LYNN — Aside from the spooky myths behind the infamous Friday the 13th, there is one good thing about the calendar-marked day: cheap tattoos.
Tattoo shops across the country spent Friday embedding ink into tattoo lovers for a scary low cost. 7 Deadly Sins Tattoos on Munroe Street in Lynn had a line out the door before they even opened, offering small tattoos for $31—because it’s 13 backwards, of course—medium tattoos for $51, and slightly larger ones for $71.
“My favorite part about it is just all of the chaos that it brings,” said Rich Breault, owner of the shop. “Believe it or not all of these people know they’re going to be waiting to get something done for at least two to three hours.”
Customers could choose from a list of Friday the 13th themed tattoos or bring their own basic design, provided it fit into the three set prices.
Marguerite Bond, a 19-year-old from Malden, woke up early this morning with one thought on her mind, and that was getting a tattoo. The young woman stood outside for the hour-and-a-half wait for a $31 tattoo of a crescent moon.
“I always wanted to get this tattoo and I came here today because I know it’s always cheap on Friday the 13th,” she said.
Everywhere you turned, in every room of the shop, the buzzing sounds of needles hard at work were heard.
“It is very hard to give these artists a break during the day because they’re going non-stop,” Breault said. “Usually we have a lot of coffee ready and we get a bunch of pizzas for them.”
Jared Breault, the owner’s son, began preparations for the big day weeks in advance. With wait times of at least two hours and people waiting on the street to be seen by one of the four artists, it’s all about thinking ahead and ensuring there is enough caffeine in the shop.
“My brain is everywhere all the time and I don’t get much sleep beforehand because I’m thinking about everything to prepare for today, but I just got to get in the zone and that means a lot of coffee,” said the tattoo artist. “I don’t mind it really because I get to meet a lot of new people and it ends up being a lot of fun.”
