Who’s not afraid of the number 13? A brief look at the other side of triskaidekaphobia

Friday the 13th has long been associated with bad luck (and a hockey-masked serial killer), but one Grammy-winning pop superstar would likely tell anyone with an irrational fear of the number 13 to just “Shake It Off.”

Taylor Swift belongs to a small group of people who love the number 13, a phenomenon known as triskaidekaphilia. Its opposite — triskaidekaphobia — is the source of superstition so strong that some high-rises lack a 13th floor to assuage the fears of nervous guests.

But Ms. Swift is known to paint the number on her arm or hand during concerts, and she has expressed the significance of the number to her fans. And she loves 13.

“I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro, every time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter. Basically, whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing,” she said in an interview with Jay Leno in 2009.

Her most recent studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was her 12th, so the next one will likely hold a special place in her heart — as well as her fans’.

Ms. Swift shares her love of the number 13 with at least two figures from history: President Woodrow Wilson and French jeweler Louis Cartier.

Wilson saw the number as the luckiest of numerals. He is known to have dropped his middle name, Thomas, in order to make his full name amount to 13 letters.

“Thirteen has been my lucky number right along,” the former president said in a 1918 speech.

He noted that he became president of Princeton in his 13th year at the university and became president of the United States in 1913.

And Cartier hailed the number 13 as a sign of good fortune and prosperity, according to DSF Antique Jewelry.

Cartier opened his first store at Rue de la Paix No. 13 and incorporated the number into the theme of the brand.