GREEN BAY (NBC26) -- Friday the 13th is almost over, and while not everyone is superstitious, it's traditionally considered one of the unluckiest days of the year.
Whether it's avoiding black cats or walking under ladders, the superstition around the frightening calendar date actually ties back to biblical times.
“Judas was the thirteenth person at the last supper, and then he turned on Jesus and turned him into the Romans. So therefore, the 13 has always carried on for many, many years as being a negative," said Mary Herber, a local historian at the Brown County Library.
It's also believed that Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
“So then Friday the 13th is kind of like a double whammy," Herber said.
The book "Canterbury Tales" depicts Friday as "a day of misfortune." Some date the real Friday the 13th panic back to the 20th century with Thomas Lawson's book "Friday the Thirteenth," a story about a stockbroker who decides to crash the stock market on this day.
Some even suffer from triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the number 13. Arnold Schoenberg, a famous music composer, had such a severe case that he often left out the thirteenth measure in pieces and replaced it with 12a.
Although studies show one in four Americans are superstitious, some want to see the science behind it.
“Historians are like, “where are the facts?” All this fog, and all this ghost stuff - you know - no," Herber said.
Others believe people create their own destinies.
“I’m not really superstitious per se, but I do believe that the power of thought gives energy to your thoughts in and of itself," said Matthew Anderson, a Bloomer resident. "So negative thoughts lead to negative events.”
With a traditionally unlucky day falling in the midst of a pandemic:
“If it’s just another thing to add to this year that’s good, because then next year will be better," Herber said.
The next Friday the 13th will land in August 2021.
*CNN contributed to this article.
