The number that seems to be almost universally considered unlucky is 13. No other number has had such a bad reputation for so long. The ancient Romans regarded it as a symbol of death, destruction, and misfortune. One of the earliest written stories about the number 13 appears in Norwegian mythology. This story tells about a feast at Valhalla to which 12 gods were invited. Loki, the god of evil, came uninvited, raising the number to 13. In the struggle to throw out Loki, Balder, the favorite of the gods, was killed.