Thirteen Is Unlucky: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"The hotel I'm staying in has [[Missing Floor|no 13th floor]] 'cause of superstition. But people on the 14th floor: You know what floor you're '''really''' on. What room are you in? 1401? No, you're not! If you jump out that window, you will '''die earlier'''."''|[[Mitch Hedberg]]}}

 

 

There is some debate over the source of fear towards the number thirteen, though the writer Nathaniel Lachenmeyer has argued that the original 'unlucky thirteen' superstition was the 19th century belief that if thirteen people sat at a dinner table one would die before the end of the year. (Presumably he [[Did Not Do the Research|hadn't read]] the Greek myth using the trope.) Certainly it was established by the early 20th century when the word ''triskaidekaphobia'' was coined to describe an irrational fear of the number thirteen, a fear which has become so prevailent that many buildings in America [[Missing Floor|will not have a 13th floor]]. If it is not particularly subtle it's the writers beating you over the head with symbolism.

Often writers will associate someone or something to the number thirteen to show that they are dark, evil, unnatural, or just unlucky. Maybe the [[Butt Monkey]] or the [[Cosmic Plaything]] was born on the 13th.

 

 

'''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.

 

== Anime and Manga ==

** Every numbers in the movie add to 13. The room's key lock has "6214" etched into it, the first death was in the year 1912, the hotel is mentioned to be at 2254 Lexington Street in New York City, "this is 5" then "this is 8", Mike opens the room's Bible at random to Chapter 11 of book Samuel 2, and the movie was released in the US in June 22, 2007.

** The normal DVD version's runtime is 104 minutes, 8 seconds. The director's cut is 112 minutes (1 + 12...)

* ''[[Apollo 13]]'': Both the movie and the real mission [[It Was His Sled|went badly]]. However, the film actually deconstructs this trope twice before the mission takes place.

** First, Marilyn's reaction upon hearing that Jim has been bumped up is to note that it's number 13. Jim tells her that it comes after twelve.

**** As does the publisher. The series ''runneth over'' with this trope.

* ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' has thirteen Forsaken, the [[The Dragon|Dragons]]<ref>No pun intended</ref> of the series.

* In [[The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]] book ''Mostly Harmless'', the evil Guide-bird was being kept on floor thirteen. Maybe [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] because Ford notices that the elevator doesn't have a thirteenth button, and he thinks that's weird because only humans have a fear of 13, and that's how he figures out the bird-thing was being kept there.

** It was ''The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Mk II'', created by {{spoiler|the Vogons as part of a multidimensional plot to finally and completely destroy Earth and put that final tick in the box and file the paperwork. It was only shaped like a bird for reasons not explained.}}

== 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.

* In [[Were Alive|We're Alive]], the Tower [[Missing Floor|has no thirteenth floor]] because of this.

 

* ''[[Fairly Oddparents]]'' Anti-Fairies escape to cause bad luck on Friday the 13th.

* Numbah 13 on ''[[Codename Kids Next Door]]'' is ridiculously unlucky. And a dork.

* ''[[The Simpsons (Animation)|The Simpsons]]'' [[Treehouse of Horror|Treehouse Of Horror]] story "Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace" starts "on the thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month" with a meeting to [[Lampshade Hanging|discuss the misprinted calendars]] bought by the town.

** "Lousy Smarch weather..."