Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a fear found in the Western Christian world, which originates in the belief that the Biblical verse, Revelation 13:18, indicates that the number 666 is linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ. Outside the Christian faith, the phobia has been further popularized as a leitmotif in various horror films.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobes avoid things related to the number 666, such as a building in which the number is prominently displayed. Rarer is trying to avoid the number as it relates to other numbers. For example, the fraction two-thirds has a repeating decimal of .666. (Note that in base 12, two-thirds is 0.8, and 0.666 is the fraction 6/11.) A severe hexakosioihexekontahexaphobic may avoid this as well as 5/3, 8/3, 11/3, etc. People with this phobia consider it bad luck to get 3 sixes in a hand of poker, even though this is usually quite a good hand.
It is important to note the fear is largely an artifact of folk Christianity. In contrast, the majority of Christian intellectuals and mainstream theologians believe that the number was simply a reference to a Roman emperor who persecuted Christians. The Caesar generally deemed to fit that role is Domitian, although some prefer the better-known, but less likely Nero. Either way, these thinkers postulate that Christians used the number as a code to reference his name or that that Caesar himself may have favored that number for numerological reasons. In some numerologies, a triple six could symbolize a trinity of unfaithfulness, bitterness, and vengeance, while in others it could as easily symbolize harmony, beauty, and charm.
Prominent hexakosioihexekontahexaphobes include the late Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan. In 1989, when they moved to the former president's final home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, they had the address of 666 St. Cloud Road changed to 668. The late Johnny Carson was not hexakosioihexekontahexaphobic, because this had earlier been his home.
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