Thirteen Is Unlucky: Difference between revisions

'''Note''': This is not a repository for every time the number thirteen just happened to appear in history (we're looking at you, Apollo XIII and the thirteen stripes on the United States flag), this is for when writers use the number thirteen to denote something bad, or just really unusual.

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* The 13th Squad from ''[[Bleach]]'' never ran out of bad luck. Their Captain is a [[Incurable Cough of Death|very]], [[Blood From the Mouth|very]] [[Ill Girl|sick man]], {{spoiler|their original Vice-Captain was possessed by a Hollow forcing Rukia to kill him}}, and don't get me started with Rukia's misadventures.

* The titular [[Golgo 13]] has a [[Mysterious Past]], but is not unlucky himself. He is bad luck for whoever his target is.

== Comic Books ==

* The [[DC Comics]] character Doctor Thirteen is a paranormal investigator. His daughter Traci Thirteen is a sorceress. Neither one is a particularly bad sort, though Doctor Thirteen is a [[Flat Earth Atheist]] suffering from [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]. (Aversion)

* ''[[Spirou|Managsine]]'' hasn't had a page 13 for fifteen years or so. It has a page 12, 12bis, and it goes on to 14.

* In ''[[Fables]]'', all the witches from fables live on the thirteenth floor of the Bullfinch building in Fabletown. They're not entirely evil, more [[Chaotic Neutral]].

* In ''[[The Rescuers]]'' movie, Bernard was afraid of the number thirteen, especially when it came to the number of steps on a ladder or stairs. The movie also ended on a Friday the 13th, if you look at the calendar shown.

* [[Buster Keaton]] used this trope a few times.

** ''[[Convict 13]]'', in which an innocent man is mistaken for an escaped felon.

== Literature ==

* ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' has thirteen books, which would fit with its macabre nature.

** Each of which has thirteen chapters.

* In ''[[Monster Hunter International|Monster Hunter Alpha]]'', it's mentioned that monster hunting organizations, a very high risk profession, use a "Type 13" Federal Firearms License. This wouldn't be too unusual, but there are only 11, not 12, types of FFL in the real world and in universe monster hunting predates the scheme's creation. It seems someone in the government (which doesn't like civilian hunters) intentionally gave them the unlucky number.

* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' has a character commonly known as Thirteen who has Huntington's Disease.

* ''[[The Munsters]]'' live at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

* Both ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' and ''[[Fear Itself (TV series)|Fear Itself]]'' had 13 episodes per season.

* ''[[Kamen Rider Ryuki]]'' and ''[[Kamen Rider Dragon Knight]]'' involved thirteen Riders, and in ''Ryuki'' they're all trying to kill each other because [[There Can Be Only One]]. There are two good candidates for being the unlucky 13th one: Odin/Wrath, who is the most powerful and under direct control of the [[Big Bad]]; and Ryuga/Onyx, an unintended addition to the original twelve and [[Evil Twin]] of [[The Hero]] (though played with in ''Dragon Knight'', as the Evil Twin takes over the title role instead and the Good Twin gets the Onyx gear in response).

== Music ==

* Some artists intentionally "skip" track 13 on albums (usually by making track 13 a few seconds of silence). Examples include:

** [[Alan Jackson]]'s ''Who I Am'' skips from 12 to 14 by way of a silent track 13. Alan lampshades this trope on the liner notes, which say "That's right folks, I am just a bit superstitious."

And watch the grey men when they dive from the fourteenth floor...'' }}

* Wax actually added three silent tracks to an album with ten songs on it, just so they could somewhat justify calling it ''13 Unlucky Numbers''.

== Professional Wrestling ==

* During his [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] tenure, Tazz wore the number 13 on his gear, symbolizing the bad luck that brought his opponent face-to-face with an unstoppable rage machine like him.

== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'', the evil, rat-like race the Skaven worship the number thirteen.

* ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' has various thirteen things, like thirteen vampire clans and thirteen werewolf tribes, to fit in with its whole [[Crapsack World]]. In ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'', the Wyrm has Thirteen Urges which form the heads of the hydra, each of which is served by a Maeljin Incarna, who might as well be called the Thirteen Horseman of the Apocalypse. In ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'', the thirteen vampire clans were founded by the thirteen Antediluvians.

* [[Transformers]] The original [[Big Bad]], Megatron, was originally Micro Change figure #13.

* Such an unlucky number is featured on jerseys of top athletes in any toyline based on Creatures of the Night, Like 'Mad Balls'' and ''[[Monster High]]''.

== Theatre ==

* Inverted in ''[[Once Upon a Mattress]]'', where there are thirteen princess who wanted to marry Prince Dauntless. The first twelve princess failed the Queen's test; the twelfth is even said to have failed due to bad luck. Winnifred is the thirteenth princess, and she gets the Prince.

* Despite its title [[13|Thirteen]] is an aversion. The characters aren't unlucky, they're just 13 year olds. And it sucks to be 13.

* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' has Organization XIII, which consists of thirteen {{spoiler|(official)}}members who like to walk around in [[Black Cloak]]s and do not nice things, which is ambiguously justifiable in that they lost their hearts and are trying to reclaim them.

** The means of trying to reclaim their hearts, however, involves the distortion of the heart of all worlds. Pretty unlucky.

* In both the Super and Real paths of ''[[Battle Moon Wars]]'', mission 13 features the first major boss battle in the game, against [[Our Vampires Are Different|Nrvnqsr Chaos]], as well as being the hardest mission up to that point (assuming one isn't aiming for the [[One Hundred Percent Completion|Battle Masteries]].)

* [[Minions At Work]]: on the [http://www.minionsatwork.com/2009/03/minions-158-its-thought-that-counts.html lifespan of minion #13]

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' v4: Reiko Ishida is [[You Are Number Six|Female Student no. 13]]. She's also a [[Psycho Lesbian]] and multi-murderer.

* The thirteenth song in ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]''? Everything You Ever {{spoiler|: A lament on Penny's death and Dr. Horrible's [[Start of Darkness]].}}

* The ''[[SCP Foundation]]'' subverts this with the 05 Council. The reason they have thirteen members is so one of them can act as a tie-breaker should they vote on a decision and the vote is tied at six to six. Exactly which member has this position is unknown; likely they rotate it among themselves.

* In ''Slimer and [[The Real Ghostbusters]]'', the thirteenth floor of Hotel Sedgwick is reserved for dwelling ghosts and their guests.

== Real Life ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Number Tropes]]