PEOPLE who fear bad things will happen today - Friday the 13th - and let superstition rule are more likely to have bad luck, according to a lecturer at the University of Bradford.

Psychology lecturer Pam Ramsden said expecting the worst was more likely to lead to something bad happening.

It is not known how the unlucky Friday the 13th superstition started, but it has become more popular since the 21st century.

Traditional quirks of the day, also known as Black Friday, include not walking under ladders and saluting magpies.

Some people are so paralysed by fear that they take the day off work and do not travel anywhere.

Dr Ramsden said if something unexpected happened on Friday the 13th, people tended to link it to that date each time it came around.

She said people liked to search for answers to control situations.

"It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people think something bad is going to happen, then it comes around. If something bad happens on Friday the 13th, then they like to attribute it to the date," she said.

9 FACTS ABOUT FRIDAY 13TH SUPERSTITIONS

"It's interesting because people like to attribute what happens in their lives. We are always searching for answers when something random happens that we can then have a control over. It's based on order and control."

But Dr Ramsden said she did not buy into the old wives' tale that the day was unlucky.

"I don't have an issue with that day as much as any other day," she added.

And she said horror movies were now more likely to link day to fear rather than tales of gloom handed down through generations.

"It is not just a British thing. It is probably even bigger in America," she added.

In the United States, an estimated 17 to 21 million people are affected by the fear of this day, according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina.

While in Italy, Friday the 17th is seen as a day for bad luck.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?:

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

1. I don’t do anything differently really. I brush my teeth for double the time on Friday the 13th, that’s about the only thing - Alenka Hutsul, 18, of Windermere Road, Saltaire

2. I do everything I shouldn’t do on that day just to tempt fate. Just to fight it. If it happens, it happens - Luke Horvath, 19, of Woodhall Avenue, Thornbury

3. It’s crazy. I didn’t know it existed really. People should stop believing in it - Waqas Nasir, 20, of Flawith Drive, Fagley.

4. I wake up, go back to sleep, wake up two minutes later and then knock on some wood. I do this every Friday the 13th. Then I know nothing bad is going to happen. I don’t know if it helps anything - Lauren Watson, 20, of Kenmore Crescent, Wibsey

5. I don’t believe in it. I think it’s a load of old nonsense. For me, it’s what’s noticeable that counts. The only thing I don’t do on that day is walk under cats - Nick Neale, 63, of Harrogate Road, Ripon.

6. Some people take the day off work because of it. I believe more about the supernatural, not bad luck stuff. I’m a positive person - Karen Gilbank, 36, of Baildon

DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL FRIDAY 13TH SUPERSTITIONS?

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