Investigating the mysterious disappearance of the 13th floor

By: Zoie Karagiannis

Picture this: You enter an elevator and study the buttons on the wall, only to find that the numbers jump from 12 to 14. If you stood outside and counted the number of floors of the building, it would be obvious that a 13th floor does exist. Yet here, standing in this elevator, you are left doubtful and confused. It begs the question: what happened to the number 13? 

Some buildings purposefully omit a “13th floor,” advertising it as something else, such as the 14th floor, or a floor 12A. The number 13 seemingly has a stigma attached to it and some building developers will go out of their way to avoid it. 

I am reminded of an episode in Wizards of Waverly Place, where characters Alex Russo and Harper Finkle move into an apartment building that contains a secret floor. Want to guess which number that was? If your money was on 13 – bingo!

This hidden floor was the home of many magical creatures of the Wizard World. So perhaps that’s where the 13th floor has disappeared to in many buildings today, with us mortals not being given the privilege of being privy to such a thing. If only we were wizards or werewolves… maybe then would we be able to unlock the mystery of the 13th floor.

In fact, fear of the number 13 is actually so common that it has its own name: triskaidekaphobia.

The number can be considered unlucky, which explains why some building developers choose to avoid having a 13th floor. But where did the number 13 get its bad reputation? Well, wonder no more– CanCulture is here to investigate it so you don’t have to.

(Disclaimer: No, you don’t actually need to be a wizard or werewolf!!!)

Superstitions surrounding this fear can originate from the Code of Hammurabi, which is one of the oldest documents in the world. The code reportedly left out a 13th law from a long list of legal rules (which turned out to be a clerical error made by a translator). 

Other theories about the unluckiness of this number can also be traced back to ancient Norse mythology. At a dinner party in Valhalla, the 13th God to arrive was the troublesome Loki– and it was then that evil was brought into the world. In the Bible, the 13th guest to attend the Last Supper was Judas Iscariot, known as the one to betray Jesus.

However, fear of the number 13 is acknowledged mostly in the West, including Canada. While the discretion of adding a 13th floor in buildings or using it in addresses is up to each city, some have taken the extra step to have it entirely removed– or rather, adamantly included.

Surprisingly, the number 13 has been banned from addresses in Richmond Hill, Ont., a municipality of the Greater Toronto Area. According to the Canadian Press, new housing developments have not included the number 13 for at least 20 years, which development director Gus Galanis confirmed.

In 2013, the town also completely banned the use of the number four in new housing developments, as there were overwhelming requests of homeowners wanting to change or adapt their address numbers due to difficulty selling their homes.

Galanis said these requests were made due to cultural reasons. In some East Asian cultures, the number four is considered unlucky, as in Mandarin and Cantonese it sounds like the word “death.” Many buildings located in China avoid having a fourth floor, just as many buildings in Western cultures leave out the 13th.

Richmond Hill, Ont. was not the only city facing fears of the number four and 13. In 2015, the City of Vancouver decided to end the omission of the fourth and 13th floor. This came after most new applications for buildings hoped to leave them out, causing commotion for city staff. They feared safety concerns from firefighters and paramedics, who could be confused while responding to emergencies in buildings that did not have these numbered floors. CBC reported that new rules were put into place so new condo and office towers being developed in Vancouver would need to have every floor. The City of Edmonton also has a similar policy.

So next time you’re in an elevator and notice the “mysterious disappearance” of a 13th floor, remind yourself that it was likely a judgment made by the building’s developer, one rooted in Western superstition and fear.

Either that, or there really are magical creatures living secretly among a hidden floor! We’ve presented you with what we know- now it is up to you to decide what to believe.