TARBORO —
To some Tarboro residents, Friday the 13th is no different than any other day, but for others, the day is worthy of mortal fear, or at least caution.
“I don’t mess with Friday the 13th. I stay in the house and behave myself,” said Melissa Harrell, a regular at the E.L. Roberson Senior Center. “I’m real superstitious.”
Harrell also avoids walking under ladders and reads her fortune once a week.
While Brandon Woolard, employee at the Classic Diner, isn’t deathly afraid of Friday the 13th, he does take extra care that day.
“It’s a dark day that just generally means ‘Don’t take things too lightly. Respect traditions,’”said Woolard.
For Mary L. Draughn, a Tarboro resident who frequents the Roberson Senior Center, Friday the 13th is “another day.” Friday also happens to be Draughn’s 74th birthday. She said she plans to treat herself to a birthday gift and “enjoy the day.” (Draughn was born on a Tuesday).
Like Draughn, Shelby Braddy, also a regular at the Roberson Senior Center, does not believe that Friday the 13th brings bad luck.
“I think if anything bad happens on the 13th, it’s just going to happen. It’s not because it’s the 13th,” she said. “I always have good luck. I believe if you have bad luck it’s your own fault.”
David Lewis, co-owner of Addie’s Main Street Café, does not consider himself superstitious, but he did have one memorable Friday the 13th.
“I got drafted into the Navy on Friday the 13th, 1965,” said Lewis. “That’s a day I’ll never forget.”
Faye Guill, owner of Cottons Restaurant, has not had any harrowing experiences on Friday the 13th, but she doesn’t plan to take any chances.
“I watch out for trouble (on Friday the 13th),” she said. “I wouldn’t invest any of my money on that day.”
As Guill says, Friday the 13th has “always been a superstitious day,” or at least for a long time. The official term for fear of Friday the 13th is “friggatriskaidekaphobia.” It combines the fears of the number 13 and view of Friday as an unlucky day. Fear of the number 13 has Biblical origins. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, is said to have been the 13th dinner guest at the Last Supper, according to an article printed in the “National Geographic News” on May 13, 2011. Friday is the day that Jesus Christ was crucified. The article also states that numerologists consider 13 an unlucky number because 12 is known as the number of completion; there are 12 signs in the zodiac, 12 months of the year and 12 tribes of Israel.
The year 2012 had three Friday the 13th’s, the highest number of possible occurrences in a calendar year. Today is the last Friday the 13th of this year.
Ann Baker, a regular at the Roberson Senior Center, considers Friday the 13th “a normal day” but believes in other superstitions.
“Don’t dig a hole in your yard on the shrinking of the moon. You won’t have enough dirt to fill it up. Dig a hole in your yard on the growing of the moon and you’ll have dirt left over,” she said.
Guill also has superstitions unrelated to Friday the 13th.
“When black cats walk across the road, I turn around and go the other way,” she said. “I don’t walk under ladders.”
In a 2007 USA Today/ Gallup poll, exactly 13 percent of respondents said that staying on the 13th floor of a hotel would unnerve them. In a 1996 Gallup poll, 25 percent (one-fourth) of respondents admitted to being at least somewhat superstitious. The survey indicated that younger people under the age of 30 are more likely to be superstitious than older people above the age of 65 (35 percent versus 17 percent).
For 96-year-old Lily Ruth Whitley, of Tarboro, superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th are the last things on her mind.
“It don’t bother me. It’s just another day the good Lord’s given me,” she said.
Local News
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A common superstition is that a black cat crossing your path brings bad luck. Friday the 13th is also known to be a harbinger of bad luck.
Friday the 13th just another day for some, not others
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