Friday the Thirteenth and 2020? What a Nightmare

Friday the Thirteenth is a day to be feared by anyone of a superstitious nature. Many believe that the superstition began with a biblical superstition hundreds of years ago with the Knights Templar because of the thirteen guests who attended the Last Supper. There is also the belief that its roots are in Norse mythology, where 12 guests dined in Valhalla, where the trickster god Loki, appeared as a thirteenth guest and fooled the god of darkness into killing the god of joy, which then plunged the world into chaos and mourning. A novel published in 1907 by Thomas William Lawson, told the story of a stockbroker attempting to destroy Wall Street on Friday the thirteenth. The novel brought the superstition of Friday the thirteenth into pop culture. Of course it is necessary to mention very famous slasher film, Friday the Thirteenth. However, can anyone of these renditions of Friday the Thirteenth rival the chaos and fear of a Friday the thirteenth in 2020?

The last Friday the thirteenth that Highland experienced this year was the last day of school before the whole district went into quarantine. So what is today going to hold for us? 2020 on its own has raised many a bad omen when coupled with Friday the thirteenth they are sure to make a very inauspicious pair.

“This day is usually considered one of the unluckiest days in a year and with the borderline insanity of 2020 it might just be a normal day, but it might be just as bad as every other day this year,” Charles Pitts, sophomore, said. “This will be an interesting day to see in an interesting year.”

Every year has a minimum of one Friday the thirteenth and a maximum of three. This will be the second this year. With the luck the world has been having thus far, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were three Friday the thirteenths on the calendar. The thirteenth will definitely attract some internet exposure this year and likely be the punch line of many 2020 jokes throughout the day.

“I think it is ironic that people associate the 13th with all these things and make jokes about it and talk about the next one coming up, but don’t expect anything is going to happen,” Claire Sophie Malinka-Thompson, sophomore, said. “Sometimes they are random occurrences, such as the pandemic, but others were caused by people, so it is more probable for something to happen this year, because certain people will cause it in order to continue the superstition.”

Whether the superstition rings true or not, many people believe in it. Even if people don’t believe in it, they discuss it. Who knows what a 2020 Friday the thirteenth holds? If it follows the trend of this year so far, then good luck to everyone. Today is probably one of the best days to stay home.