Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

For anyone familiar with tattoos, Friday the 13th is a minor holiday.

To make the best of the traditionally unlucky day, tattoo shops around the world forego appointments and deposits, instead offering small tattoos for just $13 on a first-come, first-served basis.

"It's such a fun time, it’s like a party," said Julie Duncan, a tattoo artist at Lady Luck, an all-female tattoo shop in the old Braggs Pie Factory building in downtown Phoenix.

LIST: Where to get a $13 flash tattoo in Phoenix area on April 13, 2018

She is among the dozens of tattoo artists across metro Phoenix who are preparing for this Friday, when people will line up outside parlors for hours for a chance to get a cheap, permanent ode to superstition.

A cheap way to have fun

Most shops only offer flash tattoos — simple, pre-drawn tattoo designs meant to be done "in a flash." They usually include the number 13 in the design.

"People get the Friday the 13th tattoos because they’re cheap. They come in with $20 and they can walk away with a tattoo, which is really not realistic nowadays," Duncan said.

Someone who wants, for example, a small tattoo of a heart or a star would have to pay a shop minimum of $70 to $100 on a normal day, but on Friday the 13th they can go to the same high-quality place and get it for $13, plus a customary $7 tip for good luck.

Make a whole night of it

The quick, cheap, frivolous nature of the tradition means people are "so enthusiastic and happy and bubbly, always," said "Magic" Marge Middendorp, who has been tattooing for more than 30 years and now works out of Lady Luck.

She first experienced the phenomenon a few years ago at True Tattoo in Los Angeles, where she did 87 tattoos during its 24-hour party.

"It’s cheap; it’s kind of an addiction, too, that you can feed easily. It’s something fun you can do with a friend that’s inexpensive. Some people, it’s like their date night.

"I know in LA, and they’re starting here now, they go ‘shop hopping’ and they go from shop to shop to shop and collect these little tattoos all night long," Middendorp said. "I met so many people I worked on who are covered in these little things; they have full sleeves of just Friday the 13th tattoos."

Friday the 13th now or in July

The occurrence's irregularity is likely part of its appeal: Friday the 13th happens from one to three times a year.

Considering celebrating the cursed day? Duncan recommends finding a shop with good reviews, and not only expecting but enjoying very long waits, because the fun atmosphere is the best part of it.

"We don’t really make a lot of money doing those because they’re cheap, little tattoos, but it’s a way of saying, 'Thank you for supporting us.' "

And if you're still unsure, you can wait until the next Friday the 13th in July.

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