History Main / ThirteenIsUnlucky

** ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'':

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/SeventhDragon''. Come the final installment, the new group of dragonslayers that's recruited to fight against the True Dragons are given the title of Unit 13 because that was the Murakumo unit that did the best in the previous installments.

* The Wii version of ''VideoGame/FortuneStreet'' has a number of cards you can draw with various effects if you land on a Suit space. Card 13 is one of the worst in the game - it reduces the value of ''every'' property you own by 13%. Annoying if drawn in the early game, devastating if drawn late.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': The final story arc has Dipper and Mable work with the others to stop Bill Cipher's "Weirdmageddon" apocalypse before their 13th birthday.

* In UsefulNotes/{{Tarot|Cards}}, XIII is ''Death'' in the Major Arcana. [[TarotMotifs While it usually does not mean physical death]], it usually implies the end of something (relationship or interest).

* The spooky grandfather clock in Franchise/TheHauntedMansion prominently displays a 13 at the top in place of the usual 12.

* When she moves to [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Rimwards Howondaland]] on the Literature/{{Discworld}} to work as a stealth Witch, Rebecka Smith-Rhodes is given the services of a black orderly to help out in her surgery and infirmary. At first she wonders why he is universally known as ''Dertein'' - "Thirteen". Then she is told he has an accident-prone streak. ''Thirteen'' is a nickname; it has stuck so closely she never gets to know what he's really called.

* In the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse, along with WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck being pursued by the number (most notably, his car with the plate 313), the Beagle Boys have the BornUnlucky 1313.

* A way to test people's gullibility: tell them that this year is Halloween will be extra spooky because it will take place on Friday the 13th. Then see how long it takes them to realise that Halloween can't be on the 13th.

* {{Zigzagged}} with [[Characters/MCURocketRaccoon Rocket Raccoon]] of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse . His designation while living a hellish life of being constantly ripped apart and pulled back together ''without anesthetics'' was ''89P'''13''''' ; and yet he was the only subject among Batch 89 to have survived the purge at the guns of The High Evolutionary. Yet he being the SoleSurvivor among his first friends left him with ''deep'' lifelong emotional scars and SurvivorGuilt that turned him from a sweet and innocent raccoon kit into the foul mouthed and cynical curmudgeon we meet him as in the [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 first Volume]] of ''Guardians of The Galaxy.''

--> "What time is it when the clock strikes 13? [[spoiler:Time to fix the clock.]]"

** Putting it further for the 13th Doctor, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E10TheTimelessChildren "The Timeless Child"]] retcons over 60 years of DW lore by revealing that [[spoiler:not only was the 13th Doctor ''not'' the first female Doctor, but the regeneration of the Time Lords was actually stolen from her by killing her over and over again so that she would regenerate continuously, making the ability that was unique to them literally PoweredByAForsakenChild]]. Needless to day, this was the episode that officially [[BrokenBase broke the fandom]], truly making the 13th Doctor unlucky.

'''Note''': This is not a repository for every time the number thirteen just happened to appear in history (Apollo XIII and the thirteen stripes on the United States flag being the best examples), this is for when writers use the number thirteen to denote something bad, or just really unusual.

* Played with in ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou''. Rentarou's 13th girlfriend is a [[spoiler:[[InvertedTrope reverse]] OccidentalOtaku]], which seems evocative of this trope's prevalence in Western culture.

* If one looks closely at the student body assembly in ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'' Season 1 Episode 5, not counting Class 3-E each year has four sections for a total of twelve. Class 3-E is thus the thirteenth section, reinforcing its reputation as the dumping-ground for Kunugigagoka's worst of the worst.

* Meredy marked Juvia as the 13th member of ''Manga/FairyTail'' to kill (out of about 22 guild members on Sirius Island), due to viewing her as a weakling. Then Meredy says that Gray, Juvia's crush, is the one she wants to kill most of all because he hurt Ultear. [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Oops]].

* A ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' comic story had an engine named "Unlucky no.13" who had bad luck.

* In ''Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton'', Danny's 13th date may have been his worst one, given that it's with Vicky from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''.
* In ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'', this applies to the 13th chapters in both the original and the remastered version.
** For the original version, it features The Good Hunter dealing with the most troublesome issue he has ever faced: [[spoiler:the aftermath of a rumour claiming [[CelibateHero he]] slept with Maia.]]
** For the remastered version, it features [[spoiler:[[InferioritySuperiorityComplex Alicia]] throwing a tantrum due to her loss against [[WorldsStrongestMan Kyril]] during his TrialByCombat, which leads her to [[RevengeByProxy lash out at Soren]], putting the young man in critical condition. As if this does not piss off Kyril any further.]]

* Chapter 13 of ''[[Fanfic/TheSmurfsThatCanonForgot Smurf Village Upturned]]'' heralds a tragic turning point in the story, as [[spoiler:Papa Smurf]] makes a HeroicSacrifice that leaves everyone else reeling from the loss.

* Thirteen species are seen at the circus in ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}.'' The title character, who later becomes one of the most recognizable [[TheWoobie Woobies]] in media, is the last, and therefore the thirteenth, baby to be delivered.
* Thirteen tends to come up a fair amount in ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', some times more subtly than others.
** Elsa is the thirteenth Franchise/DisneyPrincess, and has one of the most traumatic backstories out of them all.
** The incident in the start of the movie, in which Elsa accidentally strikes her sister Anna with magic, resulting in their parents isolating Elsa in a failed attempt to help Elsa control her powers, happens when Elsa is 8 and Anna is 5 (8+5=13). Also, the sisters were shut in for thirteen years before the main story -- the TimeSkip ends when Anna is 18 and Elsa is 21 (18-5=13; 21-8=13).
** Prince Hans is the thirteenth son of the King of the Southern Isles, and has been mistreated by his father and older brothers. [[spoiler:He's also the villain, referencing his status as thirteenth child as proof that he'll never get the throne, and Anna having fallen for him is very bad luck for her.]]

* ''Film/DieHard'': There are 13 terrorists that John [=McClane=] has to contend with: [[BigBad Hans Gruber]], [[TheDragon Karl Vreski]], [[TheEvilGenius Theo (computer expert and safecracker)]], Eddie (mans the desk at the front, distracts anyone going in), Heinrich (explosives expert), Franco, Fritz, Tony (Karl's brother, disables phone lines), Alexander (mans third floor with machine gun, uses rocket launcher), Marco, Uli (who likes candy bars), James, and Kristoff (Theo's assistant).

* ''Film/Thirteen2003'', especially when you consider that the movie is basically supposed to prey on parents' worst fears.

* It's in Chapter 13 of ''Literature/TheMartian'' that [[spoiler:the ''Hab's'' airlock fails]].

* On August 5, 2013, Major League Baseball handed down thirteen suspensions related to the use of performance enhancing drugs. Yankee number 13, Alex Rodriguez got a 211-game suspension, while everyone else got less.

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* Referenced by LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}} in his playthrough of ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', where he notes that in the [[FluffyCloudHeaven Overthere Stair]] section, cloud 13 is significantly smaller than the others. Whether or not this was intended within the game itself is unclear.
[[/folder]]

** ''Fly'' by Music/TheChicks skips from 12 ("Heartbreak Town") to 14 ("Let Her Fly"). Depending on the pressing, track 13 is either a second of silence (listed as "ain't no thang but a chicken wang" in the booklet), or just the last couple seconds of "Heartbreak Town". This may be due to this trope, or the fact that the album as a CutSong -- it was originally slated to be a duet with Deryl Dodd on "Wherever You Are", but he came down with encephalitis and was unable to re-record the track to his liking so it became a CutSong.

* '70s musical icons ''Music/{{Chicago}}'' titled their albums according to the order they were issued (Chicago II, Chicago III, Chicago IV, etc). They subverted this trope by naming their 12th album "Hot Streets", and reverting to the numerical system with "Chicago XIII". "XIII" played the trope straight however, proving to be a commercial and critical failure, and the first album by the band to produce no significant hit singles.

* Music/{{Korn}}'s third studio album, ''Follow The Leader'', actually ''begins'' with the thirteenth song, aptly named "It's On!" after 12 songs of five-second silence. The album has a grand total of 25 songs, yet ironically, if the first 12 songs were omitted, the album itself would be reduced to ''13'' songs. It seems the band must have double subverted this trope.
* Music/{{Mushroomhead}}'s 2003 studio album is titled ''XIII'' and, appropriately enough, has 13 songs. To top it off, the final thirteenth song is even named "Thirteen".

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'': In ''Challenge of the Superfriends'', the Legion of Doom has thirteen members..

* This is a major problem for Shirley Fenette in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. In Stage 13, [[spoiler:Shirley is reeling from her father's death, and learns that Lelouch is the one responsible]]. In Turn 13, [[spoiler:Shirley is killed by Rolo]], which signals a much darker turn in the story.

* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' has a meta example. Most volume covers tend to feature a singular character. Naturally, resident ButtMonkey Maki was on the cover of volume 13.

* ''Thirteen Dead-End Drive'', a game where the heirs to a fortune try to bump each other off.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' Anti-Fairies escape to cause bad luck on Friday the 13th.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', Rocko and Heffer board a plane with flight number 1313. All kinds of misfortune occur on their flight.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** In several main series games, Absol (a Pokémon that heralds disasters) is found on routes containing the number 13.
** The thirteenth chapter of ''VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon'' has a malevolent entity turn [[SacrificialLion Latios and Latias]] [[TakenForGranite into stone]], and is the starting point of the story's CerebusSyndrome.

* ''Series/AndiMack'': The first episode has Andi celebrate her 13th birthday and discovers her older sister Bex is really her mother.

* ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'': Juliet is two weeks away from her 14th birthday. [[ItWasHisSled She doesn't live to see it.]]

* On the 13th of April in ''VideoGame/CherryTreeHighComedyClub'', Dina announces that there will be no dinner that night because she lost all her money betting on racehorse number 13.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Chapter 13 is the one at the end of which [[spoiler:one of the non-immune members of the crew gets bitten by a troll, which means they may very well be infected by a disease that will either kill them or turn them into a troll]].

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'' story "Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace" starts "on the thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month" with a meeting to [[LampshadeHanging discuss the misprinted calendars]] bought by the town.[[note]]"Lousy Smarch weather..."[[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'': In ''Challenge of the Superfriends'', the Legion of Doom has thirteen members.
* Subverted for Tom in ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry''. [[ButtMonkey Fittingly enough]] [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain for him]], thirteen is the exact number of shorts [[TeamRocketWins he got to defeat Jerry]].

* ''[=SHADES=] of Manhattan'', a figting game created with {{VideoGame/MUGEN}}, features a villain named Thirteen. He was an extremely unlucky man, born on a friday 13, convicted of a rape he didn't commit, taken from the prision to be a lab rat for Project [=SHADE=] as prisoner 13 and has one of the most unfortunate powers: can grow spikes from his hands, feet, elbows and one eye, but they actually produce pain for him. This caused him to grow mad and his main purpose is to inflict as much pain as possible on anyone he sees, specially the game's BigBad and the cause of his misfortune.

* A rom hack of the original ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'', based on the "Sonic.exe" meme, plays like a regular Sonic game at first. Once thirteen seconds elapse, however, the level Sonic is in will turn into a hellscape with invincible enemies. About thirteen more seconds afterwards, Sonic gets chased by a flying demonic clone.

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Discounting [[CompanionCube Plank]], [[spoiler:Eddy's Brother]] is the thirteenth character to be introduced in the show. [[spoiler:He's a BigBrotherBully and a KnightOfCerebus.]]

** ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation'' has the Strigon Squad, [[TheRival a Rival Ace Squad]] to the player in the game. It is noted in Toscha Mijasik's (a.k.a. ''Strigon 12'') Assault recored that he retained the team's number 12 since the prelude because of his Triskaidekaphobia (aka a fear of 13). Ironically, the person he looked up to was killed and the city they occupied since day one was liberated on '''Mission 13!'''

* In both the Super and Real paths of ''VideoGame/BattleMoonWars'', mission 13 features the first major boss battle in the game, against [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Nrvnqsr Chaos]], as well as being the hardest mission up to that point (assuming one isn't aiming for the [[HundredPercentCompletion Battle Masteries]]).

* One game's title says "''VideoGame/BrainDead13''". Also, it can be unlucky because of the many death scenes.

* In ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'', the Submerged Castle has exactly 13 treasures, and is home of the dreaded Waterwraith, an [[ImplacableMan unstoppable]], incredibly lethal EldritchAbomination that drops from the ceiling and terrorizes the characters and their Pikmin [[StalkedByTheBell after a few minutes have passed on any given floor]].

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'': Prankster Comets start to appear across the universe once Mario has collected his 13th Power Star. The effects of these comets on the galaxies range from merely unusual (such as making Purple Coins appear, initiating a challenge with Cosmic Mario), going through potentially dangerous (making enemies and hazards move faster, dying if a Power Star isn't collected under a time limit) to genuinely lethal (dying upon the first hit from an enemy). In fact, that last effect is the most common.

** And in season four, 13th seed Gravedigger coincidentally went out in the first round.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In "Games Ponies Play", when Twilight advises the Mane Six practice the Welcome Committee Song "one more time from the top" while on the train, AJ mentions they've already practiced it ''twelve'' times earlier. Of course, the Mane Six practice it one more time... just in time for the train to arrive at the Crystal Empire, screech to a stop and throwing all of them for a loop.
** In "Dungeons and Discords", Discord makes his big entrance wearing a #13 basketball jersey, foreshadowing how badly the Guys' Night will start out.
** The episode "The Mean Six" is by no doubt the thirteenth episode of the eighth season, [[WhamEpisode and it's]] [[UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode the episode]] where Chrysalis comes back to exact her promised revenge on Starlight, but the mean clones she sends out split up and interfere with the real Mane Six in various situations, causing them to hate each other for the episode. To top it off, the way the clones are destroyed by the Tree of Harmony in the end is ''terrifying''.
* Thirteen from ''{{WesternAnimation/Numberblocks}}'' is so unlucky that he splits into Ten and Three everytime he hears his name. Twenty-Six, being a multiple of Thirteen, also splits when he hears his name.