When the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday….

Friday the 13^th

You see, Jason was my son, and today is his birthday…”

-     The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia

-   Any month’s 13th day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.

-   According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. “It’s been estimated that [US]$800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day”.

-   As a majority, in countries that speak German, French and English, Friday the 13 is considered a bad luck day.  Yet in Greece, Romania and Spanish speaking countries, it is Tuesday the 13th that is considered unlucky. Italy comes in with its own day of bad luck, as Friday the 17th.

-    When the 400-year calendar is laid out; the 13th falls on Friday more often than any other day of the week.

Events on Friday the 13th

• The renowned rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur was pronounced dead on Friday, September 13, 1996.
• Hurricane Charley made landfall in south Florida on Friday, August 13, 2004.
• The “Friday the 13th Storm” struck Buffalo, New York on Friday, October 13, 2006.
• The asteroid 99942 Apophis will make a close encounter with Earth, closer than the orbits of communication satellites, on Friday, April 13, 2029.
• The Andes Plane Crash of 1972 occurred on Friday, October 13, 1972.
• A London Underground Engineering train on the Northern Line became uncoupled and Went on the 13 minute journey southbound from Archway and halted at Warren Street tube station. The train in front has been forced to skip several stations and been diverted to the city branch.
• At the 2010 Lowestoft Airshow in Suffolk, a 13 year old boy was struck by lightning at 13:13 BST on Friday 13th August 2010.

 

NUMBER 13

“Thirteen at a table is unlucky only when the hostess has only twelve chops.” – Groucho Marx.
-    Hotels rarely have a room number 13. Usually it is called 12a or 14. Same with floors of high rise buildings. Many elevators are without a #13 button. Highways sometimes will skip exit 13 altogether.

-    The deadliest associations with number 13 are the facts that there are 13 stairs leading to the gallows, the blade in a guillotine fell from a height of 13 feet and a hangman has 13 knots in a hangman’s noose.

-    Ancient Romans regarded the number 13 as a symbol of death, destruction and misfortune.

-    The coinage ‘baker’s dozen’ came into existence as a baker generally adds a 13th loaf to a dozen, offering it to the devil, in an attempt to keep him from marring the rest of the basket.

-    In numerology, the number 12 symbolizes completeness, whereas 13 is an irregular number that ruins the completeness.

-     It is believed that walking around the house 13 times on this day helps keep the evils away.

-     In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.

 

 

FRIDAY

“Now Friday came, you old wives say, Of all the week’s the unluckiest day.”

-   In Roman mythology, Friday or the 6th day of the week was allotted to the beautiful, yet vain Goddess of Passion, Venus. When the Scandinavians started to follow the Roman way of naming days, Venus, was translated to Frigga or Freya, as per author Charles Panati. ‘Friday’ is an obvious derivation of the name of this Goddess. But with the adoption of Christianity by the Norse-Germanic tribes, Frigga was ostracized and forced to live on a lonely mountain summit. She was also declared a witch as her pet was a black cat. Belief has it that the scorned Goddess convoked a gathering every Friday, with 11 other witches and the Devil to disrupt human life for the coming week. Due to this theory of the meeting of the witches’ coven with 13 members, Scandinavians referred to Friday as ‘Witches’ Sabbath’ for centuries afterward.

-    Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century’s

-   In some cultures, Friday is considered unlucky. This is particularly so in maritime circles; perhaps the most enduring sailing superstition is that it is unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday

-   In the Hebrides it is supposed that it is a lucky day for sowing the seed. Good Friday in particular is a favorite day for potato planting—even strict Roman Catholics make a point of planting a bucketful on that day. Probably the idea is that as the Resurrection followed the Crucifixion, and Burial so too in the case of the seed, and after death will come life.

-    The old Romans called Friday nefastus, from the utter overthrow of their army at Gallia Narbonensis.

-    In the USA and the British Isles Friday was known as Hangman’s Day or Hanging Day as this was the day that most executions were performed.

-   An old England the proverb says “A Friday moon brings foul weather”

-    Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s. It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday

 

The  following months have a Friday the 13th:

Month	Years
January	1978, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2006, 2012, 2017, 2023
February	1976, 1981, 1987, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2026
March	1981, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2009, 2015, 2020, 2026
April	1973, 1979, 1984, 1990, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2018
May	1977, 1983, 1988, 1994, 2005, 2011, 2016, 2022
June	1975, 1980, 1986, 1997, 2003, 2008, 2014, 2025
July	1973, 1979, 1984, 1990, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2018
August	1971, 1976, 1982, 1993, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2021, 2027
September	1974, 1985, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2013, 2019, 2024
October	1972, 1978, 1989, 1995, 2000, 2006, 2017, 2023, 2028
November	1981, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2009, 2015, 2020, 2026
December	1974, 1985, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2013, 2019, 2024

 

Media Night a huge success

Well, we tried things out and got some fresh blood walking through the halls last night, everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Here’s a video that the Rapid City Journal put together after a walk through during the day.

We’d love to see some of your photos, Please send them our way if you have any you’d wish to share.

Opening Night – TONIGHT!!!

We’ve tested all the tricks and trained all the spooks and we’re finally ready to open our doors. We’re very excited to scare you this year. Our house has more than doubled in size and is taking about 30 – 40 minutes to get through. We expect a great turn out. Please let us know what you thought of the Fort Fear experience.
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Fort Fear’s first radio spot of 2010

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Hell’s Horizon

As told to Adrian Ludens

There’s an old saying: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” But there are those who would disagree. Some have learned that “Hell hath no fury like a little girl scorned.”

Does that make you smile? Do you imagine the fussing of a petulant child? Think again. Do not underestimate the full-blown nightmares made real by the angry broken mind of Elizabeth Goodnight, a young pioneer girl who drank from a poisoned well. Imagine a scared little child unjustly condemned to the bowels of darkness where her most terrifying nightmares roamed free. A little girl forced to endure atrocities of the mind. Every day she begged, pleaded and prayed for release. (more…)