Why is 13 unlucky?

Here are a few possible reason:

- There were 13 people at the Last Supper. It’s said that Judas Iscariot – the one who betrayed Jesus – was the 13th man to take his place at the table.

- There’s a Norse legend that has 12 gods sitting down to a banquet when the 13th (uninvited) god, Loki, showed up. Loki killed one of the other gods, which led to events that eventually resulted in the death of many gods, a slew of natural disasters, and the eradication of everything on earth save for two human survivors.

- Traditionally there were 13 steps leading up the gallows.

- There is also a legend that a hangman’s noose traditionally contained 13 turns, but it’s actually more like eight.

- There was a mass arrest and execution of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307.

- It was once believed that a coven was made up of exactly 13 members.

- In the late 1800s there was a group known a The Thirteen Club. Their purpose was to debunk the legend that 13 people at a table would result in the death of one of them within a year. They met on the 13th of the month and had dinner 13 people to a table. Members of the 13 Club included five U.S. presidents – Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Chester A. Arthur. Two of these presidents were shot, one fatally.