Modesto tattoo shops see lines on Friday the 13th. How did the tradition start?
Some people get tattoos to memorialize a significant moment in their life, and some get them simply because they got “the itch.” Then there’s those who wait with anticipation for Friday the 13th, whenever one may fall.
It’s been a tradition for some time, people waiting in line for sometimes hours to get a themed tattoo, golf ball size or smaller, at a discounted rate.
“Why” can likely be attributed in part to the statement above: The tattoos are cheaper. But how did the tradition begin?
A Modesto tattoo shop owner has the answer. He said he’s friends with artist Oliver Peck, who’s credited with popularizing the event.
Corey Young, owner of The Golden Rose Tattoo in downtown Modesto, started his career in Texas in 1998. He worked at a shop near Elm Street Tattoo, where Peck began his Friday the 13th tattoo marathon event just a couple of years earlier.
“It was crazy,” Young said. “It looked like a line to get autographs from New Kids on the Block.”
Why Friday the 13th?
The number 13 historically has been associated with bad luck. A documentary cites the reason for that as Friday, Oct. 13, 1307, being the day King Philip IV of France ordered the mass arrest of the Knights Templar, a religious military order, who were then tortured and executed.
In the early 1900s, when sailors would travel to countries with heavy tattoo cultures, they would fill their bodies with permanent artwork before returning to the U.S. and being deemed “unemployable,” according to the documentary. As a result, they would join circuses as “painted” men.
This is when “13” began being embraced by carnival workers as a lucky number, and Friday the 13th as a lucky day, because they were so rejected by mainstream society, according to the documentary.
“Bad luck recognizes other bad luck,” tattoo artist Richard Smith says in the documentary. “So bad luck comes and sees my ‘13,’ then bad luck goes, ‘Oh, bad luck’s already there’ and moves off to the next guy.”
First Friday the 13th of 2026 falls on Valentine’s Day weekend
For Young’s shop, a typical Friday the 13th will be a 12- to 13-hour-long day of nonstop tattooing. The Golden Rose’s 12 artists see 300 to 400 customers during these events.
“People line up,” Young said. “The last one, when I came (to the shop), people were out here with blankets.”
The shop’s minimum on a normal day is $100. That means even the smallest tattoo will cost $100. But on Friday the 13th, pre-designed, black-and-gray tattoos at The Golden Rose are $60 or two for $100.
There is no limit on how many flash tattoos a customer can get during the event. Each takes Young around 15 minutes, he said.
To fit the Valentine’s Day theme, outside The Golden Rose will be vendors selling gifts, desserts and food during the Friday the 13th event.
The event on Friday, Feb. 13, at 1217 H St. will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. or while supplies last.
For the remainder of 2026, Friday the 13th falls in March and November.
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 12:39 PM.
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