Modern Halloween traces its earliest roots back to which ancient pre-Christian Celtic festival?
Player handout Halloween QuizHost a spooky Halloween pub quiz with ready-made questions and answers on monsters, myths, horror films and trick-or-treat traditions. Scan to open this quiz Round 1 Ancient Origins1. Modern Halloween traces its earliest roots back to which ancient pre-Christian Celtic festival? 2. Before pumpkins became the carving vegetable of choice, which root vegetable was traditionally carved into lanterns in Ireland and Scotland? 3. Which medieval English custom involved going door to door on All Souls' Day offering prayers for the dead in return for food? 4. Which historic hill located in central Ireland is thought to be the site where Celtic priests gathered to light great ceremonial Samhain bonfires? 5. Which UK party game, involving retrieving floating fruit using only one's teeth, predates modern Halloween celebrations? 6. In Mexico, colonial-era contact between Indigenous ancestor celebrations and All Souls' Day helped form which holiday? 7. Which popular Halloween symbol was historically regarded by sailors as a sign of good luck at sea? 8. During which global conflict did the growing practice of trick-or-treating temporarily drop off in Canada? Round 2 Horror on Screen9. In the 1993 film Hocus Pocus, what specific act breaks Winifred's curse and resurrects the Sanderson sisters in Salem? 10. What is the name of the eight-year-old boy whom Laurie Strode babysits on Halloween night in the classic 1978 horror film? 11. In the 1993 stop-motion classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, what prestigious royal title is held by Jack Skellington in Halloween Town? 12. Friendship, Maine is the setting for the 1995 family film Casper. What is the name of the haunted manor house where the friendly ghost resides? 13. In the 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street, what distinct two-color pattern makes up Freddy Krueger's iconic striped sweater? 14. In the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist, what is the first name of the twelve-year-old girl who becomes possessed by a demon? 15. In Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining, what is the name of the isolated Colorado hotel where Jack Torrance descends into madness? 16. Before Chucky becomes possessed in the Child's Play series, what specific fictional brand of doll is he packaged and sold as? 17. What is the name of the fictional New Jersey summer camp where the slaughter takes place in the original Friday the 13th? 18. What is the name of the fictional town in Maine terrorized by the malevolent clown Pennywise in Stephen King's It? 19. In the 1960 psychological horror classic Psycho, what is Norman Bates' morbid personal hobby when he is not running his roadside motel? Round 3 Monsters and Myths20. What name is traditionally given in folklore to a male witch? ![]() 21. In Irish folklore, what is the name of the female spirit whose wailing is said to warn of an imminent death? 22. In Charles Dickens's tale 'A Christmas Carol', who is the very first ghost to appear before Ebenezer Scrooge? 23. In Haitian folklore, what name is given to a reanimated corpse? 24. Which many-headed monster of Greek mythology was famously said to possess nine heads? 25. Which term originating from the German language literally translates into English as 'noisy ghost'? 26. In William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', which Scottish nobleman is accompanying Macbeth when he first encounters the three witches? 27. Which biblical figure is described in the Old Testament as raising the spirit of the prophet Samuel at the bidding of King Saul? 28. According to popular folklore, which specific metal is traditionally believed to be capable of killing a werewolf? Photos: Elin Melaas on Unsplash · Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash · Kym MacKinnon on Unsplash |