In 1774, Johann August Ephraim Götze speculated: ĭa ich aus der Erfahrung weis, daß der Aberglaube nichts liebers, als Religionssachen, zu seinen Beweisen macht so glaube ich bey nahe nicht zu irren, wenn ich den Ursprung des Gegenwärtigen mit der Zahl XIII, von der Stelle des Evangelii herleite, wo der Heiland, bey der Ostermahlzeit, mit zwölf Jüngern zu Tische saß. The origin of the superstition is unclear and various theories of its source have been presented over the years. Since at least 1774, a superstition of 'thirteen at a table' has been documented: if 13 people sit at a table, then one of them must die within a year. In 1784, Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf cites Gébelin, and reaffirms that the tarot card number 13 is death and misfortune ( 'Der Tod, Unglück'). In 1781, Antoine Court de Gébelin writes of this card's presence in the Tarot of Marseilles that the number thirteen was 'toujours regarde comme malheureux' ('always looked upon as unlucky'). One of the trump cards in tarot represents Death, and is numbered 13 in several variants. Tarot card games have been attested since at least around 1450 with the Visconti-Sforza Tarot. Playing cards The Death card, number 13, from an 18th century Tarot deck In fact, the earliest attestation of 13 being unlucky is first found after the Middle Ages in Europe. Although several authors claim it is an older belief, no such evidence has been documented so far. The supposed unlucky nature of the number 13 has several theories of origin. The term was used as early as in 1910 by Isador Coriat in Abnormal Psychology. It is also a reason for the fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia (from Greek Παρασκευή (Paraskevi) 'Friday', Greek δεκατρείς (dekatreís) 'thirteen', and Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos) 'fear') or friggatriskaidekaphobia (from Old Norse Frigg ' Frigg', Ancient Greek τρεισκαίδεκα (treiskaídeka) 'thirteen', and Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos) 'fear'). Triskaidekaphobia ( / ˌ t r ɪ s k aɪ ˌ d ɛ k ə ˈ f oʊ b i ə/ TRIS-kye- DEK-ə- FOH-bee-ə, / ˌ t r ɪ s k ə-/ TRIS-kə- from Ancient Greek τρεισκαίδεκα (treiskaídeka) 'thirteen', and Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos) 'fear') is fear or avoidance of the number 13. Elevator panel in a building in the United States, where floors proceed from 12 to 14

Happy lucky friday the 13th