In North America and in Europe, a significant proportion of the population behaves very strangely on Friday the 13th. Some people won’t fly in airplanes, host parties, apply for jobs, get married or even start new projects, a condition known as “paraskevidekatriaphobia”.

According to a 1993 study published in the British Medical Journal titled “Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?” fewer people chose to drive their cars on Friday the 13th, the number of hospital admissions due to vehicular accidents was significantly higher than on “normal” Fridays. Their conclusion:

“Friday 13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52%. Staying at home is recommended.”

The origins of the Friday the 13th being an unlucky date are shrouded in mystery.

In numerology 13 is considered to be an irregular number and is also the number of witches you need to form a coven.

Some say the roots of 13 being considered unlucky lie in a Nordic myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla.

The 13th guest was Loki, the god of mischief, who arranged for the god of joy and gladness to be shot with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. He died and the whole world was thrust into mourning.

Seafarers have long considered it is bad luck to set off on a journey on a Friday. It was also historically known as the day that people were usually hanged in Britain.

Unfortunate events that have happened on Friday the 13th

The Da Vinci Code popularised the link between the Friday the 13th superstition and the decline of the religious order the Knights Templar.

Buckingham Palace was hit by five German bombs on Friday September 13, 1940 with both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth coming close to being killed. One member of the royal staff died and the palace chapel was destroyed.

A Chilean Air Force plane disappeared in the Andes on Friday 13 October 1972, with 14 survivors turning up two months later. They had been forced to eat dead passengers in order to survive. The story of the ordeal was published in a book called “Alive!” by Piers Paul Read. A film based on the book was released in 1993, starring Ethan Hawke.

The rapper Tupac Shakur died of his wounds on Friday September 13 1996 six days after being shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting.

The Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground on Friday 13 in January 2012 off the western coast of Italy killing 30 people.