The fear or avoidance of the number 13 is known as ‘triskaidekaphobia’. There is no single, universally accepted explanation for how the superstition originated. Instead, historians trace it to a combination of religious traditions, mythology, folklore and cultural beliefs that developed over centuries.
One of the most widely cited associations comes from Christian tradition. According to the New Testament, 13 people were present at the Last Supper: Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles. Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus contributed to the association of the number 13 with misfortune.
Another tradition frequently linked to the superstition comes from Norse mythology. One medieval account recounts that a banquet attended by 12 gods was disrupted when Loki, the trickster god, arrived as an uninvited 13th guest. The events that followed led to the death of Baldr, one of the most revered gods in Norse mythology. It is one of several traditions associated with the number’s reputation for bad luck.
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Over time, the superstition became more deeply embedded in popular culture. The belief surrounding Friday the 13th became especially widespread during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and gained further prominence after the publication of Thomas W. Lawson’s 1907 novel ‘Friday, the Thirteenth’. Films, television and popular culture later helped make Friday the 13th one of the best-known superstitions in the world.
A commonly repeated claim links the belief to the arrest of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307, but historians have found no evidence that this event gave rise to the modern superstition.
For hotels and property developers, however, the decision to omit the number 13 is generally a practical one rather than a reflection of personal belief. There is no law or building code requiring buildings to skip the 13th floor. Instead, many developers choose not to label a floor as 13 because some guests, residents and buyers prefer to avoid the number. Since changing the numbering has little or no effect on construction or building design, renaming the 13th floor as the 14th, or, in some buildings, as 12A, is often viewed as a simple way to accommodate customer preferences. The practice is most common in North America, although it is also found in some buildings in Europe, Australia and parts of Asia.
Beliefs about unlucky numbers also vary across cultures. In China, Japan and South Korea, the number 4 is often avoided because its pronunciation is similar to the word for “death” in Chinese and in Sino-Japanese and Sino-Korean readings. As a result, some buildings omit the fourth floor or use alternative numbering. In Italy, the number 17 has traditionally been regarded as unlucky in many contexts, illustrating that ideas about lucky and unlucky numbers differ across societies.
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