Superstitious?

If you’re a painter, like Josh Bye, here plying his trade in Santa Monica, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid ladders. If you are superstitious, and suffer as well from paraskevidekatriaphobia, you might want to steer clear.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The wearer of these shoes either isn’t watching where he is going or is not the superstitious type. On the other hand, this photo was not taken on a Friday the 13th.  (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

Academic studies differ over whether traffic accidents are more -- or less -- frequent on Friday the 13th. For the driver of this car, which crashed through the front of a laundry in Irvine in 1999, the date was definitely unlucky.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Athletes can be especially superstitious -- lucky socks, anyone? -- whether it’s Friday the 13th or, well, any other day on the calendar.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Salt used to be an expensive commodity used mainly for medicinal purposes. For this reason, spillage was to be avoided at all costs. But why is it also considered unlucky? The notion probably stems from the belief that Judas spilled salt during the Last Supper.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Looking to change your luck? Maybe taking a lock of hair from an object of your affection will do the trick. Or maybe it will leave you with a couple of things that look like disembodied mustaches.  (David Kennedy / For The Times)

The permanent residents of the cemetery in Tombstone, Ariz., are a notably quiet bunch. Living visitors to the graveyard, if they are superstitious, will at least avoid whistling.  (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

A bluff in El Segundo is a popular spot to sit and watch planes come and go at LAX. For some, watching planes on Friday the 13th is the way to go. Flying is, well ...  (Jonathan Alcorn / For The Times)