--- title: Friday the 13th With the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago description: In 1941, photographer William C. Shrout attended a dinner of the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago. A boozy good time was had by all. canonical: https://time.com/3708766/bad-luck-busters-friday-the-13th-with-an-anti-superstition-society/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-09-12T10:49:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:39.751Z og:title: Friday the 13th With the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago og:description: In 1941, photographer William C. Shrout attended a dinner of the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago. A boozy good time was had by all. og:url: https://time.com/3708766/bad-luck-busters-friday-the-13th-with-an-anti-superstition-society/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2bcb5fb71db95a1b/69877f29f887dc0000e8a179/150213-friday-13th-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Friday the 13th With the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago twitter:description: In 1941, photographer William C. Shrout attended a dinner of the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago. A boozy good time was had by all. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2bcb5fb71db95a1b/69877f29f887dc0000e8a179/150213-friday-13th-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bad-Luck Busters: Friday the 13th With an Anti-Superstition Society > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Sep 12, 2013 10:49 AM UTC  Caption from LIFE. Panther, a three-year-old black cat, is delivered to General Lorenzen, Keeper of Black Cats, by its mistress, Mrs. Olive Morrison. The Society advertised in the paper for a 'large, docile black cat' to preside at meeting, got 159 offers. Caption from LIFE. Panther, a three-year-old black cat, is delivered to General Lorenzen, Keeper of Black Cats, by its mistress, Mrs. Olive Morrison. The Society advertised in the paper for a 'large, docile black cat' to preside at meeting, got 159 offers. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Sep 12, 2013 10:49 AM UTC Breaking mirrors. Spilling salt. Walking under ladders. Lighting a third cigarette with one match. The list of arcane superstitions influencing the behavior and peace of mind of human beings around the world is, it seems, almost limitless. And for the superstitious, no day holds as much peril as Friday the 13th. The very thought of, say, a black cat crossing one’s path on such a day is enough to send ordinarily sane men and women into conniptions. But for a group of Chicago-based businessmen and inveterate debunkers in the middle part of the last century, each Friday the 13th was the perfect opportunity to point out how thoroughly preposterous — and, from an economic point of view, how counterproductive — such fears can be. In December 1941, LIFE magazine photographer William C. Shrout attended a dinner of the venerable Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago, and came away with incontrovertible proof that just because grown men don’t believe in fairy tales doesn’t mean they’re opposed to having a good time. As LIFE explained to its readers in its Jan. 6, 1941, issue, in which some of the photos in this gallery first appeared: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- Happy Friday the 13th, everyone. Go spill some salt on a black cat beneath a ladder, or something.  Cookies at the 13th Anniversary Jinx-Jabbing Jamboree and Dinner of the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago, 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Panther, a three-year-old black cat, is delivered to General Lorenzen, Keeper of Black Cats, by its mistress, Mrs. Olive Morrison. The Society advertised in the paper for a 'large, docile black cat' to preside at meeting, got 159 offers. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Going home, members walk under a ladder, topped by umbrella. Thoroughly immunized against bad luck, all got home safely, woke up next day without hangovers. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Strange scene at the 13th Anniversary Jinx-Jabbing Jamboree and Dinner of the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago, December 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Busting a mirror, club president Nathaniel Leverone calls meeting to order. Guests all stood, grabbed horseshoes, gave a concerted razzberry to 'Old Man Superstition.' William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Crossing cutlery presages bloodshed, according to old superstition. Unafraid are: Champ Carey, vice president of Pullman Co.; Paddy Driscoll, ex-coach of Marquette football team; Fred Gillies, superintendent of Inland Steel Co. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Occupational groups sat at 13 different tables, marked by these cards. Aviation men were camera shy because of Chicago airplane crash which occurred week before party. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Three on a match are James O'Keefe, Chicago City Sealer; Nathaniel Leverone; General A. F. Lorenzen, U.S.A., retired. Match superstition started during Boer War when night snipers picked off British soldiers as they lighted up. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Cached in coffin, new member is inducted into club. Initiate: Thomas J. Callaghan, head of Chicago district of U.S. Secret Service. Horseshoe waver: General Lorenzen. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Shaking hands across the table is not only bad luck, it's unsanitary. Custom of shaking hands, now simple etiquette, was performed in ancient times as a bit of magical hocus-pocus. Bankers and brokers here express their scorn of magic and microbes. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Spilling salt supposedly foreshadows a fight. Here Hugh W. Cross, lieutenant-governor-elect of Illinois, spills salt (on his shrimps) to the great amusement of Chester R. Davis and Park Livingston, trustees of the University of Illinois. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago's mascot for its 13th Anniversary Jinx-Jabbing Jamboree and Dinner, December 1940. William C. 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