Well, I don't know about any quotes, but here's a bunch of crud on the topic:
The Norse, whose mythology gave us fear of the number thirteen, are also responsible for the anxiety over Friday the thirteenth. Friday gets its name from Frigg, the Norse goddess of the heavens. When Norse tribes dropped their polytheistic religion in favor of Christianity, they began vilifying Frigg, calling her a witch.
In their attempts to malign the goddess who used to represent love and fertility, people began to make up stories about her. In one tale, the deserted goddess was said to convene weekly meetings with eleven other witches and the devil--a total of thirteen participants. During these meetings, which naturally took place on "Frigg's day" or Friday, Frigg and her cohorts would hatch evil plots for the following week.
As a result of this story, Friday became known as the "Witches' Sabbath" and Friday the thirteenth was especially feared.
~(Sources: PANATI'S EXTRAORDINARY ORIGINS OF EVERYDAY THINGS by Charles Panati)
The French King [Philip le Bel (1268-1314)] prepared his case with secrecy and skill. The death of the pope gave him the opportunity to suborn his successor. On Friday the thirteenth of October 1307, Jaques de Molay Grand Master of the Templars, and sixty of his senior knights were arrested in Paris: simultaneously many thousands of other Templars were arrested throughout the realm of France. A few escaped arrest and once the word got out the remainder simply fled; an episode commemorated by the saying Friday the thirteenth, unlucky for some.
http://alandpeters.tripod.com/knightste ... 2/id9.html
Found on the Internet:
There are various theories surrounding the number thirteen. Since Christianity has had a large influence on all societies as a whole (just look at the real reason for the Y2K panic that happened), we'll look at the Christains first. At the last supper there were 13 guests. Some believe Jesus to be the 13th at feast, occurring just before he was crucified. This is a largely debatable theory because there is still no concrete evidence that the last supper even took place - so how do you know where to start counting ? And, did the disciples arrive in order, or was one of them late making them the 13th ? Most people go by the painting "The Last Supper," forgetting that this is an artist's interpretation of an event and the artist wasn't even there. The painting depicts the disciples and Jesus at a table, but evidence suggests that the last supper was not conducted at a table - rather the participants were seated on the ground where it was cooler. If you believe the traditional Christians and actually assume the event happened, the climate in Israel at that time would have meant that they would have stayed on the ground to keep cool. Like we mentioned above - where to start counting if we assume the picture is accurate ? If one started with Judas, Jesus became the 13th guest. Conversely, if the count began at Jesus, it was indeed Judas who was the 13th. Both options would contribute to the mystique surrounding the number 13. Jesus was killed soon after the feast and Judas was the betrayer of Jesus.
Stil on the christian theme, some people said that there was a 13th tribe of Israel. The bible proclaims only 12, and a very high percentage of Christians and Jews deny that a 13th tribe even existed. However, a few recognise that a group had, falsely, identified themselves as a 13th tribe. The members of the 13th tribe were labelled as "witches" and "sorcerers," an evil group who were determined to destroy followers of a Christian God. This doesn't do the number 13 any favours either and it also adds more false crap into the air about witchcraft. The fact that so many haven't even heard of this 13th Tribe makes the probability of the labelling of "Witches" being accurate extremely low. (Furthermore, the low probability simply further illustrates the false propaganda Christian organisations are willing to put forth in order to label Witchcraft as evil.)
Friday the 13th comes into play when it is observed that Jesus was Crucified on a Friday. Obviously, should one chose to accept this theory, the day associated with the death of the Savior would lend to the supposed bad luck which occupies this particular date. It is said, also, that it was a Friday when Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Furthermore, Friday used to be the 6th day of the week, it was not until more recent times that it became the 5th day. 6, being the number biblically associated with man, relates to the Devil. 3 is the number of the Holy Trinity, therefore with 6 being the number of man, 666 was denoted as the number of the Beast. (A Trinity of Six, signifying the God of Man, Satan) One can hardly find this connection to Satan adding to the "good name" of Friday the 13th.
Also, any month with a Friday the 13th must begin with a Sunday the 1st. Curiosity leads one to ask if a significance lies in the observation that only months that begin with the day God decided to rest (Sunday), after "creating the world," yield a day of such supposed demonic evil and misfortune.
To the Norse Friday was the luckiest day of the week, being named after Freya, one of their Deities. Also named after Venus, in Rome and France. For Mohammedans, Friday after sunset is also the Sabbath. The implications connecting Darkness, and hence Sunset (the transition from light to dark), and Evil would indeed lend to the idea of misfortune which surrounds Friday the 13th, to those who find the Muslim path as evil and heathen. Mohammedans also say that Adam was created on a Friday. It can be seen that it is largely within the Christian ranks that Friday takes on a significant connotation of evil when teamed with the 13th.
To continue on, perhaps extending a bit further in the past than Christian influence, a mythological occurrence presents: At the banquet in Valhalla, of which there were 12 guests, Loki, God of Deceit, intruded, becoming the uninvited 13th guest. In Norse mythology, Balder was the god of light and beauty. The most beloved of the gods, he was the son of Odin and Frigg and the husband of Nanna, goddess of the Moon. Balder was killed by Loki's treachery during the proceedings. Through Loki's interference, the return of Balder, from the possession of Hel, was an impossible task. To return Balder, Hel demanded that all living things beg for the god's return. All respond except a giantess, Thokk (Loki in disguise), whose refusal to weep forces Balder to remain in Hel's domain.
There are 13 members which make up a Wiccan/Pagan Coven to fully cast the Circle. 13 was sacred because it represented the amount of lunar months in year (Thirteen Full Moons). It has also been speculated that 13 was maximum # of people that could fit comfortably in a traditional Circle with a 9 foot diameter. 6 male-female couples and a priest or priestess.
Not so surprising is the understanding that 13, being a sacred number to most Pagan traditions, was therefore considered evil by early Christians. It took very little for the religious leaders to invent a dogma to counter the Pagan's sacred number. The question can be posed: If the mystique surrounding 13 is not invented dogma, why then do hotels hold rooms labeled #666? Why is this number not also omitted? For a superstition to spread so far it must be distributed through a largely influential source, such as Christianity. Notice again, 13 is still considered good luck in Italy, home of the Roman Catholic church, which separated from the rest of Christianity due to conflicting political and theological disagreements. Moreover, Friday was considered sacred by both Norse traditions and Muslims, both which are considered enemies to Christianity. Instituting Friday the 13th as a day of evil worked to prevent losing followers to either path, utilizing fear as a binding weapon.
A recent article shows that a new superstition has been 'invented' involving the number 13. Now some serial killers has been bunched under the 13 letter group, and it goes something like this:
Jack the Ripper- 13 letters
John Wayne Gacy- 13 letters
Charles Manson- 13 letters
Jeffrey Dahmer- 13 letters
Theodore ( Ted ) Bundy- 13 letters
This latest bad press is bound to give the self-respecting normal 13s in the world an even worse time of it.
From here on, it can be seen how the "bad luck" attributed to Friday the 13th comes from peoples' assumption that the date carries evil in it's wake. Therefore, anything that goes wrong on the 13th is assumed to be the effect of some supernatural evil. The luck or unluck of any given number resides solely in the mind of the person, and within the realm of the boogie man. All the superstitions built up around Friday the 13th were political maneuvers, largely on the part of Christian religious leaders (but most definetly not the only offenders), to divert their followers minds from other spiritual paths.
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