Thirteen

**Thirteen** is a number affiliated with superstition and bad-luck in Western cultures. The number is a recurring motif in the *Tower of Terror* franchise.

## History

### Background

#### Origins

There is no one reason for the number 13 being considered to be supernatural or unlucky. A simple explanation comes from the number 12 being viewed as a, "Perfect number" due to being an abundant number of perfect divisors, being the amount of time counted up to in standard time for hours on a clock, and being the number of months in a year; making the number 13 a perversion of the, "Perfect number" by comparison. Most buildings (especially hotels) will not label their 13th floors under the number 13 out of superstition.

A frequent biblical-related explanation comes from the story of Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples where the (asserted) 13th guest of the Last Supper was Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus and caused his death. Another religious related explanation comes from it being the result of anti-semitism as in Jewish cultures, 13 is the age a boy becomes seen as a man, there being 13 principles of Jewish faith in the writing of Maimonides, and the Torah stating god to have 13 attributes of mercy. In this reading, christian cultures would have vilified the traditionally lucky Jewish number of 13 as a bigoted trend of likewise vilifying jewish culture.

## Tower of Terror appearances

### Attractions

#### Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe

A flyer for *Bigelow's Air Circus* in Chaplin Airfield has illustrations of two planes. One of these stunt planes has the number 13 on its side while the other has the number 7, the latter of which is commonly affiliated with being a, "Lucky" number.

#### Raging Spirits

In the queue, there is a crate labelled, " *To: "Big" Lou Zer Artifacts Galore 14896 Beekman Ave Chicago, Illinois USA From: Lost River Delta Excavation No. 13R* ".

#### Tower of Terror

The penthouse which Harrison Hightower III was killed in was located on the 13th floor of the Hotel Hightower. The New York City Preservation Society was founded to save the Hotel Hightower in 1912, thirteen years after Harrison Hightower III's death. The overlay, "Tower of Terror: Level 13 “Shadow of Shiriki" used the 13 motif in its title.

#### The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Tip Top Club which the hotel's victims attempted to reach was located on the 13th floor of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. In the lobby, AAA is shown to have awarded the Hollywood Tower Hotel with the fictitious, "Thirteen Diamond Award". Regardless of the actual wait-time, the default stand-by time for the attraction is 13 minutes. The drop on the attraction is also 13 stories down.

### Paraphernalia

The number 13 is often used in Tower of Terror merchandise. The most common might be souvenir keys from the Hollywood Tower Hotel for the room, "1313". This room would be located on the same floor as the Tip Top Club.

#### Promotional materials

Commercials and advertisements for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror frequently show the hand of the floor indicator pointing to a 13th floor. This does not appear in the actual attraction though the hand will go past the number 12.

### Other connections

#### Bengal Barbecue

In this colonial outpost is a letter addressed to one Chris Matines at *1313 S. Harbor Boulevard* in Anaheim, California .

#### Haunted Mansion

The number 13 motif is also frequently used in the Haunted Mansion, with the fictional building sometimes being given the fictional address of, "1313 Esplanade Street". One of the most recognizable usages of the number 13 is on the demonic grandfather clock in the Corridor of Doors, which has a hand wildly spinning past a 13 in-place of a 12. The number also appears in a conversion-code cipher on Prudence Pock's crypt, Madame Leota's incantations are from pages 1312 and 1313 of her spell book, and during Haunted Mansion Holiday she recites the, "13 Days of Christmas" poem. Like the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the default stand-by time for the attraction is 13 minutes.

#### Jungle Cruise

In American versions of the Jungle Cruise is the character of Felix Pechman XIII who was born on August 13, 1897 and is plagued with bad-luck, resulting in some of the events of the attraction. The Jungle Navigation Company's founder Dr. Albert Falls also mapped the Rivers of Adventure on a thirteen-day expedition.

## Trivia

* Disneyland's official address is 1313 Disneyland Drive. This is due to 1313 being numerical conversion code for, "MM", the initials of Mickey Mouse.

## References

1. ↑ https://df82.blogspot.com/2012/09/package-for-delta.html?m=0
2. ↑ https://tdrexplorer.com/what-is-tower-of-terror-level-13-shadow-of-shiriki/
3. ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/13-fun-facts-about-the-tower-of-terror/
4. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CZp5\_ppPI-N/