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It’s Friday the 13th! Lean into the thrill of superstition today at the Library with these books and online resources, all free with your MCL card!

Did you know? Friday the 13th was first written about in the French literary magazine Revue de Paris in 1834. Italian author Marquis de Salvo writes, “It is always Fridays and the number 13 that bring bad luck!” That same year, the play Les Finesses de gribouille (The Finesse of the Scribble) premiered in France, featuring a character who declares, “I was born on Friday, December 13, 1813, from which come all of my misfortunes.” (Source: Britannica Library)

Take a nostalgic trip back to Camp Crystal Lake in the 1980s classic horror film Friday the 13th, now streaming on Kanopy!

Dive into the horrors of Indian Lake with a chilling audiobook experience narrated by Cara Gee. Stephen Graham Jones’ 2021 novel, My Heart is a Chainsaw, has been described as “Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th.” Listen now on Libby through the Green Mountain Library Consortium.

Looking for something spooky closer to home? Explore Joe Citro’s Vermont Odditorium: Strange Tales of Vermont and Vermonters, or any of his many collections of local legends and oddities. From Bennington County to the Northeast Kingdom, Joe has truly cornered the market on Vermont superstition. For even more chills, check out Seven Days’ Stuck in Vermont episode #666 to dive deeper into Woodstock hauntings and mysteries. “The history of our state is a tapestry of fantastic stories that have outlasted any bestseller you can name,” Joe Citro shares in an interview with Stuck in Vermont host Eva Sollberger, as he leads her from a haunted general store to a mysterious structure hidden deep in the woods. Hop on a computer and ask the Help Desk for headphones to view it while you’re in the Library!

Finally, if you can’t stop looking over your shoulder and want to find a way to dispel the bad luck this Friday the 13th, venture into the Children’s Library to check out The Good Luck Book: A Celebration of Global Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore by Heather Alexander. Remember, having a Library card is always good luck!