the power of 13 In 1984 Malcolm Riviera of Washington, D.C., founded the Triskaidekaphobia Illuminatus Society, an organization for people who believe the number 13 has the power to affect global events. Although the TIS disbanded in 1990 and the Encyclopedia of Associations no longer lists the group, I tracked down Riviera at his home in North Carolina.

Why did you form the society?
To pursue society’s fear of 13, known as triskaidekaphobia, in an orderly fashion.

Can the number actually affect "the balance of world power and political structures"?
We codify everything we know in numbers: the day we’re born, “the one true God,” our salaries, the number of lovers we’ve had, the meals we eat in a day, the planets in the solar system. It’s natural that some numbers emerge as more significant.

Why 13?
Our fears are rooted in superstition, such as the number of diners at the Last Supper. It is one more than the “holy” number 12, which is the number of months in the year and the number of hours on a clock, making 13 inherently evil. The way it can affect power is the unconscious awareness of 13’s qualities causes leaders to make decisions based on their aversion to it.

I once lived on the 13th floor. Should I have been concerned?
Certainly. Your unconscious fear (that is, the collective triskaidekaphobia that affects us all) was magnified.

Can you tell us more about the society’s Hall of Fame?
It was never completed.

Are the society’s books still available?
They were confiscated by our creditors, who received $77 for the lot. The society went down the tubes for less than $100. It still hurts to think about it.

How has the number 13 affected you personally?
It’s made me realize that nature has alignments and configurations that are messages to mankind if we can only slow down to listen. Time itself is an impossible concept without numbers, and the power of time in our life is indisputable.

What’s in store for the world relating to 13?
Thirteen will always be a cunning, baffling and powerful foe.