Tattoo Shops Host Friday The 13th Sales Across Prince William County

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — On Friday the 13th, tattoo shops in Prince William County and across the country host flash sales for customers.

These sales typically focus on walk-in customers receiving "flash tattoos," pre-drawn art as opposed to custom pieces.

The pre-drawn pieces can be found on an artist's flash sheet, and the art is usually themed around the unlucky date. This year, Prince William County artists posted flash that included ghosts, coffins, aliens, skulls, pumpkins, and fangs. Jason Voorhees, the hockey-masked killer from the "Friday the 13th" film franchise, is also included on many flash sheets.

It's not entirely clear where the tradition of tattoos on Friday the 13th began. Oliver Peck of Elm Street Tattoos has claimed to be one of the first to offer a tattoo flash sale on Friday the 13th in 1995.

Peck believes people started getting the number 13 tattooed on their bodies to ward off bad luck. "Bad luck would come your way, it would see the number 13, see that bad luck is already there, and it would pass by,” Peck told Tattoo.com

Here are a few tattoo shops around Prince William County offering Friday the 13th sales:

• Ink and Poke Tattoos
• Exposed Temptations
• Hybrid Tattoos
• Iron Heart Tattoo Company
• Reo's Tattooing
• Visionaries Tattoo
• Lucky Cat Tattoo