FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – On the orders of Philip IV, their king, medieval French troops rounded up hundreds of astonished Knights Templar, many of whom were subsequently put to death as a result of the monarch's jealousy of the group's growing wealth and influence. This actual historical event not only propelled the Templars into legend, but also helped give rise, in part, to our modern superstition about the particular day on which it occurred: Friday, October 13, 1307.
Indeed – coincidence or not – bad luck has since befallen many on Fridays the 13th of various months over the ensuing centuries.