Today is Friday the 13th, the last of three this year. Most people assume the dread is ancient, a curse passed down through centuries of folklore.
The paper trail says otherwise. The earliest known English reference is an 1869 biography of the composer Rossini, who died on Friday, November 13, 1868.
That is the same calendar date as today. It is the earliest known mention, though, not proof of where the fear began, and historians say the origins remain murky.
Then comes 1907. Financier Thomas W. Lawson published a novel called Friday, the Thirteenth, about a ruthless broker who exploits superstition to trigger a Wall Street panic.
Historians don't call Lawson the inventor of the superstition, but he is often credited with popularizing it. One account says the book sold over 60,000 copies in its first month.
That same account claims stockbrokers allegedly refused to trade on any Friday the 13th afterward. It comes from a single source, so treat it as colorful lore rather than settled fact.
Even the superstition's reach is local. Italians fear Friday the 17th, and in many Spanish-speaking countries the unlucky day is Tuesday the 13th.
