Today we associate Friday the 13th with horror movies and unluckiness but its history goes back much further. In Europe, 13 was long considered an unlucky number and Friday an unlucky day, so the combination of the two was natural.
However the myth of Friday the 13th grew in the English-speaking world in the 20th century after the publication of the novel: Friday, the Thirteenth by Thomas Williams Lawson in 1907. It was a tremendously popular book at the time and helped bring the day into prominence long before Jason Voorhees.
In it, the protagonist, Bob Brownley, seeks to avenge the death of his love, Beverly, who was driven to suicide due to the financial manipulations of powerful men in the stock market. On Friday the 13th, Brownley takes advantage of superstitions about the date to execute a complex scheme aimed at breaking the stock market, causing massive financial havoc. Through intense drama and the whirlwind of stock trading, the book critiques greed and the ruthless pursuit of wealth.
Meanwhile, Bespoke highlights that Friday the 13th has actually been a good day over the past 70 years.
The caveat is that Oct/Nov instances have been rough.
Interestingly, Lawson himself became a multimillionaire during the copper boom in the 1890s and was later known for stock market manipulations. After the book, he gained prominence as a stock market critic but remained heavily invested and ultimately saw his fortune dwindle before dying in relative obscurity.
“The stock market is a rigged game, where levels of manipulation are layered deep and the house always wins,” he wrote.
h/t @BeegJj