When Gov. Joseph M. Brown signed a bill creating a new Fulton County superior court judgeship, he did so “at exactly seven minutes to 1 o’clock Saturday morning,” according to an article in the Aug. 14, 1909, edition of the Atlanta Journal.
State officials keeping late hours haggling over legislation is nothing new, but Brown’s reasoning for the 12:53 a.m. signing was fairly unique.
The bill came to him the previous day, Friday the 13th.
“The bill will not be signed today,” Brown said. “Far be it from me to affix my signature on a day which is notoriously a double hoo-doo.”
It’s a lot easier to say “double hoo-doo” than to pronounce (or spell) the words signifying fear of Friday the 13th – friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia. For the estimated 17-21 million Americans suffering from the psychological condition, the day creates anxiety and avoidance.
Businesses feel the effects of Friday the 13th fear, too. In a 2015 Money.com article on the subject, Dr. Donald Dossey of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute is quoted as saying “It’s been estimated that [U.S.] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they normally would do.”
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Out in Rutledge, located about 50 miles east of Atlanta, Friday the 13th has become a boon to the local economy. Fans of the long-running horror film franchise “often flock to Camp Daniel Morgan or kayak across Lake Brantley and Lake Rutledge on Friday the 13th,” the Journal-Constitution’s Hunter Boyce wrote in May 2022. That’s because “Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives,” released in 1986, was filmed at Hard Labor Creek State Park.
Loki, that Norse god of mischief who is often listed among the potential origins for friggatriskai... frigga... er... superstitious beliefs surrounding Friday the 13th, might deem the day, or at least the number 13, lucky. He’s nabbed himself a show on Disney Plus. Season One was filmed at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, now Trilith Studios, down on the southside of town. The denizens of nearby Fayetteville and Peachtree City might flip the old script on Friday the 13th in order to celebrate such good fortune.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
The late Willie B., Zoo Atlanta’s lowland gorilla noted for his love of television and all the technology connected with it, had no complaints about Friday the 13th. He was gifted a new TV from Magnavox on Friday, July 13, 1979.
“Sources said Willie B. was quite happy,” the Journal reported on July 25, “considering last year’s loss when a thief relieved him of his TV set.” (A brave thief, apparently.)
And back in April 2011, an anonymous Journal-Constitution contributor to The Vent put his or her own humorous spin on the superstitions surrounding the most maligned day on the calendar. The pithy observation is a reminder that superstition has only as much credence as we give it.
“How could Friday the 13th be unlucky?” the wag asked. “It’s payday.”
About the Author
