Friday the 13th – Halloween, Superstitions and Fear

The dictionary defines the word superstition as, "an irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious". Although it may be defined as irrational, I'm sure many people would disagree. Some sources say that Friday the 13th may be the most widespread superstition in the United States. Many people avoid travel, avoid signing contracts, some won't go to work or eat in restaurants and some people won't even get out of bed. And it's not just people that are superstitious; the business world is as well. Many tall buildings don't have a 13th floor and some airlines don't have a row 13, they skip straight from 12 to 14. Many Christians have long believed that Friday was unlucky because it was the day of the week when Jesus was crucified and the number 13 was believed to bring bad luck because there were 13 people at The Last Supper, with the 13th guest being Judas, the traitor. Another thing many people avoid are those haunted houses.

Besides Friday the 13th here are some more "bad luck" superstitions:

Walking under a ladder
Breaking a mirror
A black cat
A bat flying into your house
Three butterflies together
Hearing a rooster crow at night
Spilling salt
Crossing knifes at a table
Sitting on a table without one foot touching the ground
Breaking a glass while proposing a toast
Seeing an owl during daylight hours
Opening an umbrella indoors

Speaking of superstitions and fears, there is one slasher film franchise that feeds on that fear and has been for almost three decades. Camp Crystal Lake, hockey mask, Jason Vorhees - does any of this ring a bell? Once again another gruesome remake of Friday the 13th hits theaters today. The original Friday the 13th was released in May 1980 and has since had 12 (including today's release) sequels made all surrounding our beloved evil-reborn Jason Vorhees. Once again Jason is back on his old stomping ground of Camp Crystal Lake in this grisly campsite killing spree. As usual the movie will be a big hit with the young audience that has been faithful followers of the Friday the 13th series. I'm pretty sure that no matter what the reviews say by the professional movie buffs, people are going to flock to this slasher film just because . . . Jason's back!

Here's a list of all the "Friday the 13th" films in order of release:
1. Friday the 13th (1980)
2. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
3. Friday the 13th Part 3 3D (1982)
4. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
5. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
6. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
7. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
8. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
9. Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
10. Jason X (2002)
11. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
12. Friday the 13th (2009)

For the past 29 years, Halloween stores around the country have benefited from the Friday the 13th films. With the popularity of the main character Jason being so recognizable with his trademark white hockey mask, it's one very scary costume that puts fear in the hearts of many making it the perfect Halloween costume. This year will be no different with the remake release today of Friday the 13th. The deluxe Jason costumes and hockey masks will be flying off the shelves.