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Hold On—There Are How Many Friday the 13ths in 2026?! Well, That Explains a Lot!

After a jam-packed workweek that leaves you stressed out and exhausted, it can feel like luck to make it to Friday. The word comes with a built-in exclamation point (Friday!), not a mounting sense of dread (ahem, Sunday scaries). But this year, you might find yourself approaching the last day of the week with a little more caution: There are multiple Friday the 13ths in 2026.

Cue the horror music.

In many Western cultures, including in the U.S., the date represents bad luck. (It doesn’t help that the Friday the 13th franchise has been popular for decades.) And whether you’ve seen one too many slasher flicks or take your superstitions seriously, it can feel like a bad omen. For some of us (OK, a lot of us), Friday the 13th induces a big case of goosebumps.

Frankly, after a tough 2025, we deserve a little luck. (The Year of the Horse even promises a bold and uplifting year!) But this year’s eerie Friday lineup already seems stacked against us. Should we quickly knock on wood or toss salt to ward off bad luck?

Brace yourself—something wicked this way comes in 2026. Here are the shivery details.

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How many Friday the 13ths pop up in a given year?

It depends on the calendar’s arrangement each year. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, there are 14 potential calendar arrangements that determine how many Fridays fall on the 13th day of the month.

Twelve of those calendar arrangements result in just one or two scary Fridays. In 2025, for instance, there was just one: June 13th. Next year is the same, with the sole Friday the 13th showing up on Aug. 13, 2027.

But the other two calendar configurations yield more fright nights.

How many Friday the 13ths are there in 2026?

We’re facing three Friday the 13ths this year! The good news is, we’ve already survived one (you doing OK?). Here are the Fridays that fall on the 13th in 2026:

  • Friday, Feb. 13
  • Friday, March 13
  • Friday, Nov. 13

These bad-luck days are unusual, but they’re not random. There’s a solid pattern to their appearance, which happens in two out of the 14 calendar cycles.

You can check whether a Friday the 13th is in your path by looking to the first day of the month: Those that start on a Sunday will include this spine-chilling day. This year, Friday the 13ths fall in back-to-back months (!), but then we get a break until November.

How have past years played out when there have been three of these unlucky days?

If you’re reading this, you’ve already made it through at least one year with triple the Friday the 13ths. In the recent past, they occurred in 2009, 2012 and 2015. Prior to these, there were three bad-luck days in 1998 and in the ’80s, including 1987 and 1984.

So was the vibe during these years glum, given all these ill-fated days? Here are the biggest stories:

  • 1984: We cheered Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the first “ice baby” was born from a frozen embryo. But the world also lost soul singer Marvin Gaye (shot by his father) and Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated.
  • 1987: We said goodbye to pop artist Andy Warhol, watched Reagan urge the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall and got totally freaked out by Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.
  • 1998: The movie Titanic won a record-tying 11 Oscars, and Google was founded in a California garage. But the year ended with the bombing of Pan American Airlines Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. And who could forget the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton scandal?
  • 2009: Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was sworn in, and an emergency plane landing became known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.” But we lost some American icons, including Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze.
  • 2012: We balanced the good (the Summer Olympics) with the devastating, including a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the death and destruction left behind by Hurricane Sandy.
  • 2015: Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British monarch, the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, and world leaders came to a landmark agreement on climate change. But the year wrapped with a terror attack in Paris.

So is Friday the 13th actually unlucky?

Most of the time, this particular day isn’t any more jinxed than the other days on the calendar. But sometimes, engaging in a protective ritual can make us feel better.

In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, participants who knocked on wood to avoid bad luck (even if they didn’t believe it would help) felt as if they’d distanced themselves from misfortune. The bottom line? If it makes you feel better, you do you.

It’s also worth remembering that other countries aren’t as spooked by Friday the 13th as we are in the U.S. In fact, in Italy, Friday the 17th is a frightening date, and in some Hispanic countries, it’s Tuesday the 13th that gives people the heebie-jeebies.

What other weird calendar quirks can we expect in 2026?

This year, April and July will have you saying “WTF?” The first three days of each of these months are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (WTF, get it?). It’s a silly little calendar fact that’ll give the group chat a reason to LOL.

Less quirky but still worth noting: Several major holidays land toward the end of the week and on the weekend. That means lots of opportunities for travel and getting together with friends and family. If you’re already planning your celebrations, note that the 4th of July and Halloween are on Saturdays, and Juneteenth and Christmas will be on Fridays.

As for that upcoming Friday the 13th? Knock on wood, cross your fingers and keep a four-leaf clover close. Or embrace the spirit of this unlucky day with a rewatch of the classic ’80s slasher.

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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

Sources:

Why the School Year Doesn't Start in January

Leap Year Facts You've Never Heard

What Is May Day and How Do You Celebrate?

The post Hold On—There Are <i>How</i> Many Friday the 13ths in 2026?! Well, That Explains a Lot! appeared first on Reader's Digest.



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