If you see a black cat, walk under a ladder and step on a crack that breaks your mother’s back today, then you’ll have to live (ironic, I know) with the fact that, unlike everybody else, you will immediately stop feeling the feeling! of Justin Timberlake’s infectiously fun new single.

Friday the 13th is not to be trifled with.

In some capacity or another, we all have superstitions. Whether deeply personal or in-line with the strange events of a particular day of the month on a particular day of the week, there are forces in our world that cannot be explained. Call it what you will, but there are many questions that will never find an answer.

But why is Friday the 13th so spooky as to put us on edge every year?

Glad you asked. Time for a history lesson (of sorts).

Friday the 13th does have an instinctive creepiness and uneasiness about it. Regardless of when this day falls each year (and sometimes multiple times per calendar year), it reminds us that we’re not totally in control of our surroundings. If something spine-chilling happens on this day, like a black cat interrupting your morning run causing you to step on a crack that breaks your mother’s back and then, disoriented, smash into and break a store front window, the only two reactions can be coincidence or fate.

Not only will your answer to this question reveal your true thoughts on Friday the 13th, but it will also provide a not-so-small hint about how you view life in the grand scheme of things.

Eerie, I know.