My mom is superstitious, so she has always told us to be careful when that ominous date occurred. Her birthday is on the 13th of November, and we like to tease her when it falls on a Friday. But, it wasn’t until 1980 that Friday the 13th became more than just a harbinger for bad luck. The movie with the same title was released on May 9th of that year.
It was almost forty years ago (OMG), but I still remember going to the theater to see this slasher hit. For those days, it was pretty graphic and a different sort of horror film from the ghosts, werewolves, and vampire movies I’ve been a huge fan of since I was a little girl.
I won’t lie. It scared the crap out of me. But, I loved it. Through the years that film has provided my family with numerous party themes. The movie was filmed at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, which is a Boy Scout’s camp located in Hardwick, New Jersey I recently read that fans of the movie can take tours of the camp and even spend the night on special occasions. How fun (and scary) would that be?
Tonight I plan to pop the cork on a bottle of wine and watch this classic old movie again. Jason Voorhees was never better than he was in the original film as far as I’m concerned. Happy Friday the 13th. Stay safe.
Veronica Blake, Writer 