Friday the 13th doesn’t have a single clear starting point; it emerged over time from several older beliefs about Fridays , the number 13 , and then, only later, the specific combo “Friday the 13th.”

Quick Scoop: Where did Friday the 13th originate?

1. Old fear of the number 13

Long before anyone talked about “Friday the 13th,” many cultures in Europe already viewed 13 as an unlucky or disruptive number.

  • In Norse myth, a feast in Valhalla had 12 gods until Loki turned up as the 13th guest, causing the death of Balder and plunging the world into sorrow.
  • In Christian tradition, the Last Supper had 13 at the table (Jesus and his 12 apostles), and the one seen as the “13th,” Judas, was the betrayer, reinforcing the idea that 13 at table “courts death.”
  • Over centuries, this fed into a broader Western superstition called triskaidekaphobia, the fear of 13.

Some scholars also point out that in pre‑Christian, goddess‑focused traditions, 13 could be a powerful number (linked to lunar and menstrual cycles), which later Christian authorities tried to suppress, further helping to twist 13 into something ominous.

2. Why Fridays got a bad reputation

Separately, Friday itself was considered unlucky in various Christian traditions.

  • Many Christian sources connect Friday with the Crucifixion of Jesus (Good Friday), so it became associated with suffering and death.
  • Medieval lore layered on other events that were said to happen on Friday—Adam and Eve’s fall, Cain killing Abel, the Great Flood, and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple—deepening the “bad day” aura.
  • In everyday life, sailors and workers sometimes treated Friday as a bad day to start journeys or new projects.

So, by the Middle Ages and early modern period, both Fridays and the number 13 could feel like “risky” on their own.

3. When did “Friday the 13th” as a phrase start?

The specific superstition about Friday the 13th appears to be surprisingly modern rather than ancient.

Folklorists and historians who dug through old texts found:

  • The belief seems to come together in 19th‑century Europe , especially in France, where references to Friday the 13th as an unlucky day start appearing in plays and literature.
  • A researcher at the Library of Congress argues that the combined superstition (Friday + 13 together) likely formed in France in the first half of the 1800s, then spread to the United States in the later 19th century via theater and popular culture.
  • By the early 1900s, Americans clearly knew the idea: Thomas Lawson’s 1907 novel Friday, the Thirteenth centers on a Wall Street broker using the date’s ominous reputation to crash the market, which suggests the superstition was already familiar to readers.

So the “origin” isn’t a single medieval decree; it’s more like a fusion of two older fears that finally crystallized into one named bad‑luck date in the 1800s.

4. Popular theories you’ll see online

You’ll often hear some extra “origin stories” — they’re part history, part later storytelling:

  • Knights Templar (Friday 13 October 1307) : French King Philip IV ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar on a Friday the 13th; some modern writers link this to the superstition, but historians say there’s no evidence people at the time treated that date as generically unlucky.
  • Purely biblical origin : Another common claim is that Christians directly created “Friday the 13th” from the Last Supper plus Good Friday. Older Christian writings do show anxiety about Fridays and about 13 at table, but they don’t clearly single out Friday the 13th as a joint curse until much later.
  • Modern horror‑movie effect : The Friday the 13th slasher films (starting in 1980) didn’t create the superstition, but they massively boosted its pop‑culture visibility and tied it to horror imagery for today’s audiences.

These stories help explain how people talk about the superstition now, even if they weren’t its true starting point.

5. Today’s vibe and “latest” angle

In 2026, Friday the 13th is more pop‑culture event than serious terror for most people in Western countries.

  • Media outlets still run explainers every time the date comes up, revisiting Norse myths, biblical tales, the Templars, and horror movies as talking points.
  • Online forums and newsletters now also play with the idea—some people swap real‑life “bad luck” stories, others treat it as a fun theme day (movie marathons, horror memes, “lucky” Friday the 13th posts).

So, if you’re asking “where did Friday the 13th originate,” the best answer is:

It grew out of centuries‑old Western unease with Fridays and the number 13, then solidified into a named unlucky date in 19th‑century Europe—especially France—before being carried to America and amplified by modern media and horror culture.

TL;DR:

  • 13 was unlucky (Norse myth, Last Supper, later Christian tradition).
  • Friday was unlucky (Crucifixion and other biblical events).
  • The combination “Friday the 13th” as a special bad‑luck day likely formed in 19th‑century France, spread to the U.S., and was later super‑charged by novels and horror films.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.