Today is Friday the 13th — a day that many people don’t want to see a black cat or break a mirror.

It is not clear when the date became associated with bad luck, but studies show more than 20 million Americans have some sort of fear about it.

There are many strange superstitions surrounding the date.

Doomed birthday? A child born on Friday the 13th will be unlucky for life. If a child’s name has 13 letters, the child will have “devil’s luck,” according to legend.

Don’t cut that hair! If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die.

Beware of hearses: If a funeral procession passes you on Friday the 13th, you will be the next to die.

Don’t make that bed: According to legend, you should never change your bed sheets on Friday the 13th or you will have bad dreams.

Party of 13? On Friday the 13th and any other day, if 13 people dine together, one will die within a year. This legend that may date back to biblical times and the Last Supper, as well as an old Norse legend involving Odin.

What are your Friday the 13th superstitions?

Keep Reading

The woman's body was found in the back of a shopping complex on Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta, officials said.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Featured

Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com