It's associated with bad luck, betrayal and a two digit number that puts the fear of God into some people.
That's right - Friday the 13th has finally rolled around again.
It's the second time the fearsome date has popped up on our calendars this year.
Advert
Those with a penchant for superstition will be erring on the side of caution as they go about their daily business today and are probably dodging black cats like their life depends on it.
But why is the dreaded date deemed to be so unlucky? Well, there is a few reasons.
A host of people have been struck by misfortune on Friday the 13th throughout history, but let's go back to the very beginning.
Advert
It starts with a Norse myth about 12 Gods getting together for a dinner party, which was crashed by an uninvited guest.
The God of mischief, trickery and deception - Loki - turned up and arranged for one of the hosts to be assassinated.
Think a Come Dine With Me episode, but with bow and arrows rather than verbal warfare.
As the unwelcome 13th guest wreaked havoc at the feast, this is where the number supposedly began to get a bad reputation.
Advert
I mean, 13 even just looks suspicious, doesn't it?
A similar incident unfolded at Jesus' Last Supper when he sat down with his 12 disciples, only for Judas to stab him in the back.
These disastrous dinners sparked the superstition that having 13 guests at a table is a bad omen.
But myths surrounding Friday the 13th don't all involve food, wine and a bench big enough to seat over a dozen guests.
In October 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of a Catholic military order, known as the Knights Templar.
Advert
Hundreds of members were rounded up and tortured into giving false confessions before being burned at the stake.
A series of other unfortunate events have followed on Friday the 13th, so it's no wonder that people are wary.
It's the date that rap legend Tupac Shakur succumbed to his injuries in 1996, six days after he was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.
A Uruguayan Air Force plane also 'disappeared' over the Andes on Friday the 13th in October 1972.
Advert
Two months later, 16 survivors turned up - who had been forced to eat the dead passengers in order to survive.
And, in 2010 lightning struck a 13-year-old boy from Suffolk on Friday the 13th, at 13:13.
To be honest, with Friday the 13th's track record can you blame people for being nervous?
Some people are so terrified of the number 13 that it has its own phobia, known as triskaidekaphobia.
A host of airlines, including Ryanair, Air France and Lufthansa, also seem superstitious, as they have avoided adding a row 13 to their planes.
Cruise liners, hotels and lift manufacturers have also been known to leave out the 13th floor.
But not everyone is terrified of the double digits - as Taylor Swift touts it as her lucky number.
She was born on the 13th, turned 13 years old on Friday the 13th, her first album went gold in 13 weeks and her first number one song had a 13 second intro.
Why don't you share some of that good fortune around, eh Taylor?
Featured Image Credit: Getty stock images