad luck?

Not really.

But knowing what other superstitions are out there (see the accompanying list), would it be a big surprise if this one actually existed? Black cats crossing paths, walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror and Friday the 13th -- today -- are some of the more common things believed to bring bad luck. While some will take today's "curse" as lightly as any other superstition, others will put their lives on hold until it's over.

Past studies show millions of business dollars are lost every Friday the 13th because people are so scared of the day they stay home from work. There is even a named phobia for fear of Friday the 13th (paraskavedekatriaphobia) that has been known to cause symptoms from mild stress to severe panic attacks.

Try to find someone who will admit to being superstitious, though. Many won't, whether it's because they really don't believe it or they just don't want others to know. Some even say Friday the 13th is a lucky day.

"Everybody says Friday the 13th is unlucky, but not in my family," said Anna Grau of Merritt Island, who thinks the number 13 represents many good things in her life. "I've always considered that Friday that everyone else fears to be kind of special."

Grau said her grandfather was 13 years older than her grandmother, her grandmother was 13 years older than her father, and her father was 13 years older than her mother. Also, her father was in the 13th Regime in the military, and her mother's birthday is on Nov. 13, although she wasn't born on a Friday.

"I know people who freak out about it," Grau said. "But I've never had bad luck (on Friday the 13th.)"

Barbara Dobson, also of Merritt Island , said Friday the 13th is a good day for her, too.

"I think 13 is a number that has been given a bad break," Dobson said. "It's one of my lucky numbers. When I used to be a bartender, it was a given that I would make a lot of money on Friday the 13th. Now I'm an outside salesperson, and I always make more sales on Friday the 13th."

Dobson is a member of the Daytona Beach Paranormal Research Group, a nonprofit organization that hunts ghosts. She said despite what people may think, there is not a connection between the supernatural and superstition.

Doris "Dusty" Smith is the founder of the research group and author of "Dread and the Dead Filled the Dunnam House," an account of a haunted house investigation in Deltona that recently was featured on the Discovery Channel's "A Haunting." Smith agrees with Dobson's that Friday the 13th is not bad luck and has nothing to do with ghosts.

"There is no proof of either, so how can they be connected?" Smith asked. "I believe there is something else out there, and I'd like to prove it some day. But until then, nothing is certain."

Smith said not only does she disbelieve in bad luck on Friday the 13th, but she thinks some "bad luck" superstitions are sometimes self-explanatory.

"People will say things like, 'If a bird hits your windshield, there will be a death,' " Smith said. "Well, yeah. The bird."

Bad luck can be self-inflicted

So is there any truth to all the little stories about causes of misfortune? Well, as Smith indicated, the poor bird's bad sense of direction brought bad luck on itself.

Studies show bad luck can be self-inflicted by humans, too. According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville , N.C. , people who get too worked up about Friday the 13th are more likely to have accidents or fall ill on the day, all thanks to heightened anxiety.

Whether or not it was stress that caused her bad luck, Diana Graziano of Merritt Island has been through some terrible Friday the 13ths.

"As a child, I always used to lose my house keys or misplace something and never find it again," Graziano wrote in an e-mail. "I fell, sprained an ankle, arm and wrist, and once found out that I had a serious sickness that I can die from."

Graziano said most of her Friday the 13th misfortunes occurred several years ago when she lived in Brooklyn . Since then, she hasn't had many unlucky experiences. The ironic part of it all, she said, is that she is Italian, and "old-timers from Italy " believe Friday the 13th is good luck.

Dr. Philip Simpson, Brevard Community College dean of humanities and fine arts, and social and behavioral sciences faculty member, said the general feeling of unease people have about Friday the 13th can make them change their daily habits, sometimes inadvertently causing their day to go all wrong.

"It's not just some ancient superstition," Simpson said. "It definitely has a real-world effect."

Several theories for superstition's origin

Simpson, who has studied origins of Friday the 13th, said one way people can calm their nerves about the day is to know where the story comes from. There is no scientific explanation, nor is there a clear-cut history of how it came to be, but there are a few theories of its origins rooted in theology and mythology.

Some say the day is associated with bad luck because there were 13 people present at the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, and Judas, the traitor, was the 13th person to arrive. Another theory suggests Friday alone has negative connotations because it is the sixth day of the week and some religions associate six with the devil.

Norse mythology gives another hypothesis about why the number 13 is "unlucky." According to the story, at a dinner party of 12 gods, Loki, the god of mischief, showed up, making it a crowd of 13. Loki created turmoil among the gods by encouraging them to attack and kill one another.

"Just knowing why this particular day stands out is important," Simpson said. "Being aware of its historical, religious and cultural meanings might help you get through it."

And if that doesn't work, good luck explaining your sudden case of the plague to the boss.

Contact Phelps at 242-3612or aphelps@brevard.gannett.com .