Overview
- November 13, 2026 is the third Friday the 13th this year, following occurrences in February and March, and the next such date will be August 13, 2027.
- Historians say there is no single, verifiable origin for the superstition and point to multiple threads, including Norse myths about Loki and Balder, Christian links to the Last Supper and 19th-century literary references.
- The 1307 arrests of the Knights Templar on a Friday the 13th are often cited but scholars quoted in the coverage find no evidence that event created the superstition.
- Psychologists note the specific fear has names—paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia—and can disrupt people’s lives, but treatments such as exposure therapy are available.
- Popular culture and media, from Thomas W. Lawson’s 1907 novel to 20th-century horror films, helped cement the date’s ominous image while numerologists and spiritual writers offer alternative, positive framings.