Friday the 13th

This year on November 13, the calendar serves up its most superstitious day for the third and final time in 2026. Whether you dodge ladders or laugh at the whole idea, Friday the 13th is a day made for a little playful dread.

NOV13

Friday, November 13Every year on November 13

days to go

Roots: Folklore ties the unlucky 13 to Judas as the 13th guest at the Last Supper and to Loki crashing a dinner of 12 Norse gods as the 13th guest.
Also on Nov 13: Indian Pudding Day · World Kindness Day
Hashtag: #FridayThe13th

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3 ways to celebrate

AT HOME

Tempt Fate, Gently

Walk under a ladder, open an umbrella indoors, or cross paths with a black cat, then laugh at how harmless it all feels. Today is the day to test every superstition you grew up with.

WITH FRIENDS

Host a Spooky Movie Night

Friday the 13th begs for a horror marathon with friends. Pop the popcorn, dim the lights, and lean into the chills.

WITH FRIENDS

Throw a Luck Party

Invite friends to test their luck with card games and coin flips all evening. Crown whoever has the luckiest night and make them defend the title next time.

Plan ahead

Friday the 13th is observed on November 13 every year. Here is where it lands for the next ten years, handy for planners, marketers and party people.

2026Fri, Nov 13this year

2027Sat, Nov 13

2028Mon, Nov 13

2029Tue, Nov 13

2030Wed, Nov 13

2031Thu, Nov 13

2032Sat, Nov 13

2033Sun, Nov 13

2034Mon, Nov 13

2035Tue, Nov 13

2036Thu, Nov 13

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Fast facts

2026 has three Friday the 13ths, in February, March, and November, the most any year can have.

Across the 400-year Gregorian calendar cycle, the 13th of the month actually falls on a Friday slightly more often than on any other weekday.

The story

November 13, 2026 is the third and final Friday the 13th of the year, following Friday, February 13 and Friday, March 13. Three is the maximum possible in a single year, and it happens in February, March, and November whenever a common, non-leap year starts on a Thursday, as 2026 does.

Read the full story

Where did the dread come from? Folklore ties the unlucky 13 to the Last Supper, where Judas was the 13th guest, and to a Norse myth in which Loki crashed a dinner of 12 gods in Valhalla as the 13th guest, setting off the death of Balder. For all that storytelling, historians find no record of Friday and 13 being paired as especially unlucky before the 19th century.

The fear itself has some of the longest names in the dictionary. The fear of the number 13 alone is triskaidekaphobia, and the fear of Friday the 13th in particular is friggatriskaidekaphobia, named after the Norse goddess Frigg, or paraskevidekatriaphobia, if you are feeling ambitious.

Friday the 13ths can arrive as little as one month apart, as February and March 2026 did, or as much as 14 months apart, the longest gap the calendar allows. After November 2026, the next one is August 13, 2027, the only Friday the 13th of 2027, so enjoy this one while it lasts.